Book for Advanced/Intermediate Russian

[gfowler at INDIANA.EDU]

Greetings!

Laura Kline posted the following questions on March 20:

> Dear All,
> Can you tell me how you break down Nachalo I and II by semester? Do you
> cover one book each year, and if so, do you cover 3 or 4 chapters in the 1st
> semester of Nachalo I? Also, is there a third-year text that you find works
> well for students who have used Nachalo I and II for the first two years?
> Thank you in advance for any information!

There is a new book from Slavica Publishers which might be of use to 
her as a third-year text: Advanced Russian: From Reading to Speaking, 
by Sophia Lubensky and Irina Odintsova. This book is not yet on our web 
page (though the information is in the hands of our webmaster and 
should be posted soon). Here is the back cover blurb:

THIS INNOVATIVE SUITE of instructional materials for advanced students of
Russian is aimed at fostering their transition from slow, controlled speech
to native-like fluency. The driving methodology is lexicalist-oriented,
implying an emphasis on the situated internalization of vocabulary, so
that grammar skills develop naturally with the repeated use of particular
words and phrases in combination. The textbook centers around authentic
stories by contemporary Russian writers, supplemented by cultural
background, various activities, and the treatment of select grammatical
points. These stories will not only challenge students to read real
Russian, they will also provide a stimulus for free discussion about the
social circumstances, human relationships, and moral values reflected in
the literature. The text is accompanied by a fully integrated DVD-ROM.
These are the first instructional materials for advanced Russian that
• are oriented around unmodified literary texts;
• focus on the development of fluent speech;
• use cutting-edge technology to support guided reading;
• offer microtexts as the basis for numerous activities;
• provide detailed and varied potential responses to open-ended
questions;
• and underscore the one point that almost goes without saying: that one
cannot master a language without knowing the words.

I've posted a sample of this book (the front matter from volume 1, 
including "how to use" notes from the introduction, plus the first 
chapter), to the following URL:

http://www.slavica.com/temp/AdvRuss.html

Ordering information is also provided there.

Finally, the bundled DVD (separate disks are included for both Mac OS 
and Windows) is produced by Slava Paperno and is available as a 
standalone product from Lexicon Bridge. You can read about it at:

http://www.lexiconbridge.com/AdvancedRussian/default.htm

George Fowler

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