RUSS
1038 Basic Writing and Reading Skills for Heritage Speakers
3 hours, 1 hour multimedia laboratory; 3 credits. Prerequisite: permission of the chairperson.
Fundamentals of writing and reading for students whose knowledge of Russian is limited to spoken communication. Emphasis on spelling, word order, and verb tenses, based on authentic literary and nonliterary texts. Practice in written self-expression. Qualifies as a LOTE (Language Other Than English) course for Pathways College Option purposes.
Heritage Language Classes
Russian 1038
Week 1: Introductions: The Russian Language
CUNY NYSIEB reading
https://www.cuny-nysieb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NYSLanguageProfiles.pdf
Reading Russian Language “About language formation”; “What is Russian”
Video: Introduction to Russian Language; About Russians; Characteristics of a Russian; Speaking Russian vs. Being Russian
Week 2: About Friendship
Assignment #1 Due: Linguistic Autobiography (essay) and Oral Presentation
Reading Short Story about friendship and family
Video: Importance of grammar - pronouns
Practice: grammar and structure
Week 3: Russian in Global Context
Reading comparative story; Chekov short story
Video: Importance of grammar; contemporaries interview skills
Practice: Asking questions; Russian culture surveying young adults
Week 4: History of Russian through Oral History and Fairytales
Reading Russian Fairytales; Oral stories
Video: welcome to the world of Slavic fairytales and oral stories
Practice: charting and adjective hunt
Assignment # 2 Favorite character in Slavic mythology and fairytales
Week 5: Russian in Social Context
Reading conversations in Russian for different generations; Culture and language through greetings
Practice: verbs of motion; writing of greetings
Week 6 Linguistic Variations of Russian Language
Presentation on Russian culture
Video: Russian idioms; artistic presentation of Russian alphabet; use of Russian in modern advertising
Practice: phrasal verbs; idioms in Russian language
Week 7 The Brooklyn College Listening Project: The Oral History Interview
https://bclisteningproject.org
Video: contemporaries interview; Dave Isay – Everyone has a story the world needs to hear.
Week 8 Culture and Lifestyle
Roots of Russian culture from Ivan the Terrible to modern times
Using modern cinema “Hipsters”
Practice adjectives as characterization
Week 9 Language and Education
Video: understanding the structure of Russian language
Practice: understanding words derived from same roots; word hunt
Week 10 Comparative Language
Learning language through proverbs and comparing the meaning in English
Presentation using Proverbs like a native
Reading about terms, which don’t translate
Reading and Practice using idioms in context
Week 11 Russian Roots in Food
Video and presentation how have Russians lived in rural areas
Reading about importance of jam in Russia culture
Practice shapes and colors in culture and understanding of how Russians used their land for food needs.
Assignment # 3 creating your own Jam (Preserves) with recipe
Week 12 Oral History Project Questions are due and corrected in groups
Presentation Traditions in Russian Speaking homes
Assignment # 4 Oral History Interview Due week 14 /15
Week 13 Holiday Traditions in Russian Culture
Presentation about Traditions
Reading and practice learning about traditions in contemporary Russian culture
Week 14 Oral History Project Presentations / Reflections
Week 15 Oral History Project Presentations / Reflections
Week 2: Linguistic account: My Family, My Friends and I
Week 3: Russian culture in global context
Week 4: Language through Oral History
Week 7: Heritage Listening Project
Week 9: Language and Education
Week 10: Comparative language
Week 11 - Russian through Food
Week 12: Introduction to Contemporary Heritage Project
