Elementary Russian: Сегодня в лингафонном кабинете... Unit 4 Week 1 (Урок 4 Неделя 1)

Let's work some more!

Check out this week's Muzyka Monday!

*10 мин

Now, here's the material from Quizlet for this unit . We will have a vocabulary quiz next Wednesday. Work on this list for at least 10 minutes. You need these phrases to understand the three dialogues below!

Grab or print out your хендаут... 

*10 мин

Давайте послушаем! Let's have a listen to the three разговоры. Here are the links for the recordings: Разговор 1 Разговор 2 Разговор 3. Answer the questions in English in your handout (page 3 of the handout). Tip: read the helpful info below and then the questions. When listening to the dialogues, focus on catching the relevant words (на первом курсе=freshman, на четвёртом курсе = senior)

A few words to know... Как по-английски будет...

• In the first conversation, you need to know the acronym США, Соединенные Штаты Америки--USA USA USA! It sounds like СэШа.
• Тhe words сосед, neighbor and Простите, excuse me. 
• Don't forget in the second conversation that библиотека means library! На лекцию опаздываю  means I am late for class
• The phrase in the third conversation Я вас не по́нял means "I didn't understand you" and стажёр, a word that means "visiting student," someone doing study abroad. (It's derived from the French word, stage, stazh: Someone who comes to an institution temporarily.)

Listen to each recording no more than three times and try to answer the following questions. Jot down your answers on the worksheet.  

NO WORRIES IF YOU DID NOT CATCH SOME OF THE QUESTIONS! IT'S YOUR FIRST INTAKE OF THE NEW VOCAB. НА ПЕРВОМ КУРСЕ! НА ВТОРОМ КУРСЕ!

Remember: The goal isn't to get them all right (though that's certainly a worthwhile goal!). The goal is to get you to listen, intentionally and carefully. You only get better at something with practice.

The listening should take no more than ten minutes. 

10 мин
Find a партнёр, учитель, or тьютор and read and translate диалог 5, Почему изучают русский язык? (page 2 of the handout)

Figure out the following based on phrases you find in the dialogue: Как по-русски... 

• State that you missed something that was said. 
• Ask and answer who takes a certain subject.

Write those answers on your handout (page 2).

10 минут
Join us at the tables (metaphorically or really!) for a little grammar work that you'll find on the handout (pages 1 and 2). Not much, just some more practice with the verb учиться, to be a student, to study. 

Notice that it's a second-conjugation verb, like говорить. As with almost all verbs, the consonants follow a predictable pattern. 

Sing	Pl
я ******** -у	мы ***** -ем (ём) им
ты ***** -ешь (ёшь) ишь	вы ***** -ете (ёте) ите
он ***** -ет (ёт) ит	они ***** -ут/ят

Look! 👁️ !!!!! The consonants are always the same as every verb you've learned. Sure the vowels change, but even they are predictable… 

With учиться, you add a reflexive particle, either -ся or -сь. Add the particle at the very end! After the endings! It's either -ся or -сь depending on the preceding letter. If the letter is a consonant (or soft sign), it gets -ся, if the letter is a vowel, it gets -сь: учусь but учится. 

Мастеркласс: If you don't add the reflexive particle, the verb becomes "to teach." Он учится means "he's a student, he studies," while он учит means "he teaches," передаёт знания....