RAE 201-202        University of Kentucky        Fall 2002-Spring 2003

I.  COURSE GOALS      
    Welcome back to Intermediate Russian, a two-semester course that continues your exploration of the wild, intricate, complicated, contradictory, overwhelming, rewarding, fascinating, unbelievable world that is Russia.  Intermediate Russian is designed to strengthen your proficiency in several areas to which you have already been introduced and expand your control over those topics. Here are your goals for the year:

GOAL 1:

PROFICIENCY:  By the end of the second year you should be able to accomplish these tasks while using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, and cultural sensitivity:
    
    1) Speaking    --converse about biographical information (your own and others);
             --express your opinion in more sophisticated ways;
            --manage daily interactions, i.e. planning, leisure, phone, travel, advice.

    2) Writing    --write longer (1-2 pages) letters and essays to express opinions (your own and of others) and biographical information (your own and others);
            --compose a full-length well-constructed autobiography ;
            --construct dialogues that focus on more complex daily interactions.

    3) Reading    --read materials on more complex biographical topics;
            --read short pieces of Russian literature;
            --read authentic texts related to more sophisticated daily interactions.

    4) Listening    --understand more intricate biographical data from various speakers;
            --understand more detailed opinions in monologues & conversations;
            --comprehend more sophisticated daily interactions.

    5) Culture    --recognize more cultural differences revealed in various social interactions;
            --master more skills in order to extricate yourself from difficult situations;
            --apply appropriate conventions of propriety and politeness in a more sophisticated way.

GOAL 2:

LEARNING STYLES:   Class will include a variety of activities that speak to different learning styles.  Critical to this process is the notion that the teacher/student relationship is a partnership in which we accept active personal responsibility to succeed.  You will take a learning styles assessment the first week of class.  Based on the results of that exercise you will:
            --recognize that there exist various approaches to one task;
            --determine the most appropriate strategy for a given task;
            --apply the learning styles gained in this class to your overall educational and professional pursuits.

        
II.  CONTACT INFORMATION    
    Professor Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby
    Patterson 1049
    Office Hours:  M 10-10:50, 2-2:50, W 12-12:50 and by appointment
    Office Telephone:  257-1756
    web page:  http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie/
    email:  jrouhie@uky.edu

III. TEXTS
    Chto vy skazali? (book and tapes).
    Russian Folktales, A Reader, Jason Merrill
    Xeroxes of other Russian readings, as needed

IV. ASSESSMENT
    You will be assessed on a variety of tasks in all 5 skills noted above.  Do not confuse assessment with grades.  Assessment means that you must achieve at least a baseline knowledge of the material that will be covered throughout the year.  Assessment is related to learning, to the mastery of a subject; grades are numerical measures that quantify the quality of work completed, rather than material learned (mastered).  The following rubric outlines how your work will be assessed.

1.    ASSESSMENT RUBRIC:  All assessments in each assignment are based on the following scale:

    5    Student demonstrates complete mastery of all the required criteria.
    4    Student demonstrates partial mastery of all the required criteria.
    3    Student demonstrates minimal, yet acceptable mastery of the required criteria.
    2    Student demonstrates insufficient mastery of the required criteria.
    0    Assignment not completed

2.    REQUIREMENTS:  Based on this scale, you must achieve a 3 or above in order to have written or oral assignments count toward your final point totals.  
    You MUST redo any assignment on which you received a “2” and score at least a “3” in order to receive credit for that work.  In addition, if you receive a “3” on an assignment and believe that you have mastered the material more completely, you are welcome to redo that assignment.  The last assessment you receive on a given assignment is the assessment that will be computed into your point total.  In order to take advantage of this policy you must meet the following guidelines:

    a.    Your original submission is ON TIME;
    b.    Your assignment must be COMPLETE--you have attempted every exercise assigned to you;
    c.    Revisions MUST be submitted/performed within 1 week of the due date.
Therefore, if you DO NOT do the assignment at all, you CANNOT resubmit and raise a 0 to a 3 or above.

3.    POINT TOTALS:  Point totals are computed as follows: If there
are 70 written homework assignments in the semester (with a possible 5 points for each assignment), the maximum possible point total would be 350 points.  If you earned a total of 300 points, your final grade for written homework would be 300÷350 for a total of 86%.
    To compute your final grade, the percentages for all point totals are added together and will be recorded according to the following scale:

•    ATTENDANCE (5%):  Your success and the success of the class depend on everyone’s consistent participation and enthusiasm. Persistent tardiness will not be tolerated.  Attendance is taken.   Therefore the attendance rubric is
        --2 points for each class you attend or for which you have an EXCUSED absence.
        --1 point for each class to which you are tardy.
        --0 points for each unexcused absence.

•    ORAL CLASSWORK (35%):  You receive a daily oral work assessment  
that reflects both the quantity and the quality of your speech in Russian.  That rubric is
        
    5    Student is completely prepared to answer or attempt to answer all questions and to participate using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, cultural sensitivity and correct intonation and pronunciation.
    4    Student is partially prepared and demonstrates some use of appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, cultural sensitivity, and correct intonation and pronunciation.
    3    Student demonstrates minimal preparation and cannot fully participate in activities using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, cultural sensitivity, and correct intonation and pronunciation.
    2    Student is completely unprepared, even though she tries to participate within these limitations.
    0    Student is absent.

•    WRITTEN HOMEWORK (30%):  You receive a daily assessment that
reflects both the quantity and the quality of your written Russian.  That rubric is

    5    Through predominantly correct answers the student has demonstrated complete mastery of the focal linguistic point(s) in the assigned exercises.  Linguistic points include grammar, vocabulary, spelling, syntax, etc.
    4    Student has demonstrated some mastery of the focal linguistic point(s) in the assigned exercises.
    3    Student demonstrates minimal mastery of the focal linguistic point(s) in the assigned exercises.
    2    Student demonstrates NO mastery of the focal linguistic point(s).
    0    Student does not submit the assignment.

**Submit all homework --written legibly and every other line-- at the beginning of class. Illegible work and late homework are not accepted.
    For essay assignments or group projects students will receive a specific assessment rubric that reflects the particular learning goals of that assignment.

•    QUIZZES, PROJECT (30%): You will have unit tests at the end of each lesson and a final project, the rubrics for which will be designed to reflect the     specific learning goals each lesson.  As with written and oral work, quizzes and the project will be assessed using a 5-level rubric. You will be able to revise them as well. The final project is due no later than 1 p.m. on Friday, May 9. The project will begin at about midterm, continue throughout the semester and involve a cultural topic of your choice. You will receive a separate assignment sheet in February.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS

•    CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE: Class will be conducted almost exclusively in Russian. Therefore, you are obliged to speak Russian, not English. No gum chewing, eating, drinking, sleeping, planner planning, etc. Turn off cell phones and pagers.

•    PLAGIARISM:  Pursuant to University regulations, plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be penalized accordingly.  Do not make the mistake of copying other people’s work, especially the work of Russian native speakers, and submitting it as your own.

•    SCHEDULING: The schedule is flexible in order to accommodate additional work on particularly troubling concepts.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions.

•    FOOD: Please do not eat or chew gum in class.  It is hard enough to speak Russian without things in your mouth.  You can bring drinks.

•    E-MAIL: You must have an e-mail account. Therefore, by next class period, please make sure that your e-mail account is activated and that you have the correct address. The easiest way to reach me is often via e-mail.

This class requires a great deal of work, including writing, memorization and preparation for class participation. I have high standards for my students. However, I have similar high standards for myself.
    -I will return your homework papers by the next class. I will note your assessment for the previous day’s class participation on every homework paper.
    -I will be at my office hours. If I have to cancel office hours, I will offer alternate times to ensure that I am in my office at least 3 hours a week.
    -I will make appointments with you if you cannot meet with me during office hours.
    -I will always try to answer questions in class and outside of it.
    -I will provide you with as many opportunities to speak and listen to Russian in class as to improve skills.
    -I will try to ensure that this class is student-centered, not teacher-centered.
    -I will help you if you have particular problem areas through learning styles analysis as well as in one-on-one consultation.
    -I am flexible regarding deadlines, but a majority of the class must agree to change a deadline. You should expect that once a deadline is set, all work is due by class time.
    -I will try to make this course as relevant to your goals with Russian as is possible. However, there are certain academic requirements that need to be fulfilled. That is to say, culture is an important component of any language class; so too is writing, even if all of you want to just speak better. Basically, we want to make you literate in Russian, while helping you achieve what your goals with this language.
    -I will provide you with a written diagnostic of your written and spoken Russian within the first month of class, and we will have periodic evaluations of your progress in these areas. This evaluation may result in the need to tape the class, but I will use those tapes only for diagnostic and evaluative purposes, and not for general dissemination.