Course Description
A continuation of Intermediate Russian I.
Athena Title
Intermediate Russian II
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in RUSS 2012
Prerequisite
RUSS 2001 or RUSS 2011
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
RUSS 2002 is the second course in a two-course sequence designed to further develop students’ skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing at the intermediate level. The course introduces new grammatical structures not covered in first-year Russian and consolidates and reinforces grammatical concepts already familiar to the students. Particularly difficult aspects of Russian grammar, such as verbal aspect and verbs of motion, are treated in more detail than in the first-year course. By the end of this sequence, students should develop a higher level of accuracy and greater flexibility in their comprehension and production, so that they can communicate effectively with native speakers in a variety of situations and on a wider range of topics than at the beginning level. Students will be evaluated on the basis of regular written assignments, short quizzes (8-10 per semester), a midterm and a final exam.
Topical Outline
The following is a representative topical outline for RUSS 2002. The format of Russian 2002 is different from that of the preceding semester. Students move on to a more in-depth study of difficult aspects of grammar, and begin to read unadapted texts and watch a movie in Russian. These materials are used to help students develop the ability to sustain more complex narratives in spoken and written form. Grammar: The Russian noun system: Review of cases and their uses Irregularities in declension The Russian verbal system: Principles of word formation and the linguistic structure of Russian verbs Review of conjugation for all classes of verbs Verbal aspect Verbs of motion Verbs of studying and learning Participles and gerunds Other: Modal constructions Complex sentences with dependent clauses introduced by the pronoun ‘to’ In parallel with the grammar materials, students read a Russian fairy tale, an unadapted short story, and some shorter texts taken from newspapers or other sources, and they view a feature-length Russian film. The texts and film serve as the basis for classroom discussions and are used to expand the students’ vocabulary.
General Education Core
CORE IV: World Languages and Global CultureSyllabus