Culture in the Russian Language Classroom: What to Teach? Startalk, August 10, 2012 Jason Merrill, Michigan State University / Middlebury College

Схема презентации Context / Content-based instruction Опрос студентов, учившихся в Русской школе Примеры из практики преподавателей Русской школы Вопросы / обсуждение

Content-Based Instruction Aim: “the ability to communicate with native speakers in real-life situations” by giving them not only the language but also the other cultural knowledge needed for successful communication. Various types of courses Cultural knowledge a stated goal of ACTFL, MLA, Common European Framework But what content should we teach?

Мой опрос 67 вопросов 169 студентов ответили 110 женщин, 56 мужчин Средний возраст – 29 лет Средний учил русский 6.5 семестров 76% работали или учились в России Не спрашивал, откуда они

Первый вопрос: Почему вы начали изучать русский язык?

All Respondents: Why did you start taking Russian? Please rank your top three reasons (n = 158) Reason% ranked first% ranked in top three Other I wanted to use Russian in my future Employment I wanted to read Russian authors in the original I was interested in Russian history9.431 It sounded exotic It sounded fun I wanted to expand my understanding of world6.931 I wanted to visit Russia I wanted to work in Russia I have Russian friends The language I wanted to take was full / not offered / conflicted with other courses I wanted to become a teacher of Russian history, culture, politics, or economy 1.85 I wanted to become a teacher of Russian I am of Russian heritage No particular reason0.66.3

Women: Why did you start taking Russian? Please rank your top three reasons (n = 104) Reason% ranked first% ranked in top three Other I wanted to use Russian in Employment I wanted to read Russian authors in the original It sounded exotic8.624 I was interested in Russian history I wanted to expand my understanding of world It sounded fun I wanted to visit Russia4.825 I have Russian friends The language I wanted to take was full / not offered / conflicted with other courses I am of Russian heritage I wanted to become a teacher of Russian history, culture, politics, or economy I wanted to work in Russia No particular reason I wanted to become a teacher of Russian0.94.8

Men: Why did you start taking Russian? Please rank your top three reasons (n = 52) Reason% ranked first% ranked in top three I wanted to use Russian in Employment I was interested in Russian history I wanted to work in Russia It sounded exotic Other9.6 I wanted to read Russian authors in the original It sounded fun I wanted to visit Russia7.625 I wanted to expand my understanding of world5.725 The language I wanted to take was full / not offered / conflicted with other courses I wanted to become a teacher of Russian history, culture, politics, or economy I wanted to become a teacher of Russian I have Russian friends No particular reason07.6 I am of Russian heritage05.7

Respondents 25 and under: Why did you start taking Russian? Please rank your top three reasons (n = 56) Reason% ranked first% ranked in top three I wanted to use Russian in Employment I wanted to read Russian authors in the original It sounded fun Other I wanted to expand my understanding of world I was interested in Russian history It sounded exotic I wanted to become a teacher of Russian history, culture, politics, or economy I wanted to visit Russia3.525 I have Russian friends3.5 I wanted to work in Russia No particular reason I am of Russian heritage I wanted to become a teacher of Russian The language I wanted to take was full / not offered / conflicted with other courses 01.7

В какой области вы хотели работать, когда вы начали изучать русский?

All Respondents (who planned on using Russian in employment): What area did you HOPE to work in when you started taking Russian? (n = 109) Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Government service (abroad – diplomatic work) Education Government service (domestic organizations such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, FBI or CIA) Other Non-government organizations (NGOs) Business Humanitarian Organizations Journalism Military05.5 Aerospace00

Women (who planned on using Russian in employment): What area did you HOPE to work in when you started taking Russian? (n = 67) Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Government service (abroad – diplomatic work) Education Government service (domestic organizations such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, FBI or CIA) Non-government organizations (NGOs) Other Humanitarian Organizations Business Journalism013.4 Military02.9 Aerospace00

Men (who planned on using Russian in employment): What area did you HOPE to work in when you started taking Russian? (n = 41) Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Government service (abroad – diplomatic work) Education Government service (domestic organizations such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, FBI or CIA) Business1739 Journalism Other7.3 Non-government organizations (NGOs) Humanitarian Organizations Military09.7 Aerospace00

Respondents 25 and under (who planned on using Russian in employment): What area did you HOPE to work in when you started taking Russian? (n = 40) Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Government service (abroad – diplomatic work) Education Government service (domestic organizations such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, FBI or CIA) 1550 Other Non-government organizations (NGOs)552.5 Business512.5 Humanitarian Organizations022.5 Journalism012.5 Military07.5 Aerospace00

Как вы употребляете русский язык в свободное время?

All respondents who use Russian in their free time: How do you use you Russian in your free time? Choose all that apply (n = 111) Activity% that engage in the activity I watch Russian films72.9 I listen to Russian music67.5 I read Russian web sites66.6 I follow Russian news64.8 I speak Russian with friends64.8 I read Russian literature for pleasure45 I watch Youtube videos44.1 I correspond with Russian friends42.3 I Skype with Russian friends21.6 I read Russian non-fiction (other than news) for pleasure15.3 I participate in Russophone internet-based communities, including social media or gaming communities 9 Other9 I speak Russian with family members8.1

All respondents who use Russian in social media sites: on which sites do you use Russian? List all that apply (n = 60) Site% that use Russian on that site Facebook: V kontakte: Twitter: Odnoklassniki: Tumblr: Live Journal: Mir tesen: Znakomstva:

Other ways students use Russian in their free time (n = 156) Do you currently use Russian…% who responded positively …in your community?33.9 …with friends? with relatives or significant others?16.6

«Культурное содержание»: что преподается в вашем университете?

All Respondents: What types of content were taught at your home institution? Rank by time devoted to each (n = 101) Content Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Prose Literature Information about Everyday Life Poetry History Film Popular Culture Politics News Media Contemporary Music Other Art0.9 Folk Music03.9 Folklore03.9 Classical Music02.9 Philosophy01.9

А какое культурное содержание нужно преподавать?

All Respondents: What types of content SHOULD be taught in Russian language classes? Rank by time devoted to each (n = 132) Content Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Information about Everyday Life Prose Literature History Popular Culture Poetry624.2 News Media Film Politics3.728 Other35.3 Folk Music Classical Music Folklore Contemporary Music03 Philosophy01.5 Art00

Women: What types of content SHOULD be taught in Russian language classes? Rank by time devoted to each (n = 87) Content Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Information about Everyday Life Prose Literature History Popular Culture Politics Poetry News Media Film Other Folk Music Classical Music Folklore Contemporary Music04.5 Philosophy01.1 Art00

Men: What types of content SHOULD be taught in Russian language classes? Rank by time devoted to each (n = 46) Content Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Information about Everyday Life Prose Literature History Popular Culture Poetry News Media Film Other Politics Classical Music02.1 Folklore02.1 Folk Music02.1 Philosophy02.1 Contemporary Music00 Art00

Respondents 25 and under: What types of content SHOULD be taught in Russian language classes? Rank by time devoted to each (n = 47) Content Area% ranked first% ranked in top three Information about Everyday Life History Prose Literature Popular Culture6.334 News Media Poetry Film Politics Other Contemporary Music02.1 Folklore02.1 Philosophy02.1 Art00 Classical Music00 Folk Music00

Итоги опроса

Что говорят преподаватели? Все 7 ведущие преподаватели в нашей 8-недельной программе ответили на вопрос: Помимо языка, какое культурное содержание вы преподаете? Т.е. что ваши студенты знают о России и о русских в конце программы, чего не знали в начале? Как вы это преподаете? Какой у вас подход к этому вопросу? Как культура связана с языком, и вообще и в плане преподавания языка.

1 Курс Level 1. Introductory Russian For students with very little or no previous classroom instruction in Russian. Starting from scratch, with a weekend “survival Russian” course before taking the language pledge, students learn the alphabet and learn to read and understand spoken Russian, learn to write and speak Russian in basic and predictable contexts (ordering a meal in a restaurant, asking directions on the street). Students master the basic grammatical structures of the language and acquire a beginning vocabulary, practiced in weekly compositions. Students completing this course typically have novice high or intermediate low language skills.

2 Курс Level 2. Advanced Introductory Russian For students with approximately 100 hours of prior formal classroom instruction in Russian; students placing into this course have usually had one year of college Russian (at three hours per week). Students typically complete this course with intermediate low to intermediate-mid language skills.

3 курс Level Three. Beginning Intermediate Russian For students with approximately 150 hours of prior formal classroom instruction in Russian. In this class, students review the basic grammatical and syntactical structures of the Russian language and improve their mastery of the foundation of the language while acquiring an active vocabulary of approximately 1,500 words. Students typically complete this course with intermediate-mid language skills.

4 Курс Level 4. Enhanced Intermediate Russian For students with approximately 200 hours of prior formal classroom instruction in Russian. In this class students review the basic grammatical and syntactical structures of the Russian language and improve their mastery of this foundation of the language while acquiring an active vocabulary of approximately 1,700 words. Students typically complete this course with intermediate-mid to intermediate high language skills.

5 курс Level 5. Advanced Intermediate Russian For students with 300 hours of prior formal classroom instruction in Russian. In this class students review the basic grammatical and syntactical structures of the Russian language and focus on more challenging structures of the language such as participles, comparative forms, and verbs of motion. At the end of the summer most students have an active vocabulary approaching 2,000 words. Readings for the class include poetry, short stories, and longer prose works, as well as newspaper articles. Significant time is devoted to watching television news reports and reading news items. Students typically complete this course with intermediate-mid to intermediate high language skills.

6 Курс Level 6. Advanced Russian I For students with at least 350 hours of prior formal instruction in Russian, or fewer hours of formal instruction but a semester or more in Russia. Students in this class already have a firm grasp of advanced grammar topics in Russian, such as participles, verbal adverbs, quantitative expressions (measurements and other numeric expressions), and verbs of motion. Students work hard on expanding their vocabulary, building up semantic fields on everyday and political/ societal topics (active vocabulary of 2,250 words). Students watch Russian films, read short stories, poetry, and newspaper articles, complete listening and writing assignments on journalistic topics, and complete oral assignments including the preparation and delivery of short presentations. Students typically complete this course with intermediate high to advanced low language skills.

7 Курс Level 7. Advanced Russian II For students with at least 400 hours of prior formal instruction in Russian, or fewer hours of formal instruction but a semester or more in Russia. In this class, students tackle the more complicated grammatical and syntactical structures of the Russian language and significantly increase their vocabulary by studying Russian root-based semantic groups, idioms, and synonyms. The course focuses a good deal of attention on the development of students’ lexical competence (active vocabulary of 2,500 words) by acquainting them with prototypical models of the word formation and derivation processes of contemporary standard Russian. Much of the class’s work is devoted to the detailed analysis of a few famous Russian films, including Burnt by the Sun, The Stroll, The Sniper (Kukusha), Brother-2, Piter-FM, and The Diamond Hand, as well as the reading of contemporary poems, short stories, and excerpts of longer prose works. Students give short presentations on the writers whose works they read. Students typically complete this course with advanced low to advanced mid language skills.