Slavic Languages and Societies Commons^™

Преподавание Русской Грамматики На Продвинутом Этапе (Методические Заметки), Ирина Сапронова, Людмила Екшембеева

Russian Language Journal

The article Teaching Russian Grammar to Advanced Students (Instructional Observations) discusses current issues in the development of control of grammatical structures by American students of Russian who have achieved Level B2 and are training to Level C1 (ILR-3/3/3) in preparation for the TRKI-3 and Flagship certification exams. Particular attention is paid to the use of a functional-communicative grammar (FCG) and the functioning of language tools at various levels, taking into account the principles of pedagogical consistency and linguistic complexity.

Examples are presented of the algorithms used to organize the presentation and sequencing of course content material with the goal of …

"Russian Overseas Flagship" И Языковая Ситуация В Казахстане, Элеонора Д. Сулейменова

Russian Language Journal

The image of Kazakhstan as a multilingual country is associated with the metonymic identification of its constituent ethnic groups and 117 local languages. The dynamics of the linguistic situation (1970-2019) indicate a strong tendency towards linguistic homogeneity. Ethnic groups at demographic risk, divorced from their historic homelands, are immersed in a rapid shift towards the Russian language. The demonstrated vitality of the languages of individual ethnic groups is related to the specifics of their respective proficiencies in Kazakh and Russian. Evidence of the emergence of a regional variant of the Russian language is cited and carefully reviewed, but found to …

Особенности Курса «Язык Научной Презентации», Сандугаш Сансызбаева

Russian Language Journal

The present study, Features of the Course ‘The Language of an Academic Presentation,’ reports on the results of an advanced two-semester course on public speaking and professional presentation skills for American undergraduates participating in the capstone Flagship Program at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The article describes the impact of this course on the development of student skills in the design, preparation and presentation of both academic and professional public presentations in Russian, including a focus on the use of culturally appropriate public speaking strategies and behaviors. The study is based on the experience of three years of practice in teaching …

Developing Level-3 Skills In A Multilingual Environment: The Russian Overseas Flagship Second Decade

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

The Language Flagship Program And Multilingualism In Overseas Language Immersion, Samuel Eisen

Russian Language Journal

The relocation of the overseas Arabic and Russian Language Flagship programs to Morocco and Kazakhstan created challenges and also opportunities for advanced students of Arabic and Russian to develop greater intercultural understanding as they negotiate the cultural underpinnings of these multilingual environments. These students will bring in more nuanced understanding of complex international environments as they move into positions in government or other international fields. The Language Flagship program is designed to meet the need for professional language proficiency and intercultural skill in federal service. In both Morocco and Kazakhstan, the local language is undergoing revitalization while the post-colonial language …

Использование Синтагм При Обучении Чтению На Русском Языке Как Иностранном, Мадина Акберди

Russian Language Journal

The article The Use of Syntagmas in a Russian as a Foreign Language Reading Course presents an analysis of the role played by syntagmas in the anticipatory reading skills of English speakers learning Russian at the threshold of B2 to C1. We consider predictable compatibility units, phraseological combinations, clichéd constructions, indirect and conventional forms of speech intentions which occur in studied texts as syntagmas. We define syntagma grouping methods, describe methods of activating these phrases in the students’ active and passive speech, and analyze the effectiveness of relying on syntagmas. The research demonstrates the feasibility of identifying syntagma groups in …

Практическая Фонетика В Курсе Русского Языка Как Иностранного На Продвинутом Этапе Обучения, Ольга Рябова

Russian Language Journal

The article Practical Phonetics in a Russian as a Foreign Language Course at the Advanced Level discusses major issues and challenges in teaching young adult learners of Russian as a foreign language who have reached the advanced stages of proficiency and who are committed to improving their overall communicative efficiency and clarity of speech in using the language in professional as well as informal contexts. The study reports on an overall presentation of the phonetic design of speech in Russian for use by second language learners at this stage. Particular attention is paid to the specifics of training activities in …

Emerging Trends In The Study Of Russian In The Us: K-16 Enrollments 2007 To 2016, Dan E. Davidson, Nadra Garas

Russian Language Journal

Based on the American Councils-administered K-16 National Survey of Foreign Language Enrollments (2017), the present study examines emerging trends in enrollments and the availability of Russian language instruction at the state and national levels. K-12 and tertiary institutional data are examined in light of comparable information collected in 2007. The study found a continued close association between the geographical location of Russian K-12 offerings and the distribution of Russian-speaking households reported in the US Census. Nationally, Russian language enrollments increased by 20% between 2007 and 2016 among K-12 institutions to 14,876 with 31 states and the District of Columbia reporting …

На Ошибках Учимся: Особенности Устной Речи Иностранных Студентов На Продвинутом Этапе (B2 - C1), Жамиля Абаева

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

«Человек» – Центральная Тема Языковой Подготовки На Продвинутом Уровне, Татьяна Пшенина

Russian Language Journal

As students progress from advanced to the professional level, it is critical that their control of speech acts increasingly approximates that of native speakers. The article The Person: A Central Theme in an Advanced Russian Language Course provides an example of one of the methodologies used in the Russian Overseas Flagship program for addressing these goals. Instructional units require student reflection and critical thinking (e.g. constructing of mental maps) to help them in expressing ideas and concepts in a way that meets the linguistic, socio-pragmatic and intercultural requirements of the range of personal and professional situations in which they find …

Особенности Преподавания Курса «Межкультурная Коммуникация» Для Студентов Программы «Флагман» В Казахстане, Жанар Ибраева

Russian Language Journal

Scholars in both the theory and practice of foreign language study have justifiably recognized the formation of student intercultural competence as an essential condition for effective second language acquisition. This study describes the challenges of teaching an advanced course on “Intercultural Communication” for US students in the Flagship Program in Kazakhstan. The course places an emphasis on the acquisition of lexical, phraseological and socio-pragmatic aspects of Russian essential for dayto- day communication in an advanced immersion setting. In addition, the course examines common forms of both verbal (e.g, use of kinship terms, forms of address) and non-verbal communication behaviors (e.g., …

Maximizing Target Language Use Outside The Classroom: The Advanced-Level Student Of Russian As Digital Consumer, Alexander M. Groce

Russian Language Journal

The article examines recent trends in digital and social media consumption among domestic foreign language students and Russian Overseas Flagship students, analyzing a number of approaches for seeding Russian-language material within students’ everyday extracurricular digital practices. The goal of the project has been to encourage language learners to strengthen their own skills at identifying Russian media sources of personal or professional interest and incorporating habits of media consumption into their language-learning experience. The recommendations provided are informed by the results of a survey distributed among American students of Russian in Kazakhstan during the period from 2017 to 2019. The survey …

Full Issue

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Казахстанская Модель Академической Программы «Флагман», Людмила Екшембеева

Russian Language Journal

The article The Kazakhstan Model of the Russian Flagship Academic Program examines the current model of the Russian Flagship Capstone Program as implemented in Kazakhstan. This study analyzes the application of core principles of the Flagship overseas training model as well as necessary adaptations required by the distinctively multi-cultural environment of the host country. Among core adaptations, two new courses were introduced: Kazakh language and intercultural communications. In order to foster greater inclusion of capstone participants within the host culture, students are encouraged to study and reflect on both implicit and explicit meanings of the linguistic and cultural texts they …

Nature And The Poet: A Comparision Of The Poetry Of Joseph Freiherr Von Eichendorff And Kobayashi Issa, Jane Cox

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the bearing that metaphysical philosophy about nature has on two late 18^th century and early 19^th century poets. Although living in different hemispheres and cultures, the works of Romantic poet Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff and haikai Kobayashi Issa both used interactions with nature to illustrate their own personal experiences. However, their differing metaphysical beliefs concerning nature impacted their presentation of their experiences as well as their experiences themselves. Eichendorff viewed nature as a medium through which the divine can choose to communicate. Nature’s purpose is to act as a vehicle for the divine. His descriptions …

Intertextuality, Aesthetics, And The Digital: Rediscovering Chekhov In Early British Modernism, Sam Jacob

Modernist Short Story Project

Mark Halliday’s poem, “Chekhov,” published in 1992, raises a simple yet profound question regarding the Russian playwright and author, Anton Chekhov: What do we get from Chekhov? Considering the present article’s particular focus, Halliday’s query may be used to ask how Chekhov influenced early modernist writers (circa 1900-1930) from the British literary context. However, when considering the amount of scholarly work devoted to this question, the initial simplicity of Halliday’s inquiry evaporates, giving way to a breadth of complexity, nuance, and ambiguity. Such ambiguity has led scholars attempting to trace the intertextual convergence between Chekhov and the early modernist writers …

Introduction To The Special Issue

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Russian Heritage Language Speakers In The U.S.: A Profile, Olga Kagan

Russian Language Journal

Brecht and Ingold (2002) advocate systematic efforts to develop heritage language (HL) pedagogy to remedy U.S. language deficits: “…because of [heritage language learners’(HLLs’)] existing language and cultural knowledge, they may require substantially less instructional time than other learners to develop these skills. This is especially true for speakers of the less commonly taught languages” (p. 1).

Russian is one of those less commonly taught languages in the U.S. that is critically important for national security and the global economy. Since the early 1970s, when a large wave of Russian-speaking immigrants began to settle in the U.S., American universities have had …

Heritage Language Learners Of Russian And L2 Learners In The Flagship Program: A Comparison, Olga Kagan, Anna Kudyma

Russian Language Journal

In 2005, a consortium of schools consisting of Bryn Mawr College, University of Maryland, University of California Los Angeles, and Middlebury Summer School was formed in order to launch a Russian Flagship Program. Both participants and NSEP 1 felt that these universities would bring different strengths to the program: Maryland and Bryn Mawr, for example, would attract students returning from a year-long study abroad experience in Russia as administered by American Councils, and UCLA would attract heritage language learners from large Russian communities in both Northern and Southern California. As expected, the first cohort of UCLA Flagship students consisted of …

Teaching Compassion In The Russian Language And Literature Curriculum: An Essential Learning Outcome, Benjamin Rifkin

Russian Language Journal

One of Dr. Olga E. Kagan’s most important contributions to the language education field was a reconceptualization of the perspective of the language performance of heritage speakers of Russian. In the past, heritage speakers’ language was considered deficient in all the ways in which it diverged from Contemporary Standard Russian. Their lack of formal instruction in Russian or the interruption of their formal instruction due to their immigration from a Russophone country to North America was considered the source of numerous errors and anglicisms, which the Russian language curriculum was designed to eliminate. Teachers of Russian as a foreign language …

Fields Of The Mind: An Integral Learning Styles Component Of The E&L Cognitive Styles Construct, Betty Lou Leaver, Andrew R. Corin

Russian Language Journal

The E&L Cognitive Styles Construct was developed in 1997 and copyrighted in 2002 by Ehrman, director of the Research, Evaluation, and Development Division at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), and Leaver, then an associate at the National Foreign Language Center. It was developed in order to organize the proliferation of validated cognitive styles into a single instrument with ten easy-to-understand subscales specifically for the field of foreign or second language (L2) learning and teaching (Leaver 1997, 2000; Ehrman and Leaver 2002). The first two subscales, which relate to fields of the mind, however, have often created confusion or misunderstanding among …

Designing And Integrating A Community-Based Learning Dimension Into A Traditional Proficiency-Based High School Curriculum, Elizabeth Lee Roby

Russian Language Journal

When considering the goals of language instruction, few would debate the importance of promoting a lifelong interest in learning language and culture in authentic contexts through engagement in multilingual communities. The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (2015) state that, to meet the Communities goal, students should be able to “communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world” (9). Nonetheless, instructors often struggle to integrate authentic community engagement into the traditional classroom-based curriculum. The first years of language learning frequently include simulations and role-playing scenarios that duplicate situations in which …

Word Order Patterns In The Writing Of Heritage And Second Language Learners Of Russian, Olesya Kisselev

Russian Language Journal

Word Order (WO) variability is an important feature of the Russian language. Appropriate use of WO patterns makes a Russian text meaningful and coherent and has larger implications for the grammaticality of sentences and the ability of the language user to interpret and convey the meaning of the utterance. In the words of the late Olga Kagan, “every learner and teacher of Russian would agree that acquisition of native-like WO is one of the most challenging hurdles on the path to the higher levels of language performance” (Kagan and Dillion 2004, 89). Despite this widely shared opinion, little is known …

Businessmen And Ballerinas Take Different Forms: A Strategic Resource For Acquiring Russian Vocabulary And Morphology, Laura A. Janda

Russian Language Journal

Included in the tasks facing a language learner is the acquisition of a lexicon and a grammar. However, when the target language has inflectional morphology, these two parts of the language-learning task intersect in the paradigms of grammatical word forms because each open-class lexeme has a number of forms that allow it to express various combinations of grammatical categories. Among major world languages, Russian is relatively highly inflected, meaning that the challenges of acquiring vocabulary are compounded by the need to master the inflectional morphology. Even a modest basic vocabulary of a few thousand inflected lexemes has over a hundred …

Lexical Profile Of L2 Russian Textbooks, Ekaterina Talalakina, Tony Brown, Mikhail Kamrotov

Russian Language Journal

Traditionally, the link between vocabulary mastery and reading comprehension has been examined through the prism of lexical thresholds and vocabulary coverage (Milton 2009). Lexical thresholds represent the most frequent words in a language (i.e., lemmas, or dictionary forms of a word) and usually come in increments of 1,000. In relation to the Russian National Corpus, knowledge of the 1,000 most frequent lemmas allows for comprehension of 60% of a text’s vocabulary, 2,000 lemmas – 69%, and 10,000 – 85% (Lyashevskaya and Sharoff 2009, v). These figures support an earlier estimation by Brown (1996, 2), who claimed (without elaborating on what …

«В Каком Контексте?»: A Context-Based Approach To Teaching Verbs Of Motion, Irina Six

Russian Language Journal

Anyone who has studied or taught Russian using the textbook В пути, authored by Olga Kagan, Frank Miller, and Ganna Kudyma, is probably familiar with the following thought-provoking prompt: В каком контексте? ‘Think of a situation when you could say’: Ты звонила домой сегодня? – Ты позвонила домой сегодня? ‘Did you call [imperfective] home today? – Did you call [perfective] home today?’ or Они не приходили. – Они не пришли. ‘They did not come [imperfective]. – They did not come [perfective]’(Kagan, Miller and Kudyma 2006, 79). This is one of the rare examples of assignments where Russian as a Second …

Review: Paper Victory;The Old Woman, James S. Levine, Anna S. Kudyma, Irina Walsh

Russian Language Journal

These two Readers are a welcome addition to the available authentic texts for learners of Russian at the intermediate level of proficiency (CEFR, 2011). Both of these James S. Levine-edited Readers have much to offer, not only in terms of their linguistic accessibility, but also through the way they might improve students’ cultural literacy and analytical skills when it comes to Russian literature. One’s reading skills, review of Russian grammar and vocabulary also stand to benefit from these two valuable volumes.

Review: Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment; Posobiie Dlia Inostrannykh Uchashchikhsia; The Russian Language Journal 68: 3-32, Larysa Stepanova

Russian Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Review: Standards For Foreign Language Learning: Preparing For The 21st Century, Larysa Stepanova, Elizabeth F. Geballe

Russian Language Journal

Although this textbook does not include many explanations of syntactic constructions practiced in exercises, students at this level likely already have other reference materials. Instructors may want to supplement a course with some review, depending on the overall level of the students. The book is of great interest to a targeted audience of readers – those who want to develop their Russian language skills beyond the Intermediate level and to enhance their understanding of Russian culture, particularly the arts. Being strongly communicative in nature, this textbook will be of great help to any instructor of the Russian language.

This final …