class size
Melissa Smith
mtsmith02 at YSU.EDU
Wed Sep 1 05:13:15 UTC 2010
Pat:
Some classes lend themselves better than others to combining students
of various levels. The materials in Olga Kagan's "Cinema for Russian
conversation," with its presentation of assignments divided according
to Proficiency levels, works especially well for this. I also taught a
course several years ago entitled "Russians Discover America," with
variously assigned readings, including Sergei Dovlatov's "Inostranka,"
which exists in a glossed edition. I also found material in the
textbook "V puti" well suited to be included in a variety of
"content-based" courses.
David Birnbaum of Pitt did a presentation at MidWest Slavic on this
type of approach in their popular course on folklore and fairytales.
I'd be interested in hearing more about other creative solutions in
low-enrollment courses.
No compromise solution is ideal, of course. I try to make sure any
student with a strong interest attend a summer intensive program
elsewhere, and try to tailor my offerings to dovetail with their
specific interests in a major or minor outside of the language
department. The internet offers a wealth of articles in Russian on any
topic you can name, so I try to help the individual students develop
specific vocabulary by exposure to topics that afford a broad range of
cognates.
Some of my students have expressed an interest in Russian pop music,
and both the lyrics and videos are often available on YouTube. The
singers all have websites, too, that can be used as reading projects.
One student did a project on "TaTu." Another student had Russian
satellite TV and had taken an interest in the Show "Zhdi menya." He was
planning a trip to Belarus, and we used the Simonov poem in class. The
poem is quite accessible, and I had the three students in one second
year memorize one verse apiece. The student traveled over break and
returned to report that the Belorusans he met went absolutely crazy
when this otherwise weak student recited the opening lines!
Best wishes, Melissa
On 8/31/10 12:18 PM, Krafcik, Patricia wrote:
> Melissa, Rich, and Ashot--
> I just sent a message to my colleague Rob referring to this
discussion--so interesting
> and so relevant to a subject which is hot right now on my campus!
Thus, the "holy
> mackeral"! It seems difficult for other sections of the college to
understand why we
> need smaller classes for language study, yet this activity requires
such intensive one-on-
> one interaction that small is better. We usually begin with a large
number, perhaps 45,
> which we divide into two sections. There is always attrition, however,
and each quarter
> finds a diminished number.
>
> The question we are dealing with now is how to retain Russian-language
students. Should
> the instructor slow up, play more language games, feed the students
more Russian food?
> All of these techniques have been shown to hold the students'
interest. Or in the case of
> Russian, is it simply that some students discover that they cannot
handle such a substantially
> inflected language? If anyone has any ideas, please share them. We
would like to hold as many
> students as possible, helping them to get through the difficult
moments of Russian-language
> study in order to enjoy the wonderful fruits of their work. (We are
using the Nachalo text.)
>
> Pat Krafcik
> The Evergreen State College
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
on behalf of Melissa Smith
> Sent: Tue 8/31/2010 9:02 AM
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] class size
>
> At Youngstown State University, an open-enrollment institution, we
have
> a cap on all Foreign language courses of 25 (4xweek), and haven't
maxed
> out since the late 1980s. The official YSU policy is minimum of 15.
> Since ONE year of FL is the language requirement and therefore the
> second term MUST be offered, we are allowed to go MUCH lower on the
> second term, and often do. The drop-out rate in the first term varies
> greatly.
>
> I teach the students who go on to second-year and above. This is a
> stable(?) population of 2-5 students, so the "workload hours" assigned
> to the course can vary from 1-3, depending on enrollment. I have a
part
> -time instructor at the first-year level, because this is the only
> course that can justify the hire, then my workload gets adjusted in
> various ways (thank heavens for tenure!).
>
> Rich is right about the ideal figures. Since at a commuter campus,
> despite all efforts, attendance can be very erratic, I find seven
> preferable to five, since it's easier to keep up the pace!
>
> Good luck on your ventures,
>
> Melissa Smith
>
> On 8/31/10 8:54 AM, Richard Robin wrote:
> > George Washington University:
> > Section cap for regular track language (4 hrs/week) : 18
> > In Russian, we usually reach or come close to this cap for all our
> sections
> > at the beginning of the year, but we also lose about two students per
> > section before the end of the semester.
> > Cap for intensive track language (8 hrs/week): 15
> > Minimum amount of students required to put a new course on the
books:
> 10
> > Minimum amount of students to offer a course already on the books: 7
> > (although pleading with the dean can save a course).
> >
> > IMHO: Ideal number of students to start in a Russian language
section
> in
> > Intensive: 13-14. Every intensive class has three-four weak
students.
> If
> > they drop, I'm left with an ideal class of 10 - easy enough to work
> with,
> > but enough to keep the dean at bay.
> >
> > Actually, the ideal number of students is 5 - 6 as in Russia. But
> let's be
> > realistic.
> >
> > -Rich Robin
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:23 PM, Vardanyan, Ashot <
> > ashot-vardanyan at uiowa.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > Dear colleagues,
> > >
> > > I am interested in information on the size of a foreign language
> class
> > > within a college / university format. Any piece would be valued,
> such as
> > > official recommendations and regulations at various colleges, your
> opinion
> > > on the (most) optimal number of students, your and your colleagues'
> > > experience, etc.
> > >
> > > Thank you, Ashot Vardanyan
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> > > 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/
> > >
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Richard M. Robin
> > Director Russian Language Program
> > The George Washington University
> > Washington, DC 20052
> > 202-994-7081
> >
> >
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> > 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/
> >
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Melissa T. Smith, Professor
> Department of Foreign Languages and
> Literatures
> Youngstown State University
> Youngstown, OH 44555
> Tel: (330)941-3462
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> 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/
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
------------------------------------
Melissa T. Smith, Professor
Department of Foreign Languages and
Literatures
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
Tel: (330)941-3462
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
More information about the SEELANG
mailing list