General Course

This general Russian course is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to gain or enhance their general knowledge of the Russian language, practising all the basic skills simultaneously. It naturally combines grammar, vocabulary, communication and cultural content.

A1 Level (100 hours)

1.1 Grammar content

Alphabet and writing. Gender and number of nouns and adjectives. Verb conjugations in the Present Tense. Some exceptions (жить, писать, смотреть, etc.). Personal and possessive pronouns in Nominative. Adjectives in Nominative. Inanimate nouns, adjectives and possessive pronouns in Accusative (singular and plural). The Prepositional case of nouns, adjectives, personal and possessive pronouns (singular). Conjugation of reflexive verbs. Numbers. Question formation. Past tense.

1.2 Vocabulary content

Family. Personal information (name, profession, workplace, nationality, language, hobby, address, phone number). Countries and nationalities. Seasons, months, days of the week. Weather. Professions.

1.3 Communication content

• How can I provide personal information about me and other people;
• How can I describe some events in the past;
• How can I give and receive a phone number and an address;
• How can I describe my family;
• How can I describe the weather;
• How can I talk about my hobbies.

1.4 Cultural content

• Russian names, surnames and patronymics;
• Russian addresses.

A2 Level (100 hours)

2.1 Grammar content

Accusative case of animate nouns, adjectives, personal and possessive pronouns (singular and plural). Genitive case of nouns, adjectives, personal and possessive pronouns (singular and plural). Dative case of nouns, adjectives, personal and possessive pronouns (singular and plural). Instrumental case of nouns, adjectives, personal and possessive pronouns (singular and plural). Prepositions with cases (с, без, за, перед, вокруг, у, к, около, etc.). Fundamentals of the Perfective and Imperfective verb forms. Future Tense. Verbs of position, prepositions and adverbs of position. Time and date. Grades of comparison of adjectives.

2.2 Vocabulary content

House (description, things at home, gadgets, position). Food (food names, restaurant, supermarket). Clothes (types of clothes, buying clothes, describing clothes). Regular actions. Time and date. Health and illness. Physical description. Character.

2.3 Communication content

• How can I describe my flat;
• How can I order food in a restaurant;
• How can I buy food in a supermarket;
• How can I describe my daily routine;
• How can I buy food;
• How can I speak about date and time;
• How can I describe my health;
• How can I describe a person.

2.4 Cultural content

• Russian food, Russian traditional dishes;
• Cafes and restaurants in Moscow;
• Russian flats.

Levels A1 and A2. Class materials used:

• Bitekhtina N., Grouchevskaia G.,Sheina I. A Living Russian Grammar. Beginner, Intermediate. CREF, 2007;
• Штельтер О. В этой маленькой корзинке…Игры на уроках русского языка. Выпуск 1 и 2. – СПб.: Златоуст, 2004;
• Караванова Н.Б. Говорите правильно! – М.: Русский язык. Курсы, 2004;
• Разноцветные падежи: – М.: Русский язык. Курсы, 2007;
• Шкатулка. Пособие по чтению для иностранцев, начинающих изучать русский язык.- М.: Русский язык: Курсы, 2005;
• Пехливанова К.И. Грамматика русского языка в иллюстрациях. – М.: Рус. яз., 2005;
• Films and cartoons («Ералаш», «Ну, погоди»);
• Blog materials: www.learnrussianweb.com;
• Other materials from the Internet.

B1 level (150 hours)

3.1 Grammar content

Russian case system with prepositions. Verbs of motion without prefix. Verbs of motion with prefix. Indefinite pronouns (-то, – нибудь, кое-). Demonstrative pronouns (этот, эта, это, эти, тот, та, то, те). Reflexive pronouns (свой, своя, свое, свои). Negative pronouns and negative phrases. Must and need. Perfective and Imperfective verb forms. Indirect question. Subjunctive mode. Imperative.

3.2 Vocabulary content

City (public transport, airport, city description, sites, city names, culture). Describing things (form, colour, material). Tourism and trips (countries and nationalities, trips, hotel). Health and doctors (illnesses, doctors, medicines). Shops and shopping (shops and trade centers, supermarkets, clothes, food, post). Office (things in the office, working in an office). Nature and geography (natural disasters, some geographical categories). Animals and insects.

3.3 Communication content

• How can I ask the way;
• How can I buy a metro ticket;
• How can I buy a plane ticket;
• How can I speak on the phone;
• How can I book a room in a hotel;
• How can I buy tickets to the theatre, cinema and circus;
• How can I describe objects;
• How can I describe a trip;
• How can I speak with a doctor;
• How can I buy medicines;
• How can I send a letter or a parcel;
• How can I write an email to a friend;
• How can I describe natural phenomena.

3.4 Cultural content

• Supermarkets, malls, shops and markets in Russia;
• Public transport system;
• Nature and animals in Russia.

B2 Level (150 hours)

4.1 Grammar content

Active and passive participles. Gerunds. Passive voice. Short adjectives. Number declination. Possessive adjectives, their types. Collective numbers. Оба and обе. Perfective and Imperfective verb forms: Past tense, infinitive, imperative. Time, intent, cause and consequence, condition, concession and comparison expressions. Много, многие, несколько, некоторые. Fundamentals of punctuation.

4.2 Vocabulary content

Russian education system (school and university, subjects, stationery). Working in Russia (professions, CV, work interview). Doing up a flat (house description, repairs, problems at home). Clothes and footwear (clothes, footwear and accessories). Food (recipes, cooking). Trips (tourist agency, routes, hotel). Person (character and physical description, emotions). Bank. Entertainment (theatre, music, cinema). Flowers and plants. Computers.

4.2 Communication content

• How can I write a CV;
• How can I handle a job interview;
• How can I describe the school and university system in Russia and in my country;
• How can I describe technical problems at home or in a hotel and ask for help;
• How can I describe my favorite food and understand and write recipes;
• How can I open an account;
• How can I choose a tour in a tourist agency;
• How can I give a detailed description of a person;
• How can I describe computer problems and ask for help.

4.3 Cultural content

• Working in Russia;
• Education system;
• Russian food and dishes;
• Trips and routes in Russia.

Levels B1 and B2. Class materials used:

• Грушевская, Л.Ю., Битехтина, Н.Б. Живая грамматика русского языка. Часть II. Средний этап. – М..: КРЕФ-Р, 2006;
• Старовойтова, И.А. Русская лексика в заданиях и кроссвордах. В 6 вып. – СПб: Златоуст, 2007-2009;
• Богомолов, А.Н., Петанова А.Ю. Приходите!..Приезжайте!..Прилетайте!.. – СПб: Златоуст, 2008;
• Пехливанова, К.И. Грамматика русского языка в иллюстрациях. – М.: Рус. яз., 2005;
• Курлова И.В. Приключения иностранцев в России. – М.: Русский язык. Курсы, 2007;
• Films and cartoons («Ералаш», «Иван Васильевич меняет профессию», «Кавказская пленница», «Приключения капитана Врунгеля», «Остров сокровищ»);
• Texts and images from the Internet;
• Blog materials: www.learnrussianweb.com.

C1 Level (100 hours)

5.1 Grammar content

Time, condition, cause, concession expressions (detailed). Negative constructions (нечего, некуда…). Impersonal sentences. Infinitive constructions. Use of зато, а то, на. Use of либо, или…или, etc. Relative subordinates. Particles. Word order. Suffixation. Prefixation. Adjective formation. Verbs with prefixes and its use and how to use them”. Verbs with prepositions.

5.2 Vocabulary content

Broadening of general vocabulary. Phraseology. Slang. Everyday Russian. Russian literature and history elements. Business Russian foundations. Formal letters.

5.3 Communication content

• How can I describe a person, an object or a situation using some slang words and expressions (everyday Russian words and expressions and phraseology);
• How can I describe and analyse a specific historical or a literature phenomenon;
• How can I speak on the phone (advanced level);
• How can I describe a business situation;
• How can I write a formal letter.

5.4 Cultural content

• Russian culture elements;
• Russian life and traditions.

C2 Level (100 hours)

6.1 Grammar content

Broadening of the general grammar contents. Russian punctuation.

6.2 Vocabulary content

Broadening of general vocabulary. Professional vocabulary (politics, economy, science). Translation elements.

6.3 Communication content

• How can I describe and compare a political or an economic situation;
• How can I give my opinion about different events and phenomena;
• How can I organize a debate and participate in it.

6.4 Cultural content

• Russian history, culture and literature elements;
• Russian political and economic system;
• Life in Russia.

Levels C1 and C2. Class materials used:

• Грушевская, Л.Ю., Битехтина Н.Б. Живая грамматика русского языка. Часть III. Продвинутый этап. – М.: КРЕФ-Р, 2006;
• Старовойтова, И.А. Русская лексика в заданиях и кроссвордах. В 6 вып. – СПб: Златоуст, 2007-2009;
• Ласкарева, Е.Р. Чистая грамматика. – СПб.: Златоуст, 2006;
• Жукова Н.Н. Десять рассказов. Книга для чтения. – М.: Русский язык: Курсы, 2006;
• Ландсман, Н. Родимкина А. Россия в зеркале современной прозы. – СПб: Златоуст, 2001;
• Films («Зеркало», «Звезда пленительного счастья», «Белое солнце пустыни, etc.);
• Texts and images from the Internet;
• Blog materials: www.learnrussianweb.com.