Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Здороваемся «Здравствуйте, привет, салют!» (UNIT 2: BONUS LANGUAGE LAB! Week 4, Day 2

Здравствуйте, студенты! Welcome, Elementary Russian students!



This is a little poem, стишки, about saying hello. What words do you recognize?

Здороваемся «Здравствуйте, привет, салют!» – 
Говорим мы там и тут.
Взрослым «здравствуйте» мы скажем,
Уважение окажем.
«Здравствуй!» – то есть будь здоров,
С теми, с кем на «ты» готов -
С одноклассником, подругой
Поприветствуем друг друга.
«С добрым утром!» - скажем всем –
Взрослым, маленьким совсем.
«Добрый день» и «добрый вечер»
Также скажем мы при встрече,
А «салют» - почти «привет» -
Всем приятелям в ответ…

As the poem points out, you can say Добрый день, доброе утро, добрый вечер (good day, good morning, good evening) to anyone, formal or informal, teachers, bosses, kids... They're all purpose ways to greet! Notice the forms of добрый... they reflect the nouns they modify. 

Check out our courses for next semester!



Today you'll take a quiz, do a little listening work at the computers, and then practice for your Oral Performance tomorrow... (You've signed up IN PAIRS, right?)

1. Take your GRAMMAR QUIZ! And have it graded by someone... 
2. Берите хэндаут! Get your handout from the center table! Saddle up to a computer! Listen to these exercises. The first is about intonation in questions. The second wants you to transcribe some numbers:

  • Intonation (listening to questions and question words) 

  • Numbers (There are two exercises you need to do on the worksheet, Б и В. These start at 1:50 on the recording; click on the link, and then move the ball on the player forward to 1:50!)
3. At the tables: Practice reading the dialogues for tomorrow's oral exam. You'll find the dialogues on the handout. This dialogue performance is only PART of the exam! Make sure you're ready! 

Here's the full assignment for the oral:
***
Your Oral Performance (Thursday)
(1)   I’ll ask you three or four questions from the first composition (obverse, #1). MAKE SURE THIS IS MEMORIZED!
Do you have a dictionary? Yes, I have one. What kind is it? It’s a nice new Russian one!
У вас есть словарь? Да, есть. Какой? Он новый, хороший, русский. (Мой словарь новый, хороший, русский.).

(2)   Then, you’ll give me a little tour of your wardrobe. Name me four items, minimum!
Это моя новая зелёная рубашка! 
А это мои старые джинсы.


(3)   You and your partner will read one dialogue from this unit. You may bring the text with you! You don’t need to memorize it, but it should be REHEARSED and expressive and without phonological errors.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Elementary Russian: Thursday, October 3. Independent work!

Окей... I'm in Finland, giving a paper on contemporary Russian reaction to the film, Gone with the Wind (1939). Yeah, weird, right? Russians reinterpret the film so that it's a film about... Russia! OK howdie!

So.... I'm not in the States. In place of class, in your pjs if you desire... do these три вещи! Three things I want you to learn on your own. 

1) I want to reinforce pluralization rules AND the spelling rules. 
2) Listen to one dialogue and answer the questions. 
3) Introduce the concept of "having" in Russian. I've made a PowerPoint Presentation (WHEEE!). You'll need to produce a few sentences indicating possession. 


First, you'll need THIS WORKSHEET. Print it up. Include it in your portfolio for Unit 2. 

***
1) Recall that SPELLING RULES are just that: They don't pertain to pronunciation, just correct spelling. (I say: Orthography not phonetics!) There are two spelling rules (out of, like, 3? in all of Russian!) that you'll need this unit: Both rules pertain to pluralization and modifier formation. 

Rule 1: The SEVEN LETTER RULE:

After КГХШЩЖЧ (the hushers and the velars), never write –ы always writer -и

Thus, книга-->книги when you otherwise might expect книгы.  

Rule 2: The FIVE LETTER RULE:

After ШЩЧЖЦ (the hushers and the traitor), never write an unaccented -o always writer -e

Thus хорОший-->хорОшее (neuter) when you might expect хорошое. BUT: большОе (it's OK here, because the O is under stress.)

Now, go do Drill 1 on the worksheet. When you're finished, listen to this comparison of singular and plural noun phrases. First listen to the plural (which is written out). Then click on the singular link to hear the same phrase, only now singular.  They're really easy! You'll learn to hear the difference between plural and singular. 

2. Listen to dialogue 3, reading along with the speaker. (The dialogue is printed on the worksheet.) On the worksheet, TRANSLATE dialogue 3 into English!

3. Ok, what does one do to a PowerPoint?... Witness? Witness this PowerPutin Presentation!  It's pretty good. У меня есть идея! I have an idea! Now, do the last exercise on your worksheet: Give me AT LEAST ten sentences. Ask if I have some item (a telephone!), and then you choose: Yes, I have one. No, I don't. 

Wheee!