INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION The textbook on this site is to become a multi-level course for adults and young adults who want to use Russian both accurately and fluently. It is expected that most students will use this textbook in an organized course under the supervision of a teacher, but the materials should be effective also for use by an individual outside of a formal course. The availability of a language laboratory for use by the students at least one hour per week will greatly enhance their active control of the material, particularly in the areas of listening comprehension and speaking especially at the beginning level. This textbook of Russian is based entirely on the norms of contemporary conversational literary (standard) Russian in Russia and upon the principles of communicative competence approach. The advantages of learning first the conversational language cannot be underestimated. Students who have mastered the elements of the conversational language, including pronunciation and intonation, can easily master the additional elements necessary for mastery of the written literary language. However, students who have learned first the more bookish literary norms very seldom make the transition to a natural use of the conversational language. Although the teacher may wish to emphasize the acquisition of certain language skills over others in keeping with local circumstances or student�s interest, the aim of this textbook is a harmonious development of four language skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. After mastering the materials of the first level the student is expected to speak Russian comfortably without offending the ears of native speakers on a broad range of everyday and cultural topics, in both monologic and dialogic speech situations, using the language in a natural sounding fashion; to write Russian correctly on the same range of topics; to read texts of intermediate difficulty and to have a firm foundation for further study of Russian, either in formal classes or individually. Those who are interested in Russian principally as a tool for reading in other disciplines should be able to undertake reading in their own fields of interest with the help of a dictionary. <�> The textbook contains an introductory section (Units 1-4): �Preliminary Lessons on the Russian Sound System and Handwriting�, four units which introduce the sound system one element at a time, stressing those points at which the Russian system differs from that of English. Some of the items used for pronunciation practice will be isolated syllables or words whose meaning is of no immediate relevance, but each preliminary lesson contains certain complete sentences which you will be expected to memorize and use actively in the classroom. Some comments are also made throughout the four units concerning several basic grammatical topics. You must always keep in mind the importance of the spoken models presented. While descriptions, transcriptions and other things may be of some help, you should rely mainly on the spoken model in your attempts to approximate the sound patterns of Russian. Remember always that at the early stage of instruction it is the sounds of the language that are our primary concern, not the written forms, which are a secondary and imperfect system of representing speech. While Russian spelling is more regular than that of English, there are places where it does not represent the sound system accurately. Strive always for good pronunciation and don�t let the written form mislead you! Although it is generally thought that for most people past the age of 10 or 12 natural maturation process and subtle psychological factors make it difficult to master the pronunciation of a foreign language, experiments have shown that with suitable materials it is possible for adults to learn to speak Russian with excellent accent. If you hope to attain such a goal, however, it will be necessary for you to learn to be uninhibited in class and to practice conscious exaggeration, particularly during the early lessons. Don�t worry about being uncomfortable � remember that everyone in class feels the same way. And it�s worthwhile feeling a bit silly now in order to avoid possible cultural misunderstandings later. And remember that it�s not too hard to achieve good pronunciation if you are attentive at the very beginning, and almost impossible to correct poor pronunciation once bad habits have been formed.