RUS - Russian

On-Line Langauge Courses in beginning Turkish and Russian as Model for Distance Learning

This project will focus on development of two on-line language courses which address ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) standards (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities) in foreign language teaching. On-line courses in Beginning Turkish and Russian (or another language) will allow to reach students from other universities to learn the language while working from home. As part of the project, we will create on-line lessons based on existing textbooks in both languages, and provide students with access to supplemental materials and teacher support. Courses will have specific start and end dates and are teacher-directed. The instruction is balanced between the thematic and communicative approach to learning a foreign language. (ACTFL) Teachers will review students' work via the BlackBoard course management system, monitor student discussion groups, provide support, and grade essays and compositions.

Web-based Multimedia Exercises for Russian II

Continued development of Web-based multimedia exercises for intermediate Russian based upon short segments of Russian films, interviews, and re-enacted scenes on typical themes in Russian society (family, personal relationships, work, leisure, etc.).

Web-based Multimedia Exercises for Russian

Development of Web-based multimedia exercises for intermediate Russian based upon short segments of Russian films, interviews, and re-enacted scenes on typical themes in Russian society (family, personal relationships, work, leisure, etc.).

Russian Songs for Beginning Russian

Development of materials on twelve Russian songs for use in first-year Russian, including recordings, lyrics, and comments on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and culture.

Computer-Based Russian for Reading Materials for Graduate Students

Like their counterparts elsewhere, several academic departments at Brown require their graduate students to demonstrate an ability to read/decode academic texts in one or more foreign languages. This project will design computer-based reading materials in Russian specifically suited to meet the needs of these students. The Hyper Card Software will combine grammar explanations, high frequency vocabularies, text selections, and comprehension. Intitially these materials will be used to supplement and enrich an existing course taught by Professor Arant.

Distribution Patterns of Lexical Relations and their Applications in Designing Vocabulary Materials for Reading Russian

The project will study the vocabulary of contemporary Russian journalism and prose fiction to organize the presentation of vocabulary for learners of the language. Using a large corpus of texts in computer form, the study will identify the frequency of certain lexical relations and determine how appropriate it would be to include them in learner-centered vocabulary materials.

A Web Site for Russian Resources

The project will create a separate web site for instructors and students linked to the Dept. of Slavic Languages web site. This site will contain a variety of instructional resources appropriate to several course levels. Funding will enable design of the site, entry of texts and graphics and purchase of copyright permissions.

Interactive Version of Twelve Chairs

Gajdaj's film closely follows Il'f and Petrov's Dvenadtsat' stul'ev, a classic treasure hunt adventure with a Soviet twist. Over a hundred digitized scenes preserve the original story line, giving two hours of full-motion video. The software provides links to dialogue transcripts, linguistic, historical, and cultural notes, and English glosses by Slava Paperno and Viktoria Tsimberov.

A Visual Culture Course: Russian from the 18th Century to the Present

Production of a CD-ROM of a collection of more than 1,200 color slides, with textual comments, audio recordings of very brief lectures, and music samples. In collaboration with Lauren Leighton.

Russian Cultural Literacy

Local workshop on Russian cultural literacy; materials incorporated into courses at all levels of instruction