The ever-challenging 3rd-year Russian language course

[Michael Denner]

Nicole,
I know you said in your ms that you were orienting the course towards
reading. As a supplementary text (or even as your main text), I strongly
recommend the fairly new _Cinema for Russian Conversation_ (focus
publishing). I used it at the end of a second-year course when we were
all sick of the textbook & found that it was imminently adaptable:
Students who are very advanced can watch the film sans subtitles; less
advanced, watch with Russian subtitles; the weakest can watch it with
English subtitles at home. We would watch the film _as a class_ without
subtitles, but I'd pause it frequently to make sure everyone was getting
the gist. Then we'd go scene by scene and retell/answer questions. The
best students LOVED it, and the weakest students didn't hate it.

Anyway, it makes things very scalable. Plus the exercises are arrayed
from easy to difficult. (In fact, the hardest translation exercises
(E-->R) were too hard for me...  Definitely something for a heritage
speaker.) 

Anyway, what's particularly great about the book -- everything is done
for you. Excellent readings, questions, some grammar, lots of vocab,
interesting writing assignments, translation drills (R-->E and E-->R),
etc. It has a LOT of reading, all of it closely integrated with the
film. (E.g., film reviews, retellings of scenes,  screenplays, etc.) I
taught from the book with almost no prep, save for watching the film in
advance and making sure I understood it all! 

Here's the TOC:
http://www.pullins.com/Books/01184RussianCinema.htm#Contents

Again, highly recommended for last-minute class.

If you'd like, I can scan and send a chapter for you to look at.

Best,
mad
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
   Dr. Michael A. Denner
   Editor, Tolstoy Studies Journal
   Director, University Honors Program
   
   Contact Information:
      Russian Studies Program
      Stetson University
      Campus Box 8361
      DeLand, FL 32720-3756
      386.822.7381 (department)
      386.822.7265 (direct line)
      386.822.7380 (fax)
      www.stetson.edu/~mdenner

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Nicole Monnier
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 4:17 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] The ever-challenging 3rd-year Russian language
course

Dear SEELANGStsy!

HELP. 11th-hour changes find me scrambling to put together a
first-semester
3rd-year (to use the terminology of our program) Russian language
course.
While I have taught this semester of Russian before, it is my Waterloo
(I'm
Napoleon, not the Duke of Wellington in this scenario). As it is
envisioned
in these parts, the course is meant to be a reading / preparation for
reading course, with some emphasis on grammar.

The students will have had two solid years of Russian (1st-year = Live
from
Moscow in two 15-week semesters with 6 course meetings per week;
2nd-year =
Live from Moscow: Welcome Back! in two 15-week semesters with 4 meetings
per
week).

I've taught three different versions of this course, each with a
different
set of texts and supplementary materials, but with far less success than
I
would hope. Ideally, I envision putting together a set of "teachable
texts"
(a mix of literary and otherwise) together with a good reference
textbook/grammar (Wade? Offord?).

I know some of this is last-minute panic, but I'd LOVE to hear from
those of
you who have taught this course and been pleasantly surprised by your
successes. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Nicole


****************************
Dr. Nicole Monnier
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Director of Undergraduate Studies (Russian)
German & Russian Studies
415 GCB
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211

phone: 573.882.3370

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------