Background, Language, Values and Beliefs, and Teaching

Strategies of Russian Culture

Взгляд на фон, язык, оценивает и верования, и обучение стратегий России

Chris Farley, Tiffany Lacroix, Dorothy Rock,

Andy Young

Background - Фон• Founded in 12th century• Almost twice the size of the United

States and largest country in world with 6.5 million square miles.

• 141.9 million citizens descend from more than 100 ethnic groups.

• Centralized semi-authoritarian state with carefully managed national elections.

• Fond of live performances at theatres: opera, musical, ballet, drama, etc.

• Their post-Communist system struggled (and still struggles) with concepts such as cost-effectiveness, efficiency, creativity and improvements.

• Wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber; note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources.

Background – Education SystemФон - Образование

• Boasts a 99% literacy rate for citizens age 15 and over.• Medical and education in Russia are free – university

education free by passing entrance tests.• Students study history of Russia and world history in

school. Books of western authors are mandatory reading in literature courses.

• Standard secondary school program includes studying of a foreign language for 6 years (grades 5-11) – usually English.

• Russians have highest education level in world (more than 40% of population have college degree) with respect to science, engineering, and technical specialties.

• Education system in process of undergoing dramatic transition to meet demands of economic changes.

Language - Язык• Slavonic Branch of Indo-European Language

– Closely related to Polish, Czech, and Serbo-Croation

• Spoken by about 150 million people in Russian and former republics of USSR

• Russian is a phonetic language– Pronunciation can be determined from spelling and vice-

versa

• Formed using the Cyrillic Alphabet– 33 letters (21 consonants, 10 vowels, 2 without sound –

soft sign and hard sign)– Some letters similar to Latin Alphabet– Consist of 5 vowel sounds, no differentiation between long

and short vowel sounds

Language Difficulties языковые трудности

• Uses a punctuation system said to be one of the most difficult to learn

• Russian consists of 5 vowel sounds, with no differentation between short and long vowels. English has 12 vowel sounds (5 long, 7 short), plus 8 dipthongs.

• Grammar systems show significant variations – English has a fairly fixed word order and meaning changes by

addition of words; Russian conveys meaning largely through changes in the composition of words and word order is very fluid

• Russian has no articles. This causes significant problems because the whole concept of article use is alien to Russian learners of English, and the English article system itself is extremely complex.

Russian Values and Beliefs Ценности и верования

• Culture is non-individualistic – power of individual much less than in West.

• Prefer order and consistency over change.

• Deeply rooted belief that all citizens are equal.

• Family life is the highest priority and dependent upon all its members.

• People’s business is everyone else’s; very few secrets.

Russian vs. American Values and BeliefsРусский язык против американских Ценностей и

Верований

Russians Americans

Going to extremes Moderation in everything

Open-heartedness Being Reserved

Generosity, hospitalityBeing practical, saving money

Complaining about problems Being always OK

"Being" orientation "Action" orientation

Leisure orientation Work orientation

Problem making Problem solving

Critical/ironical attitude to one's country Patriotism

"Creative attitude to law", not always followed Law obedience

Collectivism Individualism

Teaching Ideas or StrategiesОбучение Стратегий

• In Russia, hand shaking is a very important custom. This bean game could be incorporated into a math lesson: Bean Activity

• Theatre is a large component of Russian society. Include Reader’s Theatre into classroom instruction: Reader’s Theatre Example

• Small group activities• Make classroom activities relevant to students’ lives and

other classes • Use abundant visual aids to reinforce written and

spoken words • Create a supportive environment with a

classroom that honors students’ culture• Encourage peer tutoring to allow students to

interact and share tips with one another• Maintain consistent daily schedule

Resources For Teachers Ресурсы для Преподавателей

• http://eslgo.com/ - Site devoted to teaching English as a second language and for teachers with ESL students.

• http://bogglesworldesl.com/ - Jobs, Worksheets, and Flashcards for the ESL and TEFL Teacher.

• http://www.eslmania.com/ - Bright ideas for teaching ESL.• http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/eslplans.html - ESL

Lesson Plans and Resources

• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/index.html - Guide to US Government for Kids

• http://www.starfall.com/ - Where children have fun learning to read

• http://eslbears.homestead.com/ - Guide to ESL activities and exercises

BibliographyБиблиография

A Brief History of Russia. Retrieved May 19, 2009, from http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/russia_guide/HistoryofRussia.htm#postcomm

ESL.fis.edu (n.d.). The difference between English and Russian. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/russian.htm

Free Translation. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://ets6.freetranslation.com/

Hello Online. Retrieved June 3, 2009, from http://www.hello-online.ru/content.php?contid=740

How to Teach an ESL Class. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/How-to-Teach-an-ESL-Class.html

Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/plans.html

Peregoy, S. and Boyle, O. (2008). 5th edition. Reading, writing, and learning in ESL. A resource book for k- 12 teachers.

Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.