Elementary Russian 2

his introduction to Russian language and culture for upper elementary school students is intended to introduce students to functional, basic, communicative Russian and the Russian culture.

Stress will be placed on pronunciation and communication of simple phrases and basic grammar. This is intended to introduce the elementary school age student to the language, or to enhance heritage-Russian speaking students’ knowledge. Students will be challenged to develop the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Russian. As they do so, they will also deepen their understanding of English - its grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

Real life tasks for home, school, and elsewhere will serve as the basis for learning vocabulary, orthography, and the basic grammatical structures. Very basic grammar will include introduction to the cases, personal and possessive pronouns, adjectives and gender, and present and past verb tenses (including verbs of motion).

It goes without saying that one cannot study a language without studying its culture. Typical and atypical customs will be discussed, as well as some comparisons between Russia of old, the former Soviet Union, and present day Russia. Family life and school, health, food, geography, fairy tales, famous Russians, cartoons, and more will help to bring to life this very fun and engaging foreign language. Free online apps, age appropriate and entertaining movies/videos, music, and art will be incorporated into the lessons and homework as well.

This class will meet once a week, providing 15 hours of live, online instruction per semester. Classes are one hour in length. Students will be assigned weekly written and oral exercises, and will also be expected to continue to learn and practice vocabulary through interactive resource links provided.