Slavic Languages and Societies Commons^™

The “Four Concentric Circles Of Russian”: Toward A Model, Timothy G. Reagan

Russian Language Journal

Braj Kachru suggested that one way of understanding the role and use of English around the world was to distinguish among three concentric “circles”: the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle. In this article, I will use Kachru’s model as the foundation for the development a similar model for positioning the Russian language in the contemporary world. The historical differences in Anglo-American linguistic expansion and Russian linguistic expansion lead to somewhat different divisions among speakers of the respective languages. The model proposed here has four concentric circles: an inner circle (consisting of the Russian …

Book Review: Water, Whiskey, And Vodka: A Story Of Slavic Languages., Ronald I. Kim

Russian Language Journal

There are more speakers of Slavic languages in Europe today than of the continent’s two other major Indo-European branches, Romance and Germanic. Yet over a generation after the end of the Cold War, despite economic growth, tourism, and steadily increasing cultural exchange, ignorance among North Americans and Western Europeans about the basic facts of the Slavic languages remains sadly widespread. Even from speakers of Slavic languages themselves one continues to hear all sorts of linguistic myths, such as that all Slavic languages sound essentially identical to Russian or, at the other extreme, nationalistic claims that Polish and Ukrainian are nothing …

Spotlight: Resources For Ukrainian, Margaret Godwin-Jones

Russian Language Journal

The Digital Resources Corner (DRC) offers reviews of new digital resources that could be beneficial in the teaching and/or learning of Slavic languages. It is intended for instructors looking for or evaluating different materials to use in the classroom.

Applying A Neo-Bakhtinesque Concept Of Dialogue In The Elementary Russian Classroom, James M. Curtis

Russian Language Journal

This forum piece invites readers to consider how Bakhtin’s concept of dialogue can reshape the teaching of elementary Russian. Instead of treating beginners as passive recipients of rules and forms, a neo-Bakhtinian, constructivist approach views them as active co-creators of meaning whose prior experiences, beliefs, and anxieties matter for learning. The author argues that engaging students in genuine dialogue—about their assumptions, about English–Russian contrasts, and about how grammar is named and presented—can reduce intimidation, increase confidence, and make Russian feel more accessible. In this way, Bakhtin’s ideas move beyond literary theory into the practical realities of the introductory language classroom.

The Role Of Working Memory In The Acquisition Of L2 Russian Case, Natalia V. Parker

Russian Language Journal

With the development of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics, the view of individual differences has been evolving and now includes concepts such as cognitive processing and Working Memory (WM) (e.g., Doughty, 2019; Jackson, 2020; McConnell, 2023; Wen & Teng, 2023). The present study contributes to this line of research by investigating the relationship between WM capacity and the accuracy of L2 Russian case inflection production by complete beginners in instructional settings, which is an under-researched area. The data are part of a larger study, which involved a 20-week teaching intervention with English-speaking volunteers (n=27), who were taught two Russian cases (Prepositional …

Teaching Russian Verbs Of Motion Through Russian-Language Cinema: A Cognitive Perspective, Sergei Motov

Russian Language Journal

The practice of foreign language teaching is paradoxical in nature. On the one hand, such teaching is communicative; on the other hand, it often continues to rely on structuralist linguistic theory, which contradicts its communicative nature. In the case of teaching Russian verbs of motion to second-language learners, the dynamic nature of these verbs is often considered not dynamically, but statically—in the form of abstract textual examples or static images—which is also paradoxical. Such an abstract treatment of verbs of motion contradicts a number of postulates of modern cognitive science and certain areas of cognitive linguistics. From the perspective of …

Perspectives Of Russian Language Educators On Meeting The Needs Of Heritage And L2 Learners In Mixed Classes, Maria Goebert

Russian Language Journal

In less commonly taught languages, such as Russian, heritage and non-heritage learners often share the same classes. Teachers in these settings must differentiate instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students. Online teaching adds an additional layer of complexity that instructors must address in their course design. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of 12 Russian language educators, working across various educational settings, on the language learning needs of heritage and non-heritage learners in mixed classes. It examines how these teachers adapt their instruction to support their students and meet the demands of different teaching modalities. The study also …

Dynamic And Stable Motivation Patterns In Intensive Second Language Learning: Insights From A Russian Summer Immersion Program, Dmitrii Pastushenkov

Russian Language Journal

Understanding what shapes student motivation is essential to improving second language (L2) programs. While motivation is among the widely studied individual differences (IDs) in second language acquisition (SLA), research has largely focused on commonly taught languages, limiting broader applicability. This mixed-methods study, grounded in Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), explores the motivational development of learners studying a less commonly taught language (LCTL), Russian, during an eight-week summer immersion program. Data were collected from 52 students across four instructional levels. Motivation was assessed through two brief online surveys, developed based on research by Gardner, Dörnyei, Lanvers, Thompson, and others, and administered during …

Why Russian? Language Choice And Enrollment In U.S. Universities, Emma Calderwood, Teresa R. Bell, Jennifer Bown, Grant H. Lundberg

Russian Language Journal

Russian language enrollments at U.S. universities have declined steadily since 2009 (MLA, 2023), yet little research has examined current student motivations for studying Russian, particularly after the 2022 escalation of the Russo–Ukrainian War. This study surveyed two groups: (a) students enrolled in any 101-level language course at University X and (b) students in Russian courses at six U.S. universities. Results show that motivations for studying Russian are primarily integrative—general interest in the language, desire to converse with Russian speakers, aspirations to travel to Russian-speaking countries, and previous Russian knowledge—rather than instrumental. Students who considered but did not choose Russian most …

Variability Of Individual Learner Trajectories In A Transformative Language Program, Victoria Hasko, Anastasiya Smith

Russian Language Journal

This qualitative multiple case study investigates how individual learner differences manifest and evolve within a transformative, proficiency-oriented undergraduate Russian language program. Drawing on complexity theory and transformative approaches to language education, the study explores how learners’ motivations, identities, and professional aspirations develop in a curriculum that integrates advanced language learning with long-term career planning. Three focal participants were followed longitudinally across their undergraduate trajectories, using a combination of standardized proficiency assessments and in-depth reflective interviews. Thematic analysis revealed four key themes shaping learner development: evolving orientations toward language learning, the curriculum as a transformative scaffold, emerging professional identities, and growing …

The Mediating Role Of Positive Psychology: Mindfulness And Learner Beliefs In The Russian Language Classroom, Kelly Knickmeier Cummings

Russian Language Journal

Language learning is an inherently emotional process, shaped by both positive and negative experiences that influence the individual difference of learner beliefs. This article explores the mediating role of positive psychology (PP) in second language acquisition (SLA), with a particular focus on mindfulness and its potential to reshape learner beliefs in the Russian language classroom. Drawing on theories such as Seligman’s PERMA model and Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, as well as evidence-based interventions, the article argues that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) provide practical tools for cultivating positive learner beliefs and inclusive, growth-oriented classroom environments. Examples of MBIs—including practices of noticing, savoring, exploring …

Medical Minds, Literary Voices: The Intersection Of Healing And Storytelling In Russian Literature, Emily Doris Gervais

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

This project examines the intersection of medicine and literature through the works of Russian physicians who became influential authors. Focusing on Anton Chekhov’s Sakhalin Island, Vikenty Veresaev’s Memoirs of a Physician, and Mikhail Bulgakov’s A Young Doctor’s Notebook, this research highlights how their medical experiences shaped both their personal narratives and broader societal criticism. By analyzing the variation of both implicit, individual-centered stories and systemic, sociopolitical commentaries, the project reveals how these authors brought a unique clinical perspective to Russian literature. Their attention to detail, moral and ethical concerns, and use of medical language enriched their writings, imbuing their prose …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

God Poezii 2025, Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Fet, V. (ed.). God poezii 2025 [Year of Poetry 2024]. Kyiv: Drukarskii dvir Oleha Fedorova. 2025. 668 p.

 The fourth volume of the Year of Poetry anthology brings together 120 authors of different generations from various countries. No matter what we write about, the hearts and verses of those who cannot remain silent—from every corner of the globe—stand with a fighting, unbroken Ukraine and its heroes.

 And, trying to walk the razor’s edge

In a world so prone to destruction,

We cling to poetry,

Or perhaps it clings to us. (Anatoly Lemysh)

Год поэзии 2025. …

Molding The Mass Viewer: New Insights Into The Early Soviet Art System, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Articles and Research

"Monographs on the visual culture of the Soviet period are infrequent enough that the appearance of two in one year is a cause for celebration. Chicago University Press has published long-awaited books on El Lissitzky (1890–1941) and Aleksandr Deineka (1899–1969), contemporaries who occupied very different spheres in the early Soviet art system and different niches within the historiography of Soviet art. Designer and architect Lissitzky was an acclaimed member of the international avant-garde, while the figurative painter and graphic artist Deineka is still relatively little known outside the context and cliches of Socialist Realism. Only rarely did their paths cross …

Terminating Pregnancies In Boccaccio, Anne C. Leone

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Analyzing examples from the Decameron (1349-51), De mulieribus claris (1361), and the Corbaccio (1365), I argue that Boccaccio (1313-75) demonstrates an awareness of theological, legal and medical opinions on abortion and contraception at the time. However, he is more attuned to the practical concerns of pregnancy than are many of his contemporaries. Acknowledging the variety of situations facing pregnant people and some parts of their lived experience that were ignored by many religious and legal authorities, Boccaccio highlights a disconnection between theory and practice, and thereby raises questions about the limits of abstract knowledge in the face of practical concerns.

Oткрытые Слова. Стихи Января — Августа 2025., Victor Fet

Open Access Books

Фет, В. Oткрытые слова. Стихи января — августа 2025.  Київ: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова. 2025. 284 с.  

Эта книга — продолжение серии из пяти предыдущих книг: «Над бездной» (2022), «Ткань памяти» (2022), «Свет слов» (2023), «Контурная карта» (2024) и «Предел памяти» (2025) (К.: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова). Сюда вошли стихотворения, написанные с января по август 2025.

Кошмар почти четырёх последних лет не кончается, не кончаются и стихи. Мы — вся наша цивилизация — вступили в такую полосу неопределённости, где рефлекторное плетение кружева слов может быть не более, чем средством медитации, способом не сойти немедленно с ума. …

Между Тенью И Рассветом; Between Darkness And The Dawn: A Photographic Understanding Of Memory And Society In Eastern Latvia And The Baltic States, Bryce Maloney, Sean Rego

Summer Research Program

In the small nation of Latvia, the eastern city of Daugavpils has been left behind. Three hours from the bustling European capitals of Riga, Vilnius and Minsk, it was historically the trade hub between Russia and Western Europe, once giving it a fascinating ethnographic makeup as well as an important regional position. It remains the largest majority Russian-speaking city in the European Union and NATO, but suffers from its geographical and economic isolation on top of a declining and aging population. Daugavpils’s people– now economically and socially neglected– ardently feel abandoned in modern-day Latvia, with each setback feeding their disillusionment …

Dispositions And Dispossessions: Interwar Left-Wing Literary Writing In Vienna And Zagreb, Ivana Perica

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article Dispositions and Dispossessions: Interwar Left-wing Literary Writing in Vienna and Zagreb, Ivana Perica examines how political fiction in Vienna and Zagreb during the interwar period reflected competing narratives of emancipation and liberation. She argues that while both cities engaged with left-wing political thought, their literary scenes diverged significantly due to differing socio-political contexts. The article juxtaposes the Austro-Marxist cultural project of Red Vienna, which sought to reconcile class divisions through socialist cultural policies, with the more fragmented leftist movements in Zagreb, where political fiction often expressed disillusionment with the failure of revolutionary change. Through a …

Dr. Luc Beaudoin Faculty Spotlight, Rachel Jaeger, Nicole Doris

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

An interview with Dr. Luc Beaudoin of the University of Denver's Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies.

The Enduring Legacy Of The Habsburg Islam Policy: Muslim Communities In Central And Southeast Europe, Sevgi Adak, Thomas Schmidinger

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Examines contemporary legal and political structures governing Muslim communities in Central and Southeast Europe.

When Otto Habsburg – son of the last emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Karl I – died in 2011, among those who prayed at the funeral was Mustafa Efendi Cerić, the Reis-ul-ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the highest Islamic office in the country. This was to honour the long-lasting relationship between the bygone empire of the Catholic Habsburgs with Bosnian Muslims. The cornerstone of this relationship was the 1912 Islam Act (Islamgesetz) of the Habsburgs, which granted Islam legal recognition and incorporated it into …

Русские Глаголы Движения Типа Идти/Ходить Как Неустойчивая И Градационная Грамматическая Категория / Russian Motion Verbs Of The Idti / Khodit' Type As An Unstable And Gradable Grammatical Category, Natalia Bernitskaia

Russian Language Journal

The present paper puts forward and analyzes the postulate that the grammatical category of verbs of motion in Russian can be characterized as unstable and gradational. Instability is manifested in the fact that members of verb oppositions included in this category can weaken or even lose their grammatical status, i.e., their semantic and syntactic parallelism, cf.: bresti domoj / brodit’ domoj. Oppositions within the grammatical category of verbs of motion are not equal in terms of their grammatical status: some verbs are retained in the grammatical system more firmly than others. In this regard, an attempt is made to …

Russian Verbs Of Motion In L2 Acquisition: Testing The Efficacy Of A Usage-Based Approach, Tobias-Alexander Herrmann

Russian Language Journal

Unprefixed Russian motion verbs present unique challenges for second language (L2) learners as they encode distinct types of motion events. Traditional, directionality-based methods of teaching these verbs have faced criticism, prompting the adoption of alternative, cognitively informed approaches. This article builds on usage-based methodologies, such as those proposed by Nesset and Janda (2022), to investigate whether teaching unprefixed verbs of motion (UVoMs) as constructions can enhance L2 instruction. Using the frequent UVoM pair idti and xodit′ , both meaning ‘walk’, as a case study, I pursue two main goals. First, drawing on corpus data, I examine the construction UVoM + …

From Gesture To Coded Knowledge: Rediscovering And Redefining Tpr When Teaching Russian Motion Verbs In An Outdoor Classroom, Elena Susanna Weygandt

Russian Language Journal

The necessity to move my Russian as a second language (L2) classroom in an event tent during the “main” pandemic year encouraged me to create lessons engaging students’ movement and thus rediscover the Total Physical Response (TPR) method. This article presents the case for using TPR-inspired teaching as a mode to be considered in instruction of Russian verbs of motion (VoM). TPR, a teaching method and language acquisition theory suggested by James Asher in the 1960s, has further evolved in TPR role-playing and TPR storytelling and is used in L2 instruction today (e.g., Cook, 2008, p. 132; Davidheiser, 2002; Elliott …

Directionality Of Motion In Second Language Acquisition: With A Focus On L1-Korean L2-Russian Speakers, Hakyung Jung, Hyug Ahn, Jacee Cho

Russian Language Journal

This paper examines L2 acquisition of directionality of Russian motion verbs by L1-Korean speakers in terms of Slobin’s (1996) Thinking-for-Speaking (TFS) hypothesis and the markedness principle. Although directionality is lexically encoded in the verb in both Korean and Russian, the organization of this concept differs. In Russian, directionality is categorized solely by the feature [+/- directional], whereas in Korean, motion event expressions are distinguished not only by [+/-directional] but also by [+/-multi]. Experiments on L1-Korean, L1- Russian, and L1-Korean L2-Russian speakers demonstrated that (i) in Korean, the presence or absence of an explicit goal plays an important role in verb …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Searching For Alternative Approaches To Conceptualizing And Teaching Russian Verbs Of Motion: Bridging Linguistics And Teaching Practice, Maria Bondarenko

Russian Language Journal

This special issue seeks to account for the current status of an emerging trend we have observed in linguistics and L2 instruction over the last two decades: reconceptualizing Russian verbs of motion (VoM). To contextualize the contributions to the issue, in this Introduction, I will give an overview of how this trend has evolved from its inception until the present time, delineating within it two successive stages called the Cognitive Turn and Instructional Turn.

Нестандартные Метафоры Движения В Текстах Казахско-Русских Билингвов / Non-Standard Metaphors Of Motion In Kazakh-Russian Bilinguals, Ekaterina V. Rakhilina, Aimgul Kazkenova

Russian Language Journal

This paper examines a specific case of fictive motion conceptualization—non-standard motion metaphors identified in texts from the Kazakh subcorpus of the Russian Learner Corpus (http://www.web-corpora.net/RLC). The texts were written by students from several universities in Almaty who are native speakers of Kazakh (L1) and second-language speakers of Russian (L2). Our study focuses on three aspects of fictive motion: (1) how the verbs idti and xodit’ are used to conceptualize processes or states in non-standard metaphorical contexts; (2) how trajectors are selected with the verbs prijti and projti; and (3) how motion direction is conceptualized with vxodit’ / …

Book Review: Designing Effective Language Learning Materials For Less Commonly Taught Languages. A Research-Based Guide, Susan Kresin

Russian Language Journal

Especially at a time when many Russian language instructors are actively expanding the scope of their instructional materials, this concise and well-articulated handbook fills an important gap. Focusing on the needs of instructors who teach less commonly taught languages, it offers a clear, step-by-step road map through the process of curricular and textbook design, with minimal theory and a broad framework of teaching methodology. This makes it applicable for a wide variety of practitioners in various circumstances: in pre-college, college and extracurricular settings, serving heritage, non-heritage and mixed groups of students, and at all levels.

Teaching Verbs Of Motion In A Task-Based Russian As A Foreign Language (Rfl) Course, Joan Castellví, Elena Markina

Russian Language Journal

The paper focuses on one of the most complex topics in Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) instruction: verbs of motion (VoM). We introduce an innovative approach to teaching these verbs, grounded in Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), and contrast it with the traditional approach that follows the Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) framework, which has dominated the field until now. By analyzing a sample of widely used textbooks specializing in VoM, we show that introducing the VoM system—specifically, the sequence in which the verbs are presented—follows the PPP design and is primarily grammar-oriented. This approach is based on the concept of “directionality,” which …