Navigating the Russian Template

BUSINESS RUSSIAN APPLICATIONS. INDEX.

Content: the video and the texts:...... 2

Structure of the Business Russian Program:...... 2

Launching and Navigating:...... 2

Using the Index:...... 3

Intro Screen...... 3

Menu Screen...... 3

Menu...... 3

Toolbar...... 3

 Taskbar...... 3

Taskbar...... 3

 Activities:...... 4

 (Getting Ready)...... 4

 (Stop that Movie!)...... 4

(View Dialogue)...... 4

(Comprehension)...... 5

(Composition)...... 5

Activities:...... 5

 (Getting Ready)...... 6

 (Text Analysis)...... 6

(Comprehension)...... 7

 (Composition)...... 8

Tools...... 8

Help....... 8

Gloss....... 8

Notebook....... 8

Exit. Scores and Scrapbook...... 8

Content: the video and the texts:

Alex, an American graduate student in business, has come to Moscow to learn more about the Russian economic system and the present condition of the market economy. Through the help of his guide, Alyona, he encounters various representatives of Russian business life (a university professor, the director of a tractor factory, a flashy member of Russia’s new business elite, etc.), and enjoys the hospitality of a Russian family. He hears various opinions and prognoses, receives often contradictory information, and experiences first-hand the frequently bewildering array of Russian business culture (and Russian culture in general).

Besides witnessing his adventures on the video, we are also privy to the documents Alex might read as background material for his interviews. In Chapter One, for example, the video depicts his arrival at Moscow airport and documents his first impressions of how dramatically Russia has changed since his last visit . The essay for Chapter One also provides a prelude of sorts, this time to his later readings; it’s called “A History of the Russian Market System before 1917.”

Using this application you will see how Alex reacts to his experiences and will be asked to organize your own observations to form your own opinions and conclusions.

Structure of the Business Russian Program:

The Business Russian instructional program consists of 4 units, each of which is subdivided into video- and reading-based chapters:

Unit /  (Video Chapters) /  (Reading Chapters)

CD 1

 /  / 
 / 
 / 
 /  / 
 / 
 / 
 /  / 
CD 2 /  / 
 /  / 
 /  / 

Each of the individual chapters contains a set number of activities. The  chapters include Getting Ready, Stop that Movie!, View and Listen, Comprehension, Composition. The  chapters consist of Getting Ready, Text Analysis, Comprehension, Composition. All of these activities will be discussed in more detail later.

Launching and Navigating:

Insert the CD corresponding to the Unit you plan to work on in the drive.

Using the Index:

Click on the Index Icon in the Business Russian Program Group. All of the applications will be accessible to you from this index. By clicking on the titles you will launch the different Units. The titles of Units you have visited will be highlighted with a red checkmark. To clear these checkmarks click on Reset Main Menu button.

Intro Screen

When you launch one of the Units the Index will disappear and will be replaced with the Introductory Screen of the Unit. In Unit 1 there are two buttons in the lower right: Tutorial and Continue. The Tutorial is highly recommended, as it gives a quick, basic introduction to navigating the activities. Click on the Continue button to access the Unit’s chapters.

Menu Screen

On first entering the Menu Screen (by clicking "Continue"), a video clip will play. You do not need to wait until it is finished playing but may continue by clicking one of the blue buttons next to a  or section. The Menu Screen has the following elements:

Toolbar (the red bar across the top of the screen)

From this Toolbar you can access Help, Gloss (a dictionary) and Notes (a notebook). You may also click on Exit, which will take you to a Scoring Screen (discussed below) from which you can exit. You may also exit at any point by clicking the top left icon of the frame.

After selecting a chapter a vertical Taskbar will appear on the right hand side containing buttons which access the activities of the selected chapter. This toolbar can be moved to a convenient place by clicking on it and dragging. It can also be hidden (and made to reappear) by clicking the appropriate stop on the toolbar.

 Taskbar

From top to bottom, the Taskbar contains the following elements:

Status Line indicating what chapter you have launched.
Menu button, allowing you to go back to the Main Chapter Menu.
Level buttons, allowing you to change the level of difficulty you are working in.
Activity buttons: and

Taskbar

From top to bottom the Taskbar contains the following elements:

Status Line indicating what chapter you have launched.
Menu button, allowing you to go back to the Chapter Menu
Level buttons, allowing you to change the level of difficulty you are working in.
Activity buttons: and 

 Activities:

 (Getting Ready, Level 1)

In this activity, you will answer questions based almost solely on visual and non-verbal clues. Such speculation may help you understand the circumstances of the dialogue you will encounter later.

Click on speaker button to play relevant segment of video.
Click on correct answer.
Feedback will appear at bottom of page.
After finishing all questions on page, turn page by clicking on arrow right. (Absence of arrow right means you have reached the last page of this activity.)
To return to a previous page, click on arrow left. (Absence of arrow left means you are on the first page of this activity.)

 (Getting Ready, Level 2, 3)

In this activity, you will answer questions based almost solely on visual and non-verbal clues. Such speculation may help you understand the circumstances of the dialogue you will encounter later.

Click on speaker button to play relevant segment of video.
Type your answer in Russian in the space provided. (To access the Russian keyboard, click on the "Type" button. You must then click once in the answer space to place the cursor there.)
Copy answers to your clipboard (and then the Notebook) to print hard copy later or to edit in the Notebook.
After finishing all questions on page, turn page by clicking on arrow right. (Absence of arrow right means you have reached the last page of this activity.)
To return to a previous page, click on arrow left. (Absence of arrow left means you are on the first page of this activity.)

 (Stop that Movie!)

This activity requires you to listen closely for particular words, events, or concepts and to stop the video as soon as you hear them.

Play the dialogue segment by clicking the "Play". (To proceed to the next segment, hit arrow right.)
Level 1: Click the "Stop" button as soon as you hear the phrase listed to the right of it.
Level 2: Click the "Stop" button as soon as you hear the event described to the right of it. Hint: you are told who will be speaking.
Level 3: Click the "Stop" button as soon as you discover the answer to the question listed to the right of it.
For all levels, feedback will appear at the bottom of the page.
Hint: Keep cursor by the Stop button for fast response.
Be sure to do all the pages.

(View Dialogue)

This activity familiarizes you with the content of the whole video chapter.

Play the dialogue segments by clicking the Play button. (To proceed to the next segment, hit arrow right, then hit Play.)
Hint: Try viewing the first few times without help from summary.
Click on  to see a Russian summary of the segment.

Note: Some segments might not contain dialogue, but they will be important for other activities.

(Comprehension)

These activities allow you to test your understanding of the video chapter.

Level 1

This activity requires you to place events in the order in which they occurred in the dialogue.
Events are listed in incorrect order. Click on a line, hold, and drag it to its appropriate place.
If you would like to view and hear the scene described, double click on the line to view that video segment.
You may rearrange the ordering and view the segments as many times as you like before checking your answer.
When you are satisfied with your ordering, check your answers by clicking"." (Check answer)
To view the correct ordering, click on "!" (I give up!),which will send an incorrect answer to your score card.

Level 2

This activity asks you evaluate whether a statement is true or false, based on your understanding of the dialogue.
Play the dialogue segment by clicking the "Play" button.
Answer questions by clicking in the appropriate circle. Feedback appears at bottom of page.

To proceed to the next segment, click arrow right, then hit Play.

Level 3

This activity asks you to choose the correct answer among multiple choices based on your understanding of the dialogue.
Play the dialogue segment by clicking the "Play" button.
Answer question by clicking anywhere on the appropriate line of text. Feedback appears at bottom of page.
To proceed to the next segment, click arrow right, then hit Play.

(Composition)

In this activity, you will answer questions based on your understanding of the dialogue. Some questions may be based strictly on verbal clues; others may require that you speculate about possible answers.

Click on speaker button to play relevant segment of video.
Type your answer in Russian in the space provided. (To access the Russian keyboard layout, click on the "Type" button. You must then click once in the answer space to place the cursor there. You can toggle between two keyboard layouts: a Student phonetic keyboard and a Russian Standard keyboard.)
Copy answers to your clipboard. At this point you may choose to copy your answers to your Notepad (Notes in the Toolbar). Your answers, as well as the questions, are also stored in the Scrapbook, explained below).
After finishing all questions on the page, turn page by clicking on arrow right. (Absence of arrow right means you have reached the last page of this activity.)
To return to a previous page, click on arrow left. (Absence of arrow left means you are on the first page of this activity.)

Activities:

The texts presented as reading exercises may be related to the subject of the preceding dialogue, providing background information that Alex (and therefore the student using this application) might find useful in his researches in Moscow. E.g.: Before encountering a representative of the new Moscow business elite, Alex reads a brief article called, “Who are the new businessmen?” which gives a sociological description of the origins and characteristics of the noveau riche.

 (Getting Ready)

Pre-reading exercises that develop strategies for initially encountering foreign texts (and that discourage a word-by-word approach). After these activities, you will have a good idea of the subject matter of the text, the structure of the text, and specific issues it addresses.

Level 1

This pre-reading activity asks that you make predictions about the subject matter of the article based on a quick look at selected vocabulary. You do not need to try to read the article at this stage. Because this activity is intended as the briefest of introductions to the subject matter of the text, no scores are kept--you will simply receive feedback based on your answers.

The text to the left contains highlighted words or phrases which you are asked to divide among the 3 categories to the right.
In the text to the left, click on a highlighted word or phrase, then drop it into the appropriate column to the right.
In order to clear the word from the cursor, drop it in the trashcan near the top of the first column.

Level 2

In this activity, you are asked to skim the article and choose topic sentences for each paragraph (or, sometimes, sections of the article). No close reading is expected.
The topic sentences are listed to the right of the text in incorrect order. Click on a line, hold, and drag it to its appropriate place.
You may rearrange the ordering as many times as you like before checking your answer.
When you are satisfied with your ordering, check your answers by clicking"." (Check answer)
To view the correct ordering, click on "!" (I give up!),which will send an incorrect answer to your score card.

Level 3

This activity asks that you predict where the answer to particular questions might appear in the text.
Read the question in the top box. In the text to the left, click anywhere within the paragraph in which you'd expect to find the answer.
For easier viewing, the paragraph you select will appear in the box below the question.
Feedback will appear at the bottom of the page.
To proceed to the next question, hit arrow right.

 (Text Analysis)

This activity works on the nuts and bolts of the language represented in the reading text, on three levels: word-formation (roots, prefixes and suffixes), vocabulary building (antonyms/synonyms), and syntax.

Level 1

This word formation exercise will expand your knowledge of Russian roots and expand your vocabulary by forming words from roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Click on each highlighted word in the text, and a screen will appear to the right with that word's root and its translation(s), as well as prefixes and suffixes which can be combined to form the words listed in the lowermost table.
Try to build the words listed in English by clicking on a suffix or prefix, dragging and dropping it in the correct space. Words might require prefix, suffix, both, or neither (when the root = the word). If both are required to complete a word, you need only select one--the other element will be provided automatically. Only correct choices will be dropped in the spaces; incorrect attempts will be tallied as incorrect answers on the scoreboard..
If you wish to clear the cursor simply click on the wastebasket near the top of the screen. This will not affect your score.

You may copy this new vocabulary list to your notebook for printing and further study by clicking the "Copy to notebook" button at bottom of screen.

Level 2

In this activity you will be asked to choose synonyms (or antonyms) for the words listed in the table. The words for you to choose from are highlighted in the text.
Click on a highlighted word in the text to pick it up, then drop it in the space next to its match. Only correct choices will appear in the box. Incorrect choices will be tallied as incorrect answers on the scoreboard.
If you wish to clear the cursor of a word simply drop the word in the wastebasket near the top of the screen. This will not affect your score.
Once you have completed the exercise, turn the page by clicking the arrow right.
You may copy this new vocabulary list to your notebook for printing and further study by clicking the "Copy to notebook" button at bottom of screen.

Level 3

In this activity, you will see several exercises. In some, you will replace participial phrases with clauses using the relative pronoun . In others, you will make a participial construction. In still others, you will be asked to join two simple sentences using the appropriate conjunction.
The sentence(s) you must manipulate appears above, right. The corresponding sentence in the text is highlighted in black, to provide a context.
From the list(s) mid-right, click on the correct form of the word and drop it in the correct blue space. Only correct choices will appear in the space. Incorrect choices will be tallied as incorrect answers on the scoreboard.
If you wish to clear the cursor (for instance if you realize you have picked up the wrong form), drop the word in the Trashcan near the top of the screen. This will not affect your score.
Once you have completed the exercise, turn the page by clicking the arrow right.

(Comprehension)

In this activity, you will answer questions testing your understanding of the dialogue.

Levels 1 and 3

This activity asks you to choose the correct answer among multiple choices based on your understanding of the text.
Answer question by clicking on the appropriate answer. Feedback appears at bottom of page.
Once you click on an answer (correct or not) the paragraph of the text containing the answer will be highlighted.
To proceed to the next segment, click arrow right. To go back a page, click arrow left. Be sure to go through all pages.

Level 2