Elementary Russian: Сегодня в лингафонном кабинете... Language Lab, Elementary Russian (Урок 4, неделя 3)

ПОЙДЁМ В КИНО!

ПРИВЕТ!

 Вы любите индейку? 

The above stamp is from Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus. Notice the word for "turkey" in Azeri... "hindtougu"... Like "hindu" or "India"... related to the Russian word индейка, "Indian bird." 

Now... к делу... 

First things first, grab a copy of the grammar quiz.

Now, grab a copy of your lab from us.

1) Do the listening exercises. You'll find them on the page that starts off "Repeat the sentences..." 

(ಡ_ಡ)☞ Listen here for the first exercise. 

The second exercise reviews the phonological phenomenon of vowel reduction... How are O, A, E pronounced under stress (under the accent mark) and unstressed. Remember the rule: unstressed 

Unstressed O --> /a/

Unstressed E --> /и/

Otherwise, vowels are pretty much pronounced as written.
(ಡ_ಡ)☞ Listen to the words pronounced here. 

2) Review the difference between тоже и также below and do the written task. Have it checked by the tutors. 

Note: Russian has two words that mean "also" and they cause language learners no end of problems... In fact, one of the tests for language competency is to correctly choose тоже и также. 

They are NOT interchangeable, though you can almost always say также instead of тоже, while saying тоже when you SHOULD say также is a mistake. 

Anyway, тоже is exclusively used when different subjects share the same predicate. Также is used inclusively when introducing new information regarding the same subject

Here's some examples:

• Вы говорите по-русски? Я тоже говорю по-русски! 
• Do you speak Russian? I do, too. different subjects You speak Russian, I do too. Use тоже!
• Я говорю по-русски. Я также говорю по-французски! 
• I speak Russian. I also speak French. You've introduced new information about me -- it's more than confirmation, it's a new item. Use также!

A key phrase in Russian is я тоже так думаю/I think so too! It confirms that you and your interlocutor see the world in the same way. You're confirming old information! You think this way, and so do I! Здорово!

Maybe the easiest way to think about it: тоже means "too" and также means "additionally." Do you speak Russian? Me, too! I speak Russian, and additionally I speak French. 

Второй год русского языка... Сегодня в лингафонном кабинете... Урок 4 (Week 3, Unit 4)

ПОЙДЁМ В КИНО!

Не волнуйтесь!

  

Now, the lab...

1) DO THE GRAMMAR QUIZ!!!

2) Давайте послушаем! Do the listening exercise on the handout. The recording is 6 minutes long. Don't worry, you don't have to understand every single word. There are only four questions. Read the questions first then listen to the conversation once to get the answers/ Then listen to it again to figure out the order of the pictures. Two of the pictures "did not happen". Questions: 4. План is a borrowing from English! 1. Происходить means "to take place" (it's a verb of motion!). Answer the questions, and then number the pictures according to their order in the narrative (20 min)

3) Study the verb лететь... а perfectly regular 2nd conjugation verb like говорить. Notice the mutation in the я form, т--»ч. No biggie. Не волнуйтесь!

And the verbs of coming and going! Remember the mnemonic... в - из (visa)! на - с (us or NASA)! к - от (кот=cat)!

CПАСИБО ЗА РАБОТУ!

Elementary Russian: Сегодня в лингафонном кабинете... Language Lab (Урок 4, неделя 2)

СЕГОДНЯ (TODAY!) SPREES invites YOU!=

ПРИХОДИТЕ!

Студенты! It's so EASY hanging out.

Общаться ... to hang out, to chat... be social. The word comes from общ-, the idea is "things around you." общество, общаться, община, общность... There's a really famous Russian literary figure, Oblomov (Обломов)... his name is suggestive of what he does, which is "break stuff around him." 

Anyway, the kids are saying: "Hanging out is easy просто." Sure.

tl;dr Plan for today: do listening, work the grammar.

0) Check out this week's Muzyka Monday... more on Vysotsky. then...

1) Review this list for the vocab quiz and then TAKE THE QUIZ!

via GIPHY

2) Grab a handout (this handout). Давайте послушаем! Let's listen... Наденьте наушники! Put on your headphones and get ready! (You'll write the responses on the obverse of your worksheet...)

You're about to listen to an address by the декан (dean) at Казанский государственный университет (Kazan State University). (Kazan is an ancient city, the capital of Tatarstan in SW Russia, on the Volga...) The assistant dean’s remarks can be broken up into a number of topic areas. Before you listen to the talk, look through the topics below (1-7).

What order do you think these seven topics will occur? It's pretty obvious. Economists call it "priming." We can largely anticipate what someone is about to say, because... Communication! 

 1.  composition of the student body

 2.  foreign students

 3.  foreign students from North America

 4.  good-luck wishes

 5.  opening welcome

 6.  structure of the university

 7.  things that make this school different from others

Listen to the talk. It's about 5 minutes. On the back of your handout, jot down the order in which the seven topics were actually discussed. (Just write down the numbers of the topics from above in the order they appeared.)

Listen to the talk again with these questions in mind. You might not know the word for thousand, тысяча or тысяч. Also, Tatar, татарский язык, is an Altaic (Turkic) language.

1.  How many departments does the university have?

2.  How big is the library?

3.  Name five things that students can major in.

4.  Name at least one language department that was mentioned.

5.  How many students are there?

6.  What department hosts most of the students from the United States and Canada?

Listen to the talk. 

Finally... The lecturer mentions the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose political entity made up of many of the republics of the former Soviet Union.

How many of these states can you list from the talk? You can check your answers here.

3) Now, we'll talk about the three verbs that all mean "to study" in Russian. You gotta keep 'em straight. 

Take a second and review the forms of заниматься, учиться, изучать...

The verbs заниматься and изучать are both "-ай-" class, 1st conjugations verbs, like знать and понимать. 

Remember the rules about reflexives for заниматься:

• + -ся after consonants (ignore ь soft signs!)
• -сь after vowels

Thus занимаюсь but занимаешься.  

Учиться is a perfectly regular second conjugation very like говорить. Notice the -и- in the ending... that's the mark of all second-conjugation verbs. 

It, too, has a reflexive particle: 

• -ся after consonants (учился) 
• -сь after vowels (училась).

Note which verbs MUST have a direct object and which CANNOT: 

• Изучать must have a direct object (something in the accusative case). You need to study SOMETHING: Я изучаю химию. (Subject-verb-object)
• But заниматься and учиться cannot have a direct object (no accusative object) -- they're reflexive, so the -ся "sucks up" the transitivity. You do them in places ("I study in the library! I'm a student at Stetson! Я занимаюсь в библиотеке! Я учусь в Стетсонском университете!")... but you cannot (for now at least) do them to things.

That's COOL!
Remember the magic words: Так интересно!

Второй год. Second-Year Russian: Урок 4, Гостиница. (Unit 4, Week 2)

СЕГОДНЯ (TODAY!) SPREES invites ТЕБЯ!

ПРИХОДИТЕ! EXTRA CREDIT!

(It's great to be a student, just this studying interferes!)

1) Подготовьтесь к квизу по словам  ЗДЕСЬ.  (=prepare for the quiz that will take place on Nov 30) И НАПИШИТЕ КВИЗ (take the quiz!)

2) За компьютером. Наденьте наушники и.... подготовьтесь! =Put on your headphones and... GET READY! (See the imperative there? ПОДГОТОВЬТЕСЬ! НАДЕНЬТЕ! Get ready! Put on! Second conjugation, positive, perfective, stem-stressed verbs end in -ь!)... 

...Sorry. Distracted. Download or grab this handout. Note it's a pdf file, Print it out and write on it or add a word document to it and type your answers on that document. Do the listening exercise on the хэндаут. Вот вам сcылка. (It's supposed to sound like airport announcements... in my experience, it does sound like airport announcements but in small local provincial airports... There you go!)

Answer the multiple-choice questions on the sheet. If you want to do this with me or our wonderful tutors, you know where to find us #discord. Some useful vocab for this exercise... Вам помогут, наверное, эти слова...

• Посадка--boarding
• Адлер--название города в районе Сочи. 
• Рейс--Flight
• Вас про́сит!--They're asking for you!
• Зал прибытия--like... arrivals...
• Тамо́женное отделе́ние--Customs
• Регистра́ция--угадайте! (=you guess...:)

3) Работа над грамматикой! Take a look at this guide to "time when" phrases... 

Я родился в тысяча девятьсот семьдесят седьмом году!  (See?! в + the PREPOSITIONAL!)

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....   

Второй год. Second-Year Russian: Урок 4 Неделя 1. Родительный падеж.

А теперь... Your material for next week's VOCABULARY QUIZ! Work with it FIRST THING. It'll help you with the dialogues (10 минут минимум)

Ну, и наконец-то... Print out or download or grab this handout.
Давайте послушаем! Разговор 1. Прослушайте разговор между руководителем и администратором. Ответьте--да или нет! Listen to the conversation between the American and the Russian hotel manager. On your handout, mark да или нет (true of false). Получать means "to receive," забронировать "to reserve"... and на пять дней means "for five days." Oh, and США (СэША) means USA. 

На обороте! On the handout, review the formation of the genitive case. Remember that family members and friends are often irregular. 

But generally, the genitive plural is pretty straightforward... Вообщем, правила образования родительного падежа очень простые! S4N, N4S! (something for nothing, nothing for something)

KILL VOWEL!