RUSSIAN 101: Elementary Russian I
CRN 75363 Fall 2017
Instructor: Svetlana V. Nuss, Ph.D.
Teaching assistant/tutor: TBA
Office: Gruening 607
Dept. of FL: 474-7396; www.uaf.edu/language
E-mail:
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 3:20-3:50
Tuesday, Thursday 3:10-3:40 or by app.
Course prerequisites: none
Course description: This is a 5-credit beginner Russian course, the first one in a two-part sequence of courses designed to develop basic communication skills in the Russian language (RUSS 101 and 102). The course is designed for students who have never had instruction in the Russian language before (or had minimum instruction).
Class textbooks and materials
Required by September 11, 2017:
НАЧАЛО, When in Russia. Book 1. Lubensky et al. McGraw-Hill, 2001, 2nd edition.
НАЧАЛО, When in Russia workbook for Book 1, 2nd edition.
Other course materials:
Any Russian/English – English/Russian paperback dictionary
Spiral-style notebook (for note-taking)
A slim three-ring binder for keeping handouts and your notebook.
Access to Blackboard - your grades and some assignments will be posted there.
Various free online Russian-English dictionaries like this one http://enru.dict.cc/?hmb=r
Reference: English Grammar for Students of Russian, The Olivia and Hill Press
Course overview and expectations
Your Russian 101 class has many bright learning experiences in store for you. This is one of the most interactive, hands-on, and fun classes you will ever have in your university career. You will become somewhat of an expert on many things Russian: customs and traditions; food; entertainment, including songs, cartoons and movies; learn of a few prominent Russian writers and philosophers; some basic Russian geography; fundamental historical events that shaped Russia as we know it today; not to mention the Cyrillic alphabet, as well as reading and writing cursive Russian.
Our plans are ambitious and our time is limited! As your instructor, I will do my best to make sure your experience learning Russian language and culture is meaningful and enjoyable. Do remember: it is impossible to learn another language without applying one’s energy to it. Some of us need to put more energy into a subject we are studying, others less, but all of us must do our part. Expect to spend 9-12 hours of work per week to do well.
Here are a few simple ground rules that will help us accomplish what we have planned:
Be on time every time! Come prepared. Ask questions. Enrich your Russian language experience by expanding your learning outside of our classroom. Share what you know!
Russian Language and Culture Portfolio
Your Russian Portfolio consists of the following:
Workbook: well organized visually; vocabulary lists clearly marked (highlighted); distinctly different fonts are used for English and Russian;
BB homework submissions;
Monthly Russian language/culture project: well organized with its vocabulary list(s), original Russian text and illustrations, and quality English translation if required (more on this in class);
Final project: by November 1st 2017 please e-mail me what part of life of Russian society interests you: music, art, military life, politics, educational system, entertainment, events in Russian history, cuisine, family life, cinema, science - anything meaningful to you. I will be assigning projects based on students’ expressed interests.
Participation
The nature of this course – learning to function in the Russian language – determines your participation and preparation levels. The class meeting time is highly interactive: you have to perform and be ready to take part in the group activities practicing Russian vocabulary and sentence structure you have learned to date and helping your group fulfil the assignments, often under time constraint. This means you have to come prepared to contribute to your group’s effort. It would simply not be fair to the other students who do take the time to study if you are not prepared adequately.
Unlike some other disciplines where you can build your knowledge from various points on, language study must build on your previous foundation day after day: take good care of your foundation – it will pay off in fluency; there are no shortcuts.
Missed class
With all the exciting activities, authentic knowledge, and experiences we have to look forward to at every class meeting, it seems impossible anyone would ever dream of missing a session… I am a realist enough to acknowledge life does happen though. If you must miss a class, here is what you do:
Get all of the handouts for that class from me. Get all of the homework assignments from your peers. Work with our tutor to catch up on the content you have had the misfortune to miss. Get your individual assignment from me to make up the participation points; you have until the following Monday to turn in this individual assignment and due homework.
If the class is not made up, you get 0 points for it and your participation grade suffers as a consequence, but most importantly – you are not learning by excluding yourself from the privileged few who are!
Homework
The absolute best way to stay on track in this course is to complete homework as it is assigned, right after each class. In addition to completing homework, you are responsible for correcting it: I only circle your mistakes.
Your course grade is comprised of the following:
Attendance and participation, team/partner classwork:* 265 points/semester, 5 points for each class meeting
Lesson exams: 50 points each
2 Portfolio reviews: 30 points each
Midterm exam: 75 points
Weekly quizzes: 5 points each
Homework: 5 points each
Monthly project: 30 points each
Final project: 100 points
Final exam: 100 points
*You must come prepared to receive full participation points. Just showing up for class is not enough, so learn your vocabulary well!
UAF Department of Foreign Languages has its grading policy in place. Students are not graded on a curve. Current departmental grading scale:
A+ 97-100, %A 93-96
A- 90-92 / B+ 87-89, %
B 83-86
B- 80-82 / C+ 77-79, %
C 73-76
C- 70-72 / D+ 67-69, %
D 63-66
D- 60-62 / F 0-60, %
Course Calendar and Important Dates
Date / Class Activities and AssignmentsSeptember 4
September 8
September 11
September 28
October 9-13
October 26
November 3
November 23
November 30
December 4-8
December 12 / no class
deadline for student and faculty initiated drops with refund
deadline for tuition and fee payment and refunds
September project due
mid-term
October project due
last day for student and faculty-initiated withdrawals
no class
November project due
last week of classes
final exam due; final Portfolio review
Tests
No make-up tests. However, you can better your grade by correcting your mistakes within 3 class meeting days and turning the test back in. You always have to fix your mistakes (I only circle them) and turn the test back in, even if you are happy with the original grade.
A note on НАЧАЛО, When in Russia workbook home assignments:
The Workbook Answer Key, Lessons 1 to 4, are posted on Blackboard. Audio tracks to accompany the Workbook are on Blackboard as well.
Please do your homework in one color (preferably pencil or blue/black ink) and then correct it using a noticeably different color (ea. red or green). When correcting your homework, do not erase your initial answers; write the correct answers next to the mistakes. If a section has no errors, indicate this clearly with an “OK.”
Obviously, you could just copy some answers directly from the Answer Key, but doing homework is one of the best ways to learn and to prepare for lesson tests, so you would only be cheating yourself: the correction process helps you review material and is a significant portion of the entire homework grade. I will always let you know in class when a section from the Workbook is due. Be advised that late homework will be penalized. Please remove, numerically organize, staple the pages, and write your name at the top of each one prior to the start of class.
НАЧАЛО, When in Russia workbook homework is scored as follows:
5: conscientiously completed and corrected, almost no mistakes in YOUR TURN part
4: nearly completed and corrected, very few mistakes in YOUR TURN part
3: partially completed and corrected, mistakes in YOUR TURN part
2: minimally completed and corrected, a lot of mistakes in YOUR TURN part
0: not submitted or submitted too late
Please remember:
1. I will not accept an assignment that was not checked online and corrected first.
2. Without the YOUR TURN part the maximum score for the section will be 3 and a half points only.
Disabilities Services:
UAF Disability Services, a part of UAF's Center for Health and Counseling, provides academic accommodations to enrolled students who are identified as being eligible for these services.I would be happy to implement any additional accommodations needed to meet individual accessibility needs.
If you believe you are eligible, please visit their web site:UAF Office of Disability Services: Whitaker Building, Room 208612 N. Chandalar, PO Box 755590, UAF Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5590
Phone:(907) 474-5655; TTY:(907) 474-1827
E-mail:r contact a student and enrollment services staff person at your nearest local campus.Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandates disability support services.
Here is a link to accessibility:https://qm.uaf.edu/review-resources/
Academic Support Services:
Academic Support Services - including library hours, computer lab hours/services, and writing center hours/services - can be located here:http://www.uaf.edu/sssp/
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