Instructor's contact information

Dr. Jonathan F. L. Gray

2050 Mariposa Hall (MRP)

Office hours:  MW 10:00-11:30, and by appointment

916-278-6839 (office)

530-297-6912 (home)

jgray@csus.edu (best way to contact Dr. Gray)

Course description

Welcome!  Russian 1A begins your study of Russian, a language spoken by 150 million citizens of Russia and many more millions living in parts of the former Soviet Union (not to mention 100,000 in the Sacramento metropolitan area).  The class meets Monday and Wednesday 9:00-9:50 and Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-10:15, and you can expect lively sessions with lots of activities.  Attendance is mandatory.

There will be assignments to complete at home to prepare for the next day.  They usually involve your textbook, workbook, and audio materials.  Do each night's assignment on time and you will get the most out of the following class.  See the course calendar and assignment sheet.

At the end of each unit you will take written and oral tests.  At the end of the course there will be a comprehensive final exam.

Required materials

Golosa, Book 1 (4th edition) and Student Activities Manual available in the Bookstore or online.  If you buy the textbook-activities manual combination online, make sure you buy the 4th edition of each. 

Course goals and outcomes

Through this course you will learn to communicate with Russians in a number of everyday situations at the elementary level.  This means that you'll be able to ask and answer simple questions of people in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities across the enormous Russian Federation and participate in conversations relying heavily on learned phrases.  In addition you will learn to read texts found in each unit of the textbook, and your writing will focus on yourself, your family and friends.  Finally you will learn about the cultural peculiarities that make life in Russia special.

Course prerequisites

You will need a desire to learn one of the world's most expressive languages and a commitment to attend class every day and to do assigned written and oral assignments every evening.

Grade distribution

Homework - 10%

Class participation - 10%

Quizzes (scheduled, unscheduled, vocabulary) - 10%

Unit tests* - 40%

Final Exam - 30%

* Units 1-4 will each have a test worth 10% of final grade.

Grading scale

A93-100

A-90-92

B+87-89

B83-86

B-80-82

C+77-79

C73-76

C-70-72

D+67-69

D63-66

D-60-62

FBelow 60

Attendance (special grade)

Attendance is mandatory. 

Please arrive on time.  Everyone learns better when the class is not interrupted by late arrivals.

If you miss class, you need to know that your instructor will be taking attendance, and after seven absences, your course grade will be reduced half a grade for each absence.  For example, an “A” will be reduced to “A-” if you have had eight absences during the semester, and to “B+” if you have had nine absences.

Homework (10%)

This course has two parts to it - class work and home work.  It is obvious that the work you do each evening is required to prepare you to perform well in class the next day.  Just as it is impossible to learn Russian by not attending class, it is impossible to learn the language without doing the homework assignments.

Homework will be graded as “pass” (a check mark), “not pass” (a minus), or “plus” (a plus mark).  Pass means your work is acceptable.  Minus means it is unacceptable.  And a plus, a rare grade, means you have written a perfect assignment. 

Corrections will be written on your assignments.  It is recommended you review your returned homework assignments when you prepare for unit tests and the final exam.  Keep your written assignments organized and in a safe place.

You may turn in written homework any day before it is due.  To receive full credit, you must turn in written homework by the day it is due.  If you turn your assignment in a day late, you will receive half credit.  If you turn it in any time later until the unit exam, you will receive one-quarter credit.

Your semester goal is to turn in all written homework assignments on time and receive a “check” on each returned assignment. 

Class participation (10%)

You will be graded weekly for your class participation.   Here is the grading scale:

Full points (10) - Always prepared and raises hand when volunteers are asked for.  Understands the previous nights’ assignments and can do any activities based on these assignments.

7 points - Usually prepared.  Often but not always volunteers.

4 points - Somewhat prepared.  Sometimes volunteers.

0 points - Not prepared.  Silent in class.

Quizzes (10%)

Each unit will have announced and, possibly, unannounced written quizzes.  Each will receive a percentage grade and at the end of the semester all these grades will be averaged.

One to two days before each unit test, there will be a vocabulary quiz based on the word list at the end of the unit.  (See the assignment sheet for each unit.)  You will be given an English word and you will write its Russian equivalent.  Usually the test will include twenty words and phrases from the end-of-unit list.  These vocabulary quizzes are worth two normal quizzes. 

Unit tests (40%)

Russian 1A covers units 1-5 in Golosa, Book 1, 4th edition.  You will take an oral and a written test for units 1-4.  Unit 5 will not have a separate test, but it will be represented heavily in the final exam. 

Final exam (30%)

The final exam for Russian 1A will be comprehensive, covering material from units 1-5.  On the scheduled day of the final, students will take the written final (20%).  During the week leading up the final exam, students will individually schedule a time to take the oral final exam (10%)

Extra credit

There is no planned extra credit.  However, I am willing to consider proposals that will be available to the entire class.  An example of an extra credit project would be attending a performance of a Russian symphony orchestra, a Russian ballet, a Russian folk dance group, or a Russian poet and returning with a signed program. 

Tutors

Tutors are available free of charge to help you with your homework, practice oral work, and prepare for tests.  You can meet with them in the Foreign Languages Tutoring Center (MRP 2032).  A schedule of their hours will be distributed at the end of Week 1. 

Disabilities

If you have a physical or learning disability that may interfere with your preparation or performance in this course, see your instructor.

Office hours

My office hours are printed at the top of this syllabus, and I invite you to make use of them.  Some students stop by to ask questions about the course.  Others like to talk about life in Russia.  I encourage you to use my office hours!