Welcome to Russian 104 !

Today is your first day of learning how to speak a language that 280 million other people in Russia, in former Soviet Republics and in other countries around the world use for daily communication. Learning Russian will let you open the doors to those communities.

From your first word of Russian to the time when you become a fluent speaker of the language, you will constantly be engaging in "5 C's" --Communication, Cultures, Comparisons, Communities and Connections. Starting with the first day of class, you will learn how to understand and interpret others people's statements, ideas, aspirations,and reactions. And you will learn how to express yourself and your opinions, impressions, and wishes in a way that others can understand them. You will have countless opportunities to compare the different ways that cultures express themselves, and how language shapes and expresses cultural outlooks. You will have the opportunity to play with the language, to create oral and written texts in Russian, to act out dialogues and situations. In using the language, you will learn where its boundaries are, what its rules are, what words are simply "untranslatable." You will encounter situations, ideas and cultural behaviors that make you reflect on assumptions about who are "Russians," and what is "American."

More specifically you will become acquainted with Russian spoken at normal speed, will learn to extract information from simple authentic Russian texts, will learn to speak and write about yourself, your background and studies. You will also learn to cope with many situations encountered when traveling to Russia or dealing with Russian speakers in this country (e.g., passing through customs, making a purchase, ordering a meal, inviting a friend to go to the movies). You will become acquainted with Russian culture through the language, through readings in English, and through mini-lectures on aspects of Russian culture that will be given by guest speakers from the department's faculty.

Russian has the reputation of being a difficult language to learn. It is true that it is not as close to English as some European languages, such as, German, French or Spanish. Nevertheless, Russian and English are related Indo-European languages, and they share a number of words and word roots in common. Recognizing these words and word roots makes learning vocabulary a lot easier. Furthermore, in recent years Russian has borrowed a large number of words directly from English. It should not be difficult to recognize such "Russian" words as stereo, video, biznes. To be successful in learning Russian (or any other language), you will need to work and play and interact with the language daily. You should take advantage of as many language learning strategies as you find helpful; there is a list of ideas at the end of this syllabus.

Texts The required texts and materials for the course are:

Robin, Evans-Romaine, Shatalina, and Robin , Golosa Book 1 (3nd edition. 2002)

Robin, Evans-Romaine, Shatalina, and Robin, Golosa Lab Manual/Workbook 1 (3rd edition. 2002)

Loose-left binder (preferably the 1.5" or 2" size)

The texts are available in the Kansas Union Bookstore. You should bring these texts to each class meeting. You will need the loose-leaf binder to store class handouts and your corrected homework assignments. Having the assignments in one place will make it easier for you review your work when you need to study for tests.

Study Tip. Go over your corrected homework each night before moving on to the next assignment. When you need to study for a chapter test, review all your written assignments by covering your old answers and writing down the answers again on a separate sheet. This way they will be in one place when it comes time to study for your quiz. Students with weaknesses in English grammar may find the supplement English Grammar for Students of Russian, by Edwina Cruise, useful.

Golosa is accompanied by an excellent set of audio recordings available in MP3 format on the web at the Golosa web site (http://www.gwu.edu/~slavic/golosa.htm). The audio recordings for each chapter contain dialogues, exercises on phonetics and pronunciation, grammar drills, and listening comprehension activities. Students can access this web site from anywhere in the world, but you may find it convenient to use the faster internet connections available on campus. The computer lab (Wescoe 4074) at the Ermal Garinger Academic Resource Center (EGARC; http://www.ku.edu/~egarc Wescoe 4069) is available for student use. The center also houses a large video collection including Russian films (many with subtitles) and documentaries about Russia. With your KUID, you can check any film for overnight use.

Study Tip. You may want to download all the audio files for a chapter on campus, put them on a CD or zip disk, so that you can listen to them at home. Listening to the audio recordings for Golosa is a VITAL PART of your homework assignments. Use your ears to help you learn the material that you see in the textbook in written form. Listening to these recorded materials is a key to learning the material and getting a good grade in this course.

Schedule. We will spend between 10 and 14 class hours per chapter. A schedule of homework assignments for each chapter will be posted on: http://www.ku.edu/~elemruss/homework (the schedule is subject to change). For full credit, homework assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the class on the day for which they were assigned. Around the middle of each chapter, you will have a vocabulary quiz and a dialog check. For most chapters there will be a supplementary cultural activity/lecture as well. At the end of the each chapter, you will have a test covering the material. Quizzes and tests are given on the same days in all sections. You will have three oral quizzes spread out over the semester to assess your progress in speaking Russian.

Schedule of Quizzes and Tests (Note: This schedule is subject to change.)

Final exam is scheduled for Thursday, December 16, 2004 from 4:30-7:00 pm. It will be comprehensive, covering all the material from the beginning of the semester through the beginning of Chapter 8.

Students are responsible for the academic integrity of their work!

Attendance. Since it is only in class that you will have the opportunity to get active practice in speaking and listening to Russian, your attendance and active participation in both the "grammar" and "lab" classes are absolutely vital. The importance of attendance cannot be stressed enough. The material that we work on in class and in the homework assignments is the same material that you will need to know for your quizzes, tests and final exam. As one student from last year wrote in his/her class evaluation: "We did so much practice in class that getting ready for the tests was pretty easy. All I really had to do was to review my homework and vocabulary lists." Your instructors will keep attendance; and frequent absences will lower your course grade. In the event that you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to find out what happened in class and to make up that material. Quizzes and Tests are expected to be taken on the days scheduled; if you have a medical or personal emergency and cannot take the quiz or test, notify your instructor or the department office BEFORE your exam. For medical absences please bring a note from your doctor or the student health service.

Staying in Touch We can be much more helpful in dealing with emergencies and special circumstances if you contact us as soon as a situation arises. You may reach the department of Slavic Languages at 864-3313 or by e-mail slavic@ku.edu Other important information about the class (assignment sheets, etc.) will be posted at: http://www.ku.edu/~elemruss

Students with Disabilities. The staff of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 135 Strong, 785-864-2620 (v/tty), coordinates accommodations and services for KU courses. If you have a disability for which you may request accommodation in KU classes, please contact them as soon as possible. If you have questions regarding this course particularly, please contact your instructor or the course coordinator privately.

Grading. Your course grades will be calculated in the following manner: