text:
[Updates of teaching materials as of October 2001
are marked in green. - BR]
[Updates of teaching materials as of June 2005 are marked in
red and provided by Jelena Runić for Slavica
In his essay about textbooks for teaching Russian in Teaching, Learning, Acquiring Russian (Lubensky and Jarvis 1984: 347-59), Fred Patton wrote: "Although the 1970's witnessed a decline in Russian language enrollments in US colleges and universities, the latter part of the decade was a particularly fruitful period for the production of Russian language textbooks" (Patton 1984: 347). This view was echoed by Adele Donchenko in her review of a grammar textbook: "It is curious that what can be characterized as a renaissance in textbook publication is taking place at a time that is probably the darkest for Russian language teaching in this country in the last quarter century" (Donchenko 1983: 130). It is now clear that this pattern has replayed itself in the 1990's. Russian-language enrollments on the secondary and post-secondary levels declined rapidly in the early 1990's, but seem to have stabilized as of this writing. The peak of enrollments experienced in the late 1980's may have stimulated authors and publishing houses to move into action and the result has been an outpouring of materials in the middle of this decade that has resulted in a wide range of materials available for the teaching of Russian at all levels of instruction. It may be hard for some of us to remember, but in the period from 1985-1993, relatively few new textbooks came into the market.
The situation in the late 1970's was in many ways similar to the situation today. Russian-language instruction on the college level was dominated by two volumes published in the early 1970's: Stilman, Stilman and Harkin's Introduction to Russian Grammar (1972) and Davis and Oprendek's Making Progress in Russian (1973).[1] A flurry of publishing activity preceded the publication of the Lubensky and Jarvis volume. In 1977 Kostamarov published Russkij jazyk dlja vsex and the Baker edition for Americans (Russian for Everybody) followed a few years later. The early 1980's saw the publication of the first edition of Russian Stage One, the first edition of A Russian Course (Lipson), Beginning Russian (Leed, Nakhimovsky and Nakhimovsky, 1st edition), Continuing with Russian (Townsend), Intermediate Russian (Paperno, Nakhimovsky, Nakhimovsky, and Leed), Advanced Russian (Nakhimovsky and Leed), among others, many of which I have discussed elsewhere (Rifkin 1992). At the time that Pattons essay was published it may have seemed that the rapid pace of pedagogical innovations would continue, given a gradual increase in enrollments beginning in the mid-1980's. This, however, was generally not the case. From the mid-1980's through the early 1990's, there were few new entries into the textbook market for Russian. There may have been many factors contributing to the slowing of the pace of the introduction of new materials into the Russian market, and it is beyond the scope of this paper to consider what those factors may have been. However, just as enrollments began to decline in the 1990's, a surge of new materials began to hit the market in waves, in many cases materials whose design reflects new paradigms in language instruction and a clearer understanding of how learners acquire a foreign language in a classroom setting. Some of the developments in the study of instructed second language acquisition have come from studies of North American learners of Russian, such as Brecht, Davidson and Ginsberg (1993), Brecht and Robinson (1993), both reviewed by Barbara Freed (1996), and Thompson (1996, reprinted elsewhere in this volume). In addition, the study of Russian was the focus of a major analysis conducted by the National Foreign Language Center (Brecht, Caemmerer and Walton, 1995). Of course, the Provisional Proficiency Guidelines for Russian, developed under the auspices of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages are of critical importance to the field; these guidelines, an adaptation of the generic proficiency guidelines specifically for Russian, were published in 1988 in The Foreign Language Annals. The standards for the learning of foreign languages (generic version), posted on the ACTFL web site, together with the Russian-specific standards (at the Russnet web site available through the ACTR web site), are of critical importance for the Russian field as we move forward toward the improvement of curricular materials for all levels of instruction to meet the needs of an increasing diverse pool of learners. Research on the acquisition of Russian by North American learners, including those cited above, is also critically important for understanding the pace at which students can acquire Russian in the context of formal instruction. Instructors of Russian should certainly acquaint themselves with all of these works in order to better understand the instructional context in which materials described below can be used.
Whereas Patton (1984) and Schillinger (1984), in their essays in the Lubensky and Jarvis volume, could restrict their comments to the discussion of textbooks and readers, this author does not have the luxury of doing so because so many new and important materials are available in other media now. In comments below, I will consider textbooks, readers, CD-ROMs, videotapes made specifically for language instruction and distributors for films in Russian, broadcasting, and web sites that could be of value for instructors of Russian at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
The number of Russian-language textbooks released in the recent past is astounding, especially given the shrinking pool of students who might avail themselves of these new materials. Some of these textbooks have been described at some length in Rifkin (1997) and Rifkin et al. (1998). It would be impossible here to describe all of them in sufficient detail in the context of this essay, but here I will provide a list of textbooks released since 1985 and still in press, with references to published reviews where available. The list below includes citations to reviews found in the Modern Language Journal (MLJ), the Russian Language Journal (RLJ), the Slavic and East European Journal (SEEJ), and Rusistika as well as to reviews at the AATSEEL Book Review Web Site at http://clover. slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/book-reviews/index.html. The textbooks have been assigned to levels to make it easier for instructors to identify titles that might fit a particular level of instruction in their particular institutions; however, I recognize that learners, instructors, programs, institutions, and curricula differ, so the assignment of each textbook to each level is somewhat tentative. It is certainly true that what may be considered "intermediate" at one institution might best be viewed as "advanced" in another. Lastly, this list includes only textbooks published since 1984, since textbooks published before that date are discussed in Patton (1984) and Schillinger (1984). A partial listing of what institutions are using what textbooks has been compiled by David Birnbaum at http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/teaching/textbooks.html. A comprehensive database of instructional materials has been assembled by the Committee on College and Pre-College Russian and may be found at www.middlebury.edu/~beyer/publications/ccpcrdb.shtml.
Novaya iskra 3. Ken Smith (General editor) and teachers' collective. 2nd edition. John Murray, 2002. With Teacher's Resource Book and a cassette set. Reviewed by Sue Purcell in Rusistika (March 1999): 32.
Russian Face to Face Level 1. George Morris, Mark Vyatyutnev, Lilia Vokhmina. National Textbook Co., 1993. With annotated teacher's edition, exercise book (with separate key), audio program, and video program With Readings and Dialogues by Mzia Shamelashvili, distributed by Basil Products. With Teacher's Manual for the Adaptation … For Use in Middle Schools by Lilia Vokhmina, distributed by Basil Products; this manual includes additional exercises and activities that might be useful at any level. With assessment package by Renate Bialy, Zita Dabars, Helen Meigs, George Morris, Esther Petrilli, Julia Ann Stetson. Correlated with Russian: Reference Grammar by John Watzke and James Sweigert (see below.) Textbook reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in MLJ 77 (1993): 560-61. The video for this textbook is called Russian Faces: Language and People, by Leonid B. Shamshin and Zita D. Dabars. It is also available from National Textbook Co. A review of the testing package for this textbook (and for the Level 2 textbook) is cited in the listing for the Level 2 textbook immediately below.
Russian Face to Face Level 2. Zita Dabars, George Morris, Nadezhda Smirnova (with assessment package). National Textbook Co., 1995. With annotated teacher's edition, exercise book, and video program Visit to Russia: Friends and Places (see Section 4, below.) With assessment package, including audio program, by Renate Bialy, Zita Dabars, Helen Meigs, George Morris (available from Basil Products, not NTC). Correlated with Russian Reference Grammar by John Watzke and James Sweigert (see below.) The video for this textbook is called Visit to Russia: Friends and Places, by Leonid B. Shamshin, Zita D. Dabars, Joseph Liro, and Renate Bialy. It is available from Basil Products at http://myweb.clark.net/sjfrank or (410) 821-1994. The video was reviewed by James Sweigert in the ACTR Letter 26.3 (Spring 2000): 15-16; the review also touches upon the textbook. The testing package for this textbook and the Level 1 textbook was reviewed by Jane Hart in the ACTR Letter 24.4 (Summer 1998): 7-8.
Other titles in this series may well be used in the college or university classroom and are listed below accordingly.
Beginning Russian. Richard Leed, Alexander Nakhimovsky and Alice Nakhimovsky. 2nd Edition. Slavica, 1991. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-55 (1992): 314-17.
Express Track to Russian. Irma Adler, Ljudmila Bolgova, Julie Dost and Nelli Zenjter. Translated from the German and adapted for speakers of English by Thomas R. Beyer, Jr. Barrons, 1995. With workbook, learner's handbook, answer booklet, and 4 audiocassettes. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in MLJ 82.1 (1998): 137-38.
Getting Your Russian Sounds Right! Elena Serykh Hansen. McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Golosa. Richard Robin, Joanna Robin, Kathryn Henry. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall, 1997-1998. With audio program, instructor's manual, CD-ROM (for Volume 1 only), and web page with supplementary activities at http://www.gwu.edu/~slavic/golosa.htm. Additional supplementary materials geared to Golosa may be found at http://www.auburn.edu/~mitrege/RWT/Golosa1/index.html (written by George Mitrevski). First edition reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI. 153-55 (1992): 339-42; second edition reviewed by Serafima Gettys in SEEJ 43 (1999): 252-54.
Learn Russian. Ian Press. Foreword by Peter Jones. Duckworth, 2000.
Manual for Individualized Instruction: Russian 104.51 [Volume: 2]. Anyela Rugaleva, Carol Hart, Dianna Murphy, et al. OSU Foreign Language Publications, 1997. Lessons five to eight for Book Two of an elementary and intermediate course in Russian designed as a student's individualized instruction guide that is based on the textbook Nachalo: When in Russia... (Book 1) by Lubensky, and the workbook Workbook and Laboratory Manual to Accompany Nachalo: When in Russia... (Book 1) by Smorodinskaya. Audio tapes that include the readings for each lesson are sold separately with the textbook
Master the Basics: Russian. Natalia Lusin. Barrons, 1995. Reviewed by Dan S. Chopyk in MLJ 82.1 (1998) 139.
MiniRus: A Starter Course in Russian. Alla Akishina. Kendall/Hunt, 1996.
Nachalo: When in Russia. Sophia Lubensky, Gerard L. Ervin, Donald Jarvis. McGraw-Hill, 1996. With CD-ROM and videotape, annotated instructor's edition, comprehensive audio program, instructor's manual, and web page with supplementary activities (on George Mitrevski's website at www.auburn.edu/~mitrege/RWT/Nachalo/index.html). Reviewed by Matthew Tittle in SEEJ 42 (1998): 359-61. NOTE: The second edition, with substantial enhancements, will be published by McGraw-Hill in 2001. For the second edition, authors are: Sophie Lubensky, Gerard Ervin, Larry McLellan, Don Jarvis for Book 1; Gerard Ervin, Larry McLellan, Sophie Lubensky, Don Jarvis for Book 2. The second edition will have a new CD-ROM, a website with exercises and a bulletin board for instructors using the textbook to communicate, among other enhancements and improvements of the first edition.
Nachalo. Sophia Lubensky, Gerard L. Ervin, Larry McLellan, Donald K. Jarvis, et al. 2nd edition. Books 1 and 2. McGraw Hill, 2002; broad range of ancillary materials. For students: textbook in 2 volumes, two workbooks, the extensive audio program (accompanying the textbooks and the workbooks, available on cassette and CD), an hour-long video on VHS with an 80-page video guide, a publisher's website, and an interactive CD-ROM for each textbook. For instructors: special annotated editions of the textbooks with helpful marginal notes and two separate instructors' manual featuring a methodological guide, basic scheduling information, a comprehensive test bank, answer keys for the workbooks, and a set of illustrations. The textbooks and workbooks were reviewed by William J. Comer in SEEJ 48.3 (2004): 537-39.
Rus': A Comprehensive Course in Russian. Sarah Smythe and Elena Crosbie. (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Reviewed by Mara Sukholutskaya in MLJ 88.4 (2004): 657-58; and by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 31.
Rush to Russian. Olga I. Glazunova. Lincom-Europa, 2002.
Ruslan Russian 1. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan (Moseley, Birmingham, UK), 1997. 2nd edition. (See CD-ROM and Video below.)
Ruslan Russian 1: A Communicative Russian Beginners Course for Adults and Teenagers. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan Ltd (Birmingham, UK), 2001. 3rd edition. With CD-ROM, cassette, and audio CD. For CD-ROM see section 4. Reviewed by Svitlana Kobets in SEEJ 46.4 (2002): 817-18.
Ruslan Russian 1 Student Workbook. John Langran and colleagues. Ruslan, 2002. With audio CD. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 27 (Spring 2003): 31.
Russian Alive! Samuel Cioran. Ardis, 1992. With workbook, Welcome to Divnograd! By Samuel Cioran and Gennadii Kalinin, as well as accompanying CD-ROM and video program. Reviewed by Olga Kagan and Zita Dabars in SEEJ 37 (1993): 405-07; and by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVII.156-58 (1993): 333-37.
Russian Alphabet. Natalia Veshneva and Anthony Foreman. Melrose Publishing, undated. With a cassette tape.
Russian for Everybody. Edition for Americans. L.B. Trushina, E.M. Stepanova, I.A. Protopopova, Z.N. Ievleva, P.L. Drakhlis, R.L. Baker, B.G. Anpilogova. Russky yazyk, 1985. Reviewed by Paul Mitchell in MLJ 70 (1986): 323; and by Cynthia Simmons in SEEJ 31 (1987): 295-98.
Russian Now. Thomas Beyer. Barron's, 1996.
Russian Stage One: Live from Moscow. Dan Davidson, Kira Gor, Maria Lekic. Kendall/Hunt, 1997. With audio program, CD-ROM, video program, and instructor's manual. Reviewed by Serafima Gettys in SEEJ 42 (1998): 193-95; by Catherine Jarvis at the AATSEEL Book Review web page; and by Benjamin Rifkin in MLJ 82 (1998): 440-42.
S Azov (Russian from Scratch). Tom Dickins and Irina Moore. University of Wolverhampton, UK, 2003. With a cassette tape. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 30.
START: An Introduction to the Sound and Writing Systems of Russian. Benjamin Rifkin. 2nd edition. Focus Publishing, 2005. With CD-ROM (see below).
Through Russia… with Love (Po Rossii … s l'ubov'ju). A Complete Course for Beginners in Russian. Natalia Veshneva. Melrose Publishing, 2002. Reviewed by Joan Smith in Rusistika 26 (Autumn 2002): 29.
Troika. Marita Nummikoski. Wiley & Sons, 1996. With workbook, audio program and instructors manual.
Ultimate Russian: Basic-Intermediate. Nancy Novak. Living Language, 1998. Reviewed by Irina Dolgaleva in SEEJ 44.1 (2000): 168-69.
Chto vy ob ètom dumaete? Maria Lekic, Olga Rassudova, Tatiana Kirsh (with video program). ACTR/ACCELS, 1994. Reviewed by William Comer in SEEJ 40 (1996): 602-04; and by Richard Robin at the AATSEEL Book Review Web Site.
Focus on Russian. Sandra Rosengrant and Elena Lifschitz. 2nd Edition. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Reviewed by Cynthia Ruder in MLJ 81 (1997): 138-39. [No review of current edition, but 1st reviewed by Karen Black in MLJ 76 (1992): 262-63.]
Grammatika v kontekste. Benjamin Rifkin. McGraw-Hill, 1996. Reviewed by Kevin McKenna in SEEJ 40 (1996): 787-89. With audio program, workbook/laboratory manual and instructor's manual. Reviewed by Kevin McKenna in SEEJ 40 (1996): 787-89.
Guide to Russian Idioms. Loretta S. Gray and Dinara Georgeoliani. NTC, 1997. Reviewed by Robert D. Greenberg in MLJ 83.4 (1998): 618-19.
A Guide to Essay Writing in Russian. LeFleming, Svetlana and Stephen LeFleming. Bristol Classical Press (distributed by Focus), 1996. Reviewed by Olga Kagan and Kathleen Dillon in SEEJ 43.1 (1999): 254-56.
Intermediate Russian. John Murray and Sarah Smyth. Routledge, 2001.
Intermediate Russian: The 12 Chairs. Slava Paperno, Alexander Nakhimovsky, Alice Nakhimovsky, and Richard Leed. Slavica, 1985. Reviewed by Orrin Frink in MLJ 70 (1986): 437; and by David Sloane in SEEJ 31 (1987): 136-38. See section 3, "CD-ROMs," for The Twelve Chairs Interactive. A second edition, completely revised and updated and bundled with the CD-ROM package, is currently in press and will be available in early 2001, but has not been reviewed.
Kompas. An advanced Russian Course for Schools and Colleges. Michael Ransome, Daphne West, and Rachel Smith. Bramcote Press, 2002. With audio CD.
Let's Talk about Life. Emily Tall and Valentina Vlasikova. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 40 (1996): 786-87; by Mara Sukholutskaya in MLJ 81 (1997): 140-41; and by Richard Robin at the AATSEEL Book Review Web Site.
Making Progress in Russian: A Second Year Course. Patricia Anne Davis, Donald Oprendek, Arna Bronstein and Aleksandra Fleszar. 2nd Edition. Wiley & Sons, 1997. Reviewed by William Comer in SEEJ 41 (1997): 724-25.
Passport to Russia. Alla Nazarenko and Keith Rawson Jones. Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. CD-ROM included. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 22 (Autumn 2000): 30.
Rovesniki/Peers. Maria Lekic, Tatiana Kirsh, Nadezhda Nikitina (with video program). ACTR/ACCELS, 1995. See supplementary materials on the Russnet web site (www.russnet.org).
Ruslan Russian 2: A Second Level of Communicative Russian Course for Adults and Teenagers. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan Ltd (Birmingham, UK), 2001. With CD-ROM, cassette, and audio CD. For CD-ROM see section 4. Reviewed by Stephen Hutchings in Rusistika 24 (Autumn 2001): 27. ; and by Svitlana Kobets in SEEJ 46.4 (2002): 817-18.
Ruslan 2 Rabochaia tetrad' (Ruslan 2 Workbook). John Langran. Ruslan, 2003. With audio CD. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 30.
Russian Faces and Voices. Zita Dabars, George Morris, Ellina Sosenko, Lilia Vokhmina Kendall/Hunt, 1995. With video program In Search of Orlovsky by Leonid B. Shamshin, Zita D. Dabars, Ellina Yu. Sosenko, exercise book, instructor's manual, and audio program. The video, like the textbook, is published by Kendall/Hunt. The video was reviewed by Mary Elizabeth McLendon, in SEEJ 43.3 (Fall 1999): 587-88. The textbook, exercise book, audiotapes, and instructor's manual were reviewed by William Comer in SEEJ 44.1: 171-72; the textbook, exercise book, instructor's manual, and video were reviewed by James Sweigert in the ACTR Letter 25.3 (Spring 1999): 18-19.
Russian Stage Two: Welcome Back! Cynthia Martin and Andrei Zaitsev. Kendall/Hunt, 2000. With instructor's manual, audio program, and video program. This new edition is based on a video soap opera similar to that in Russian Stage One: Live from Moscow.
Russian Stage Three: Focus on Speaking. Maria Lekic, Elena Efremova, Olga Rassudova. Kendall/Hunt, 1991. See supplementary materials on the Russnet web site (www.russnet.org).
Speak Russian! Marisa Fushille and Lisa Little with Yuri Slezkine. University of Texas Press, 1990. Reviewed by Emily Tall in SEEJ 35 (1991): 598-600; and by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-155 (1992): 311-13.
V obixode. Serafima Khavronina and Richard Robin. Russky Yazyk, in press. (A revision of the old standard, Russian As We Speak It.)
V puti. Olga Kagan and Frank Miller. Prentice Hall, 1996. With workbook, audio program, and instructor's manual. Reviewed by Frederick Van Doren in SEEJ 40 (1996): 601-02; and by Daniel L. Bayer in MLJ 82 (1998): 604-05. The second edition of this book is currently coming to press.
Advanced-Level Textbooks
Advanced Russian. Alexander Nakhimovsky and Richard Leed. Slavica, 1987. Reviewed by Nina Loseff in SEEJ 32 (1988): 495-96; and by Walter Tuman in MLJ 73 (1989): 96-97.
Advanced Russian through History: Dela davno minuvshikh dnei. Benjamin Rifkin and Olga Kagan. Yale University Press, forthcoming in 2006. 36 chapters consisting of reading texts on Russian history, written by Russian scholars, mini-lectures on a CD-ROM recorded by the same scholars, and learning tasks on the YUP website.
Continuing with Russian. Charles Townsend. Slavica, 1981. Reviewed by Emil Vrabie in SEEJ 37 (1993): 131-33.
From Russian to English: An Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation. Lynn Visson. 2nd ed. Focus, 1999. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ, in press. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 44.4 (2000): 704-06; and by Irina Dolgaleva in SEEJ 46.1 (2002): 221-22.
Mir russkix. Zita Dabars, George Morris, and Tatiana Stramnova. Kendall/ Hunt, 1997 (with video program Russkie temy [see Section 4, below], audio program for the textbook and a separate audio program that can be used for testing purposes, and exercise book. The video for this book is Russkie temy, by Leonid B. Shamshin, Zita D. Dabars, and Ellina Yu. Sosenko; it is published by Kendall/Hunt. (Correlated with Russian Reference Grammar by John Watzke and James Sweigert). Review of the textbook, exercise book, audiotapes, guide, and video by Paul Karpuk in SEEJ 43.3 (Fall 1999): 583-86; review of same set of materials by James Sweigert in ACTR Letter 25.4 (Summer 1999): 12, 20.
Modern Russian: An Advanced Grammar Course. Derek Offord. Blackwell, 1993. (Available from Focus). Reviewed by Mara Sukholutskaya in MLJ 82.3 (1998): 442-43.
Political Russian. Natasha Simes and Richard Robin. 3rd edition. Kendall/Hunt, 1996.
RAILS. See the website section.
Reading and Speaking about Russian Newspapers. Mara Kashper, Valentina Lebedeva, and Frank Miller (with workbook). 3rd edition. Focus, 1995.
Russian Readings for Close Analysis. Charles Townsend and Iulii Belchikov. Kendall/Hunt, 1993. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-55 (1992): 343-44; and by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 42 (1998): 361-63.
Scientific Russian. Natasha Simes-Timofeeva and Marina Rappaport. Kendall/Hunt, 1993.
School of Advanced International Studies Readers in International Affairs: Advanced Russian. Natasha Simes. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt (with Johns Hopkins University), 1998. Three-hole punch paperback (unbound). Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 43.2 (1999): 418-20.
Translating from English into Russian. Serafima Radivilova. University Press of America, 1998. Reviewed by Thomas Beyer in MLJ 83.4 (1998): 619-20.
Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. Derek Offord. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Reviewed by Mara Sukholutskaya in MLJ 82.3 (1998): 442-43.
Vzaimoponimanie: uchebnik russkogo jazyka dlja inostrannyx uchashchixsja v materiale sredstv massovoj kommunikacii sovremennoj Rossii. A.N. Bogomolov. Moscow: Dukhovnoe vozrozhdenie, 1997. (Distributed by ACTR). Reviewed by Marita Nummikoski in SEEJ 43.1 (1999): 251-52.
Years of Change. Natasha Simes. 2nd Edition. Kendall/Hunt, 1992. Reviewed by Marina Gorelikova in RLJ XLVII.156-158 (1993): 351-59; and by Gerard Ervin in SEEJ 38 (1994): 203-04.
Business Russian. Nyusya Milman (with video program). Kendall/Hunt, 1996. Reviewed by Juras Ryfa at the AATSEEL Book Review Web Site.
Doing Business in Russia: Let's Speak in Russian. Galina Timofeeva.University Press of America, 1999. Reviewed by Jeanette Owen in SEEJ 45.3 (2001): 597-98.
Modules for Business Russian. On-line at Russnet: www.russnet.org. (These modules can be used at a variety of different levels from beginning to advanced.)
Newspaper Russian. A Vocabulary of Administrative and Commercial Idiom with English Translations. John Slatter. University of Wales Press, 2000. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 23 (Spring 2001): 32.
Russian for Business Communication: Russkij jazyk v delovom obshchenii. L. Klobukova, I. Mikhalkina, T. Soltanovskaya, S. Khavronina. ACTR/ ACCELS, 1997.
Russian for Business Studies. Svetlana le Fleming. Bristol Classical Press, 2000.
Russian Etiquette and Ethics in Business. Dew Wilson and Lloyd Donaldson. NTC, 1996. Reviewed by Leon F. Kennan in MLJ 82.3 (1998): 443-44.
Aspects of the Russian Verb. Elena Serykh Hansen. McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Basic Russian: A Grammar and Workbook. John Murray and Sarah Smith. Routledge, 1999. Reviewed by Katerina P. King in SEEJ 45.1 (2001):180-82; and by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 21 (Spring 2000): 30.
The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs. Jack Franke. McGraw-Hill, 2005.
The Case Book for Russian. Laura A. Janda and Steven J. Clancy. Slavic and East European Language Resource Center, in preparation (with CD-ROM). Slavica Publishers, 2002. With CD-ROM (see below).
Comprehensive Russian Grammar. Terence Wade. 2nd edition, revised and expanded. Blackwell, 2000. First edition reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-155 (1992): 306-11.Second edition reviewed by Cynthia Ruder in MLJ 86.2 (2002): 292-93.
Comprehensive Russian Grammar Workbook. Terence Wade. Blackwell, 1996. Reviewed by William Comer in SEEJ 40 (1996): 602-04; by Neil Bermel in SEEJ 40 (1997): 789-90; and by John Cronin in MLJ 81 (1997): 141-42.
English Grammar for Students of Russian. Edwina Cruise. Olivia and Hill, 1993, 2nd edition. [No reviews of current edition, but first edition reviewed by Kenneth Nalibow in SEEJ 32 (1988): 347-48; and by Charles Townsend in RLJ XLIII.145-48 (1988): 280-81.]
Fundamentals of Russian Verbal Conjugation. Thomas Garza. Kendall/Hunt, 1993. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-155 (1992): 353-57.
Handbook of Russian Verb Morphology. Galina McLaws. Focus, 1995.
Handbook of Russian Prepositions. Frank Miller. Focus, 1991. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI.153-55 (1992): 299-301.
A Handbook of Russian Verbs. Frank Miller. Ardis, 1989.
Implied, But Not Stated: Condensation in Colloquial Russian. Mark T. Hooker. Slavica Publishers, 1999.
Integrated Learning Modules. Galina McLaws (to be used with Overview of Russian Cases, below). Focus, 1995.
Intermediate Russian: A Grammar and Workbook. John Murray and Sarah Smyth. Routledge, 2001. Reviewed by Marina L. Cobb in SEEJ 46.1 (2002): 224-25; by Steven J. Clancy in MLJ 86.2 (2002): 290-91; and by Marcus Wheeler in Rusistika 25 (Spring 2002): 31.
Intermediate Russian Grammar. William Harrison and Stephen le Fleming. University of Wales Press, 2000.
Overview of Russian Cases. Galina McClaws. Focus, 1995.
A Reference Grammar of Russian. Alan Timberlake. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 31.
Russian: A Linguistic Introduction. Paul Cubberley. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Reviewed by Charles E. Gribble in MLJ 88.1 (2004): 163-64.
Russian Reference Grammar. John Watzke and James Sweigert. Kendall/Hunt, 1997. Correlated with Face to Face (Levels 1 and 2), Faces and Voices, and Mir russkix, but can be used with any textbook especially at the beginning and intermediate levels. Reviewed by Alya Rakova in SEEJ 43.2 (1999): 417-18.
Russian Grammar. James S. Levine. McGraw-Hill/Schaum's Outline Series, 1999. Reviewed by Robert F. Druien in SEEJ 44.2 (2000): 357-59.
Russian Punctuation and Related Symbols. Edward Vajda and Valentina Umanets. Slavica, in preparation for publication in early 2001.
Russian Review and Expansion Grammar. Natasha Alekseyeva, Elza Ivanova and Natasha Defye, ed. Munir Sendich. RLJ, 1992. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 39 (1995): 323-24.
Russian Review Grammar. Marianna Bogojavlensky. Slavica, 1982. Reviewed by Adele K. Donchenko in SEEJ 27 (1983): 130-31. Can be used with any textbook, but especially at the intermediate and advanced levels.
Russian Vocabulary. Alfia A. Rakova and Ray Parrott. McGraw-Hill/Schaum's Outline Series, 1999. Reviewed by Andrea Nelson in SEEJ 45.4 (2001): 810-11
Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. Derek Offord. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Reviewed by Mara Sukholutskaya in MLJ 82.3 (1998): 442-43.
750 Russian Verbs and Their Uses. Issa R. Zauber. Wiley, 1997. Reviewed by Walter Karpinich in MLJ 83.1 (1999): 154.
In addition to these works on paper, I should also note the electronic grammar exercises written by Robert Beard of Bucknell University at http://www. departments.bucknell.edu/russian/language/ and by George Mitrevski of Auburn University at www.auburn.edu/~mitrege.
The Russian Context: The Culture behind the Language. Eloise Boyle and Genevra Gerhart, eds. In preparation for publication by Slavica Publishers in 2001. This ambitious collectively-authored volume seeks to quantify the essentials of Russian cultural literacy for the advanced foreign learner, with chapters devoted to poetry, music, art, history, children's literature, and numerous other areas of the culture. It has not yet been reviewed. Slavica Publishers, 2002. Reviewed by Arna Bronstein and Aleksa Fleszar in SEEJ 47.1 (2003): 157-59. With CD-ROM (see below).
Culture and Customs of Russia. Sydney Schultze. Greenwood Press, 2000. Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth McLendon in SEEJ 46.1 (2002): 220-21
The Russian Way: Aspects of Behavior, Attitudes and Customs of the Russians. Zita Dabars and Lilia Vokhmina. National Textbook Co., 1995. Reviewed by Paul Mitchell in MLJ 80 (1996): 260.
The Russian's World: Life and Language. Genevra Gerhart. 3d corrected edition. Slavica, 2000. Recognized with the AATSEEL Publication Committee Special Achievement Award, 1996, as a "unique achievement, which presents carefully selected portions of the Russian lexicon within a broad cultural context." Reviewed by Laszlo Dienes in SEEJ 40 (1996): 363-70; this review is available on-line at the author's web site (http://www.GenevraGerhart.com). Also reviewed by John Kachur on the AATSEEL Book Review Web Site.
Teach Yourself Russian Language, Life and Culture. Stephen and Tatyana Webber. Hodder and Stoughton, 2002. Reviewed by Rachel Smith in Rusistika 26 (Autumn 2002): 29-30.
Through Russian Eyes. Project Harmony. RIS Publications, 1999. Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth McLendon in SEEJ 44.2 (2000): 361-62.
One should also note the collection of Russian art (including icons) compiled by George Mitrevski on his website at www.auburn.edu/~mitrege.
Getting Around Town: Situational Dialogues. Lora Paperno and Richard Sylvester. Slavica, 1987. Reviewed by James Bernhardt in MLJ 72 (1988): 245-46; by William Derbyshire in RLJ XLIV.147-149 (1990): 348-50; and by Kenneth Nalibow in SEEJ 32 (1988): 681-82.
Listening to Okudzhava: Twenty Three Aural Comprehension Exercises in Russian. Vladimir Tumanov. Focus, 1996. Reviewed by Walter Karpinich in MLJ 81 (1997): 273-74.
On the Air: Russian Television and Politics. Natasha Simes, Richard M. Robin, and Ludmila Guslistov. Kendall/Hunt, 1999.
RAILS. See the website section.
Russian. Edna Andrews. Languages of the World/Materials, 2001. With two audio cassettes.
Russian Desk: A Listening and Conversation Course. Cynthia Martin, Joanna Robin and Donald Jarvis. Slavica, 1991. Reviewed by John Cronin in MLJ 76 (1992): 574-75; and by Kevin McKenna in SEEJ 36 (1992): 379-81.
Advanced Russian through History: Dela davno minuvshikh dnei. See Advanced level section.
Russian for Russians. Tat'iana Akishina, Olga Kagan and Richard Robin. In press. This textbook will have a web site with supplementary materials. Slavica Publishers, 2002.
Other Textbooks
A Guide to Essay Writing in Russian. Svetlana and Stephen LeFleming.Bristol Classical Press, 1996 (reprinted in 1997). Reviewed by Olga Kagan and Kathleen Dillon in SEEJ 43.1 (1999): 254-55.
Individualized Instruction Materials for Russian. Anelya Rugaleva et al. Ohio State University, various years of publication. Some of the materials still available were reviewed by James Bernhardt in MLJ 74 (1990): 124-27; by Susan Scotto in RLJ XLIV.147-149 (1990): 351-56. Also reviewed by several others, including an overview review by Kenneth Nalibow, in SEEJ 32 (1988): 170.
Reading and Translating Contemporary Russian: A Basic Introduction. Horace Dewey and John Mersereau, Jr. National Textbook Co., 1989. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in MLJ 74 (1990): 418-19.
Ruslan Russian Songbook Vol.1. John Langran. Ruslan, 2003. With audio CD. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 30.
The 100 Word Exercise Book: Russian: Ideal Introduction to Script. Jane Wightwick and Helena Chick. GW Publishing, 1999. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 22 (Autumn 2000): 30.
Several points should be emphasized with regard to the list of texts above. First, Kendall/Hunt, National Textbook Co., and CORLAC have, together, come out with a series of textbooks and video programs for a secondary-level sequence of instruction in Russian spanning four years of high school Russian. The textbooks in this series are: Russian Face to Face Level 1, Russian Face to Face Level 2, Russian Faces and Voices, and Mir russkix. The videos for these textbooks have been published by different publishers as follows: Russian Faces: Language and People for Face to Face Level 1 is published by National Textbook Co.; Visit to Russia for Face to Face Level 2 is published by Basil Products; In Search of Orlovsky for Russian Faces and Voices is published by Kendall/ Hunt; and Russkie temy for Mir russkix is also published by Kendall/Hunt. While the series is designed to create a comprehensive sequence of instruction for the secondary level, the textbooks and video programs for the third- and fourth-years could be and are used successfully at the post-secondary level at many institutions in second- and third-year courses. Indeed, Faces and Voices and Mir russkix have had more adoptions at the post-secondary level as of this writing than at the secondary level.
In addition, Akishina's MiniRus is an excellent textbook for an exploratory program at any level. The publication of materials specifically designed for the high school level is a first for our field and is certainly to be helpful in building and retaining enrollments at that level.
Natasha Simes is the author of several books of considerable interest for those instructors seeking to implement a content-based curriculum focusing on the social sciences.
In addition to the materials cited above, instructors are encouraged to consider Russian Language Learning Cards, a series of cards with images, drawn by Mikhail and Yelena Gipsov, relevant to the learning of Russian language and culture, and distributed by Basil Products. The images, including depictions of elements of Russian life specific to the Russian context, are drawn in black and white on 8.5x11 cardstock.
The list of textbooks above does not include many books published by Russian presses, which can be particularly useful in the more advanced levels of instruction. In 1984 Schillinger wrote:
"Russian texts, particularly Soviet third and fourth year textbooks, seem to suffer from a lack of recognition bordering upon anonymity in the United States and Canada. Though Soviet texts are frequently chosen for coursework in the second year and beyond, many which might be widely used are simply not well known because of the negligible exchange of such information between departments [in North America] and as a result of the Soviet practice of single press runs (which not infrequently produce far too few textbooks for dependable ordering or broad circulation)" (360).
The situation has not changed much in the period since 1984 except that textbooks produced in Russia are making more of an impression on lower levels of instruction as well. Nonetheless, Russian publishing houses continue, in many cases, to be unreliable suppliers; instructors who wish to use a textbook published in Russia often order it through a known vendor in North America, such as Kamkin's in Rockville, Maryland or Znanie in San Francisco. Some instructors have found titles published by Russky yazyk (such as Gorizont or Temp) or by Progress (such as Learning Russian) to be very useful.
Much more information about textbooks and publishers may be found in the database of the web site of the AATSEEL Committee on College and Pre-College Russian maintained by Thomas Beyer at www.middlebury.edu/ ~beyer/publications/ccpcrdb.shtml. Instructors are also encouraged to visit the web sites of the various publishers:
ACTR http://www.actr.org
Ardis http://www.ardisbooks.com
CORLAC/Basil Products http://myweb.clark.net/sjfrank
Focus http://www.pullins.com
Kendall/Hunt http://www.kendallhunt.com
McGraw-Hill http://www.mhhe.com
National Textbook Co. http://www.ntc-college.com or www.ntc-school.com
Prentice Hall http://www.prenhall.com
RIS Publications http://www.rispubs.com
Ruslan Publications http://www.ruslan.co.uk
Slavica http://www.slavica.com
Wiley & Sons http://www.wiley.com
There are numerous readers available now for learners of Russian. Unfortunately, few of them offer much by the way of helping learners learn to read fluently. The vast majority of the readers provide English-language glosses, rather than challenging the learners to acquire the skills necessary to process texts and meanings. Some of the readers do provide hints and tips for extracting meaning from presumably unknown words by means of guessing from the context, identifying the part of speech of the unknown lexical item, or by providing a Russian synonym or identification of a root for an unknown lexical item, rather than simply giving an English translation. Few of the readers listed below provide pre-reading assignments to help learners make predictions as to what they might expect to read (which would lead them to create schema for top-down processing, a skill critical to the development of proficient reading); few of the readers listed below provide post-reading tasks to help learners analyze what they have read and thus retain the given text's meaning. Far too often learners' eyes pass over every word on the printed page but little meaning seeps past that surface gaze and even less meaning tends to stay with learners unless the instructor (or the tasks that accompany the texts) provide learners with ways to analyze the text in a meaningful way; see, for example, Bernhardt (1986), Omaggio-Hadley (1993), Phillips (1984), Swaffar, Arens and Byrnes (1991). In this sense, then Ogonek: Novyj ètap istorii (Lekic), and Reading Real Russian (Thompson and Urevich) stand out from all the other readers. It should also be noted, however, that Twelve Stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko is now out on CD-ROM (from Lexicon Bridge) and this version of that reader might be a more productive learning tool. In addition to the readers listed below, instructors can find a wealth of materials for students to read on the worldwide web, including materials in Russian periodicals (see section 7 below.) Some of the textbooks listed in the preceding section may also be used as readers, especially those by Simes.
Advanced Russian through History: Dela davno minuvshikh dnei. See Advanced level textbooks
Advanced Russian Tabloid Reader. Joseph Mozur. Slavica Publishers, 2000. Reviewed by Gerard L. Ervin in MLJ 86.2 (2002): 291-92; and by William J. Corner in SEEJ 46.3 (2002): 648-49.
Annotated Russian Reader Series: works by Gogol, Pushkin, and Turgenev. NTC, 1982.
Beginner's Russian Reader. Lila Pargment. NTC Publishing Group, 1985.
Bradda and Bristol Readers from Focus Publishing Group, including Russian Poetry for Intermediates from Pushkin to Akhmadulina. Focus Publishing, Various Dates. Reviewed by Tatiana Akishina in SEEJ 39 (1995): 321-23.
Chto ia videl. Richard Leed and Slava Paperno. Slavica, 1988. Reviewed by Robert Druien in MLJ 73 (1989): 97-98; and by Robert Flynn in SEEJ 33 (1989): 477-78.
Chukovskaia's Sofia Petrovna: Students' Edition. Olga Kagan and Mara Kashper. Focus Publishers, in press. Focus Publishing, 2000.
Circle of Reading: Anthology Reader for First-Year Students and Above. Greenhill, Rimma, ed. Hermitage, 1997. Reviewed by Rebecca Epstein-Matveyev in SEEJ 43.1 (1999): 256-58.
First Reader in Russian: Everyday Life Experiences of Young Russian People. Ann Roblin. National Textbook Co., 1994.
Flights into the Past and Present: A Beginning and Intermediate Russian Reader. Natalia Roklina, ed. Slavica, 1995. Reviewed by John Bartle in SEEJ 40 (1996): 791-92.
The Golden Age: Readings in Russian Literature of the Nineteenth Century. Sandra Rosengrant and Elena Lifschitz. Wiley & Sons, 1996. Reviewed by Julian Connolly in MLJ 81 (1997): 139-40.
Inostranka: A Russian Reader. Sergei Dovlatov. RIS Publications, 1995.
Izbrannaia proza semidesiatykh. E. Krasnoshchekova, ed. RIS Publications, 1998.
Modern Russian Reader for Intermediate Classes. Ed. Lilia Pargment. NTC, 1986.
Nedel'a kak nedel'a / Just another week. Natalya Baranskaya, Lora Paperno, Natalie Roklina, et al. Slavica, 1989.
The New Russia: Readings on Russian Culture. Nijole White. Bristol Press (Focus), 2000. Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth McLendon in SEEJ 46.2 (2002): 437-38.
Ogonek: Novyj ètap istorii. Maria Lekic. NTC, 1994. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in MLJ 78 (1994): 412-13.
Pis'mo s togo sveta. Gleb Golubyov. Adapted by George Morris. Basil Products, 1986.
Reading Real Russian. Irene Thompson and Emily Urevich. Prentice Hall, 1998. 2nd edition. Volume 1 of 1st edition reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 35 (1991): 458-60. Both volumes of 1st edition reviewed by Christina Bethin in MLJ 76 (1992): 430-32 and by Cynthia Porter in RLJ XLVI.153-55 (1992): 295-98.
Rossija glazami zhenshchin: Literaturnaja antologija. Ed. Marina Ledkovskaia-Astman. Hermitage, 1989. Reviewed by Mary Nicholas in SEEJ 35 (1991): 304-05.
Russian Folk-Tales. James Riordan. Oxford University Press, 2001. Reviewed by Jonathan Z. Ludwig in SEEJ 46.1 (2002): 222-23.
Russian Folktales: A Reader (Focus Student Edition). Jason Merrill. Focus Publishing, 2000. Reviewed by David J. Galloway in SEEJ 46.2 (2002): 436-37.
Russian Intermediate Reader. Ed. Igor Mihalchenko. NTC, 1985.
Russian Readings for Close Analysis. Charles Townsend and Iulii Belchikov. Kendall/Hunt, 1993. Reviewed by Maurice Levin in RLJ XLVI. 153-55 (1992): 343-44; and by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 42 (1998): 361-63.
Russkie poèty XIX veka. Emil Draitser, ed. RIS Publications, 1999.
Russkie razgovory: Anthology of Contemporary Prose. Selected and Annotated for English-Speaking Students. Ed. by Zhanna Dolgopulova. Hermitage, 1992. Reviewed by Olga Kagan in SEEJ 38 (1994): 399-400.
Russian Stories. Russkie Rasskazy: A Dual Language Book. Ed. Gleb Struve. Dover Publications, reprinted 1990.
SAIS Readers in International AffairsAdvanced Russian. Natasha Simes. Kendall/Hunt, 1998. Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in SEEJ 43 (1999): 418-20.
Scientific Russian: Readings in Russian Science and Technology. Natasha Simes-Timofeeva and Marina Rappoport. Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1993.
Stories from Today's Russia. Ludmila Derevyanchenko, Ludmila Tschakh and Svetlana Kokoryshkina. National Textbook Co., 1995. Reviewed by Dolores Brzycki in MLJ 79 (1995): 451.
Treasury of Russian Love: Poems, Quotations, and Proverbs Read in Russian and English: Audio Book. Victoria Andreyeva. Hippocrene Books, 1997.
Twelve Stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko. Ed. by Lesli LaRocco and Slava Paperno. Slavica, 1990. Reviewed by Natasha Kolchevska in SEEJ 35 (1991): 305-07; and by Martha Kuchar in MLJ 76 (1992): 263. This item is also available on CD-ROM; see below.
In addition to the readers listed above, instructors can find many materials suitable for use in the classroom, whether specifically prepared for learners or not, in the catalogues of the publishers listed above in section 1 ("Textbooks"), from other publishers including Hermitage Publishers, Thornton's of Oxford, St. Petersburg Publishing House, and Victor Kamkin, all of which can be found on the worldwide web with links on the website of Lexicon Bridge publishers (http://www.LexiconBridge.com), and on the worldwide web (see below).
With each passing day there are more and more CD-ROMs available for learning Russian and for reading texts in Russian. Some of the learning tools can be very productive. Indeed, even materials that might be classified as "drill and kill" have the potential to engage the learners in activities and tasks that are cleverly designed to provide the kind of mechanical practice many learners might consider boring if performed merely with the conventional media of pen and paper. Multimedia titles have the ability to provide a closer linkage between sound and text ("click on the word to hear it pronounced") than can be provided by printed texts correlated with audiotapes. Furthermore, multimedia titles, if well designed (see Comer and Keefe and Danaher and Ott elsewhere in this volume), can provide learners with phases of increasing access to help in understanding unknown lexical items, rather than simply providing an English-language gloss available at the click of a mouse (with even less effort than looking a word up in a printed dictionary). When CD-ROMs provide instant glosses in English, they may ultimately do the learners a disservice by encouraging passivity among the learners, who might question why they should bother to learn any vocabulary or acquire any reading strategies when they can merely click on an unknown word and see its translation into English, ultimately translating an entire text word by word if need be. This kind of design is to be discouraged at all costs. One of the multimedia publishers, Fairfield Language Technologies, advertises: "THE ROSETTA STONE now makes it possible to learn new languages the way you learned your native language: without memorization, without studying the rules of grammar and without translation!" (Rosetta Stone CD-ROM for Russian, Level 1). This understanding of instructed second language acquisition is quite naive: no one can learn a language without effort, and high school or college age (or older) learners of foreign languages have to invest time and energy in memorizing both vocabulary and rules of grammar, syntax and pronunciation in order to gain communicative competence in a language. The various CD-ROMs listed below can help in that process by providing materials that are interesting to the students, but they cannot replace mental effort in and of themselves. Many of the CD-ROMs listed below are relatively new and have not been reviewed in the professional journals; accordingly, some description is provided to help instructors identify materials that may be of interest for their programs. One CD-ROM of particular note is Ruslan 2, whose reviewer, John Dingley (see link to review below), wrote: "This, to the best of my knowledge, is the only Russian multimedia course that even begins to exploit the possibilities offered by modern computer technology. After completing this course learners should be able to follow and participate in conversations on everyday topics, read simple texts and write straightforward sentences." These and other titles may be found in databases of CD-ROMs on the web at the University of Minnesota's Language Center ( http://LanguageCenter.cla.umn.edu/lc/ searchdb.html), the University of Pennsylvania ( http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/larrc/ resources.html), the University of Hawaii (http://www.lll.hawai.edu/nflrc), and at the "Online Journal" ( http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt). One other consideration: CD-ROMs that provide opportunities for students to type answers in Russian sometimes offer homophonic ("student") keyboards, and sometimes offer only authentic Russian keyboards. The authentic Russian keyboards may be very difficult for North American learners to use and may, ultimately, be so counterproductive as to negate any value from the exercises for which they are provided. All titles listed below can be used on either Macintosh or Windows platforms unless otherwise specified.
Beginning Russian Computer Exercises for DOS. Gerald Greenberg. Slavica, 1991. Reviewed by Nicholas Zhekulin in SEEJ 41 (1997): 531-32.
Beginning Russian Quizzes. Slava Paperno, Richard Leed, Alexander Nakhimovsky, and Alice Nakhimovsky. Lexicon Bridge, 1996. For Windows only. The short quizzes in this CD-ROM are linked to the textbook of the same title and are focused narrowly on a single topic, making them easy to use with any textbook. Each question is accompanied by an audio cue. Keyboard options, including a homophonic (AATSEEL standard) keyboard are provided.
The Case Book for Russian. Laura A. Janda and Steven J. Clancy. Slavic and East European Language Resource Center, in preparation. (This writer was not able to review the CD-ROM, but it is said to feature about 1200 examples with both male and female voices, an electronic search capacity in the Russian and English indices, and interactive exercises.) Slavica Publishers, 2002.
Children from Russia 1-2. Slawomir Grunberg and Slava Paperno. Lexicon Bridge, 1997. CD-ROM with video documentary about several children in Russian orphanages adopted by North American couples, accompanied by Russian-language transcripts (appearing in a frame next to video frame.)
Golosa Interactive. Mark Kaiser. Prentice Hall, 1998. For Windows only. This CD-ROM uses very creative learning activities accompanying the first volume of Golosa. Activities are provided to reinforce listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary; the program features an excellent system of navigation, allowing learners to move back and forth easily between parts of a single lesson or between lessons. Listening texts are well done, with little static and good voices.
Hello Russia: English-Russian MultiMedia Phrase Book CD-ROM. OK! Software, 1995. Reviewed by Andrew Boguslawski in SEEJ 40 (1996): 202-04.
Intermediate Russian Exercises. Slava Paperno, Alexander Nakhimovsky, Alice Nakhimovsky, and Richard Leed. Lexicon Bridge Publishers, 1996. For Windows only. Adapted from Intermediate Russian: The Twelve Chairs. Offers a variety of keyboard options, including AATSEEL standard student keyboard and keyboard layout can be displayed on screen as students work through the exercises.
Life on the Atomic River. Slawomir Grunberg and Slava Paperno. Lexicon Bridge, 1994-1997. Documentary film (see videos, below) with transcript, without glosses, exercises, or activities.
Medny vsadnik (The Bronze Horseman). John Langram. Ruslan, 2004. With audio CD. Reviewed by Andrew Jameson in Rusistika 29 (Autumn 2004): 30-1.
Michael and Svetlana. Slawomir Grunberg and Slava Paperno. Lexicon Bridge, 1995-1998. Documentary film (see videos, below) with transcript, without glosses, exercises or activities.
Nachalo: When in Russia. CD-ROM for vocabulary for first volume for Macintosh only (available from Brigham Young University). Full-scale CD-ROM in progress from McGraw-Hill.
Nachalo. 2nd edition. CD-ROM for the textbook in 2 volumes and 2 workbooks and interactive CD-ROM for each textbook
Passport to Russia. Alla Nazarenko and Keith Rawson. Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
RAILS. See web site section.
Rosetta Stone. Russkij jazyk Levels 1-2. Fairfield Language Technologies, 1993. Note: this program provides only the authentic Russian keyboard for student input, which may be a serious obstacle to use for North American learners. The program provides a series of lessons consisting of words and phrases correlated with still images and requires learners to match images with the printed word or phrase, to match images with spoken words or phrases, to type in Russian words or phrases to match images or spoken words or phrases. The interface is fairly complicated and learners may well find it confusing.
Ruslan Russian 1 CD-ROM. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan, 19 Highfield Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9HL, Great Britain (e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ), 1998. For Windows only. This CD-ROM consists of ten lessons, accompanying the textbook Ruslan and the video Moskva dlja vas! Activities are cleverly designed, the CD-ROM and book have been revised since the release of the first edition.
Ruslan Russian 1 CD-ROM, Version 2.0. A complete multimedia beginners Russian course. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan Ltd, Birmingham, 2001. Reviewed by Svitlana Kobets in SEEJ 46.4 (2002): 817-18.
Ruslan 2 CD-ROM. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva. Ruslan, 19 Highfield Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9HL, Great Britain (e-mail: email@example.com) Reviewed by John Dingley at http://astro.temple.edu/~jburston/CALICO/review/ruslang200.htm.
Ruslan Russian 2 CD-ROM. A complete second stage multimedia Russian course. John Langran and Natalya Veshnyeva Ruslan Ltd, Birmingham, 2001. Reviewed by Svitlana Kobets in SEEJ 46.4 (2002): 817-18.
The Russian Context: The Culture behind the Language. Eloise M. Boyle and Genevra Gerhart, eds. Slavica Publishers, 2002. Reviewed by Arna Bronstein and Aleksa Fleszar in SEEJ 47.1 (2003): 157-59.
Russian Listening Comprehension CD-ROM for Macintosh. Devin Asay. Brigham Young University, 1994. Reviewed by Leann Keefe in SEEJ 41 (1997): 532-33.
Russian Stage One: Live from Moscow. ACTR-Kendall/Hunt. CD-ROMs correlated with both volumes of this series feature video clips from the accompanying video in vocabulary, grammar, lexicon and speech management activities.
Russian Tutor 1: Russian for Beginners. Tatiana Kirsch. ESD Multi-Media Division. A basic course in Russian on CD-ROM.
START: An Introduction to the Sound and Writing Systems of Russian. Benjamin Rifkin. Focus Publishing, 1998. This CD-ROM (Macintosh only) presents a systematic introduction to the sounds of Russian (with digitized sound), the writing of the cursive alphabet (with quicktime movie animations), and the reduction of unstressed vowels. The program can be used in conjunction with any first-year textbook. The eleven lessons feature cultural comments and still images from Russia, as well as self-quizzes or dictations (with keys in the accompanying instructor's manual.)
START: An Introduction to the Sound and Writing Systems of Russian. Benjamin Rifkin. 2nd edition. Focus Publishing, 2005.
Transparent Language, Standard Master Language Program Package. Reviewed by Gerard Ervin in MLJ 78 (1994): 112-13. Transparent Language: Language Now (Russian). Fairfield Technologies, 1997. Extended dialogue (a running storyline) with images (not video), with sound and support for lexical and grammatical analysis. Learners can move forward line by line or word by word. Many "parts" in the extended dialogues are read by the same speaker. There are games (including crosswords) which are timed. Some of the games do not allow for acceptable variations (e.g., "on xotel by" but not "on by xotel"). The program provides an option for a student (homophonic) keyboard in accordance with the AATSEEL standard.
Transparent Language: Interview with Gorbachev. Fairfield Technologies, 1997. Many of the same features as those cited above, but it must be noted that the interview is read by a single speaker who "plays the parts" both of Gorbachev and the journalist interviewing him.
Transparent Language: Other titles. This company has other titles, including excerpts of literary works, including, for example, Master i Margarita, but they were not made available to this reviewer. Instructors can consult the Transparent Language web site at www.transparentlanguage. com.
Transparent Language: Word Ace. Fairfield Technologies, 1997. The dictionary utility can be a useful tool, but does not give a clear indication of usage or inflection. Word games provided with the program are clever and imaginative and can be used to help students expand their vocabulary. A homophonic keyboard (AATSEEL standard) is included as an option.
Twelve Chairs Interactive: A Multimedia Russian Language Course. Parts 1-3. S. Paperno, V. Tsimberov, A. Nakhimovsky, I. Sharonov. Lexicon Bridge, 1997. This program adopts the famous film for use in intermediate Russian-language programs and can be used in conjunction with the textbook Intermediate Russian: The Twelve Chairs. Segments of the film are carefully catalogued into easily "digested" chunks and accompanied by summaries, transcripts and descriptions to help students understand the film and be better equipped to discuss it. The various aforementioned texts also include hot links to still or moving images in the film (depicting the meaning of the linked word) and to glosses. The program features numerous tools to help learners move back and forth in each segment and among segments, but does not include questions to guide listening or viewing or vocabulary and grammar exercises per se. Reviewed by Mark Kaiser for the Berkeley Language Center; the review may be found at the Lexicon Bridge web site.
Twelve Stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko. Annotated by Lesli LaRocco and Slava Paperno. Lexicon Bridge Publishers, 1996. For Windows only (on diskette, not CD-ROM). Glosses and morphological information are available at the click of a mouse.
In addition to these materials, audio recordings of Russian literary texts read by Russian actors are numerous, including several recorded by Taganka actor Veniamin Smekhov (available for purchase at www.audiokniga.com).
The number of videos available for use in the Russian classroom is enormous, in part due to the increasing availability of feature and documentary films created in Russia for Russian viewers and to the development of satellite and internet broadcasting from Russia. The list below will feature only those items developed specifically for instructional purposes.
Children from Russia. Lexicon Bridge. See CD-ROM, above.
Contact. New York Network, SUNY. Reviewed in SEEJ 35 (1991) by Kenneth Nalibow (596-97) and Howard Keller (597-98).
In Search of Orlovsky. Leonid Shamshin, Zita Dabars, and Ellina Sosenko. ACTR and Kendall/Hunt, 1997. With Video Resource Manual including full transcript, activities and exercises ready for duplication and distribution to students, and guide for teachers. (May be used in conjunction with any intermediate or advanced level textbook, but linked to Russian Faces and Voices.) Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth McLendon in SEEJ 43.3 (1999): 587-88.
Interviews from Russia. Filmed in Volgograd and Alexandrov, consisting of recent interviews with Russians reflecting on the changes in their lives. Available from Lexicon Bridge, with full transcript.
Michael and Svetlana. Lexicon Bridge. See CD-ROM above.
Moskva dlja vas. Garri Dombrovskii. Ruslan, 1998. With transcript and exercises. Linked to Ruslan Russian 1. (Be sure to specify NTSC version if ordering for viewing in North America; the publisher may be contacted by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com). Reviewed by C. G. Bearne in Rusistika (March 1999): 30.
Russian Faces: Language and People. Leonid Shamshin and Zita Dabars. National Textbook Co. with Ostankino Russian Television, 1998. Video with Teacher's Resource Book including full transcript, activities and exercises ready for duplication and distribution to students, and guide for teachers. Correlated with Russian Face to Face Level One, but may be used in conjunction with any beginning textbook.
Russkie temy. Leonid Shamshin, Zita Dabars, and Ellina Sosenko. ACTR and Kendall/Hunt, 1997. With Video Resource Manual including full transcript, activities and exercises ready for duplication and distribution to students, and guide for teachers. May be used in conjunction with any intermediate or advanced level textbook, but linked to Mir russkix.
A Visit to Russia: Friends and Places. Leonid Shamshin, Zita Dabars, Joseph Liro, and Renate Bialy. CORLAC/ACTR (distributed by Basil Products). With Video Resource Manual including full transcript, activities and exercises ready for duplication and distribution to students, and guide for teachers. May be used in conjunction with any textbook, but linked to Russian Face to Face Level 2.
Listed below are selected distributors of Russian films and video materials. Some offer materials only with subtitles, some only without, and some offer either. Additional distributors may be found on the web site of the AATSEEL Committee on College and Pre-College Russian cited above.
Baker & Taylor Video; 8140 North Lehigh Ave.; Morton Grove, IL, 60053; tel. (708) 965-8060; fax (708) 470-7860.
Continental Video; 545 Ortega Ave.; San Francisco, CA, 94122; tel. (415) 731-3695.
Cornell University Tape Sales; Room G11 Noyes Ledge; Ithaca, NY, 14853; tel. (607) 255-3827.
Ethnic American Broadcasting/WMNB Russian-American Educational Services; One Bridge Plaza, Suite 145; Fort Lee, NJ, 07024; tel. 1-800-722-2080 (ext. 169); fax (201) 461-6227. (See also below, "Broadcast Services.") As of this writing, EAB/WMNB is off the air, but it is hoped that it will reorganize and return to provide services to the emigre community and teachers of Russian.
FACETS; 1517 West Fullerton Ave.; Chicago, IL, 60614; tel. 1-800-331-6197; fax (312) 929-5437.
Festival Films; 2841 Irving Ave. S.; Minneapolis, MN, 55408; tel. (612) 870-4744, or for orders only 1-800-798-6083; fax (612) 874-8520.
Info Study/ Info Travel, Inc.; 387 Harvard St.; Brookline, MA, 02146; tel. (617) 566-2197; fax (617) 734-8802 (for documentaries only).
Kino International; 333 W. 39th St., Suite 503; New York, NY, 10018; tel. (212) 629-6880; fax (212) 714-0871.
Souvenir; 141 Bay 35th St.; Brooklyn, NY, 11214; http://www.ultinet.net/~souve nir; (888) 322-6300; fax (718) 714-0880.
Tamarelle's; 110 Cohasset Stage Road; Chico, CA, 95926; tel. 1-800-356-3577 or 1-800-621-1333.
Recently there were two services providing satellite broadcasts in Russian: the International Channel http://www.i-channel.com, and SCOLA http:// www.scola.org. These services only provide the news from Moscow (Ostankino) in Russian, as they provide news in other languages throughout the day. SCOLA offers materials related to the news broadcast on its web site. Ethnic-American Broadcasting (WMNB), at press off the air due to financial problems, provided 24 hours of programming created both in Russia and in North America. The programming was designed to provide Russian-speaking emigres from the former Soviet Union a cultural bridge to the land they left behind as well as a means to learn more about the United States. In addition to the news from Moscow (Ostankino), which was carried daily, Ethnic American broadcasting offered a host of other kinds of programming including talk shows, call-in shows (on issues of health or law, for instance), game shows, cultural programming, educational programming for children, feature films, and documentary films. In the spring of 1997, the service provided outstanding coverage of Russian Orthodox Easter as celebrated both in Moscow and in Israel. Weekly broadcasts on cultural topics in the program "Russkij litsei" were generally very productive for more advanced learners. Ethnic American broadcasting put out a weekly television guide (by mail) called "Ot i do" which features not only the listings, but short feature articles on Russian and American culture as well as advertisements which are quite useful for reading comprehension activities for learners at all levels. NTV and NTV-pljus are available by subscription with a full range of authentic programming broadcast in Russia. The service also features a web-based schedule of broadcast programmings. The website for NTV is www.ntvworld.com. Radio broadcasting is easily accessed over the internet (see below).
More and more radio and television broadcasting services are making their broadcasts available over the internet. Instructors can find Russian (as well as other Central European) broadcast services at three web sites listed below. Of these three sites, the web site at MIT is the most comprehensive.
Live Russian television as broadcast from Moscow can also be found on the internet at http://www.rbcmp3.com/store/tv.asp. There are six channels, including ORT, RTR, NTV, and TV-6; the web site provides the day's schedule in Moscow time. In order to view the programming, you must have the Windows Media Player (which works on both PC and Macintosh platforms). This is not a connection for those who use a modem; the live streaming is much too data-heavy for any but those with an ethernet connection.
The Internet provides a wide range of resources for instructors and learners of Russian. Three of the best sites in this regard are sites developed by Robert Beard of Bucknell, Lauren Rosen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Benjamin Sher, an independent scholar. Robert Beard's web site is at http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian and provides links for information on a broad range of Russian culture, history and geography, including language exercises and activities. Lauren Rosen's site is not Russian specific, but features links to resources for the study of numerous cultures, including Russian; the URL for this site is http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/lss/lang/langlink.html. Russnet, http://www.russnet.org, an ACTR-supported project, provides a series of language and culture learning modules for learners and teachers of Russian, with everything from Business Russian (at beginning through advanced levels) to modules on contemporary Russian women, matryoshki, a biography of Stalin, and a cultural map of northwest Russia. Don't be fooled by the term "business Russian": the exercises in this section of the website are good for any learners, and the beginning modules work very well with students in first-year Russian. In addition to these sites, Rosen maintains a second site specifically for language teachers at http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/lss/lang/teach.html. Benjamin Sher's web site includes an index of links to sites related to Russia all over the word; the URL for the site is http:// www.websher.net. There is a great catalogue of Slavic-related sites at www.slavophilia.com. In addition to these great catalogues of resources, instructors of Russian may find it productive to browse through the periodicals, including those which have their full text on line, at the Russian School of Middlebury College at www.middlebury.edu/~ls/Russian/links/index.html. This site features full text for a number of journals and newspapers, allowing instructors instant access to Russian-language print media from Russia without a delay for surface delivery. Lastly, as cited above in Section 3 ("CD-ROMs"), there are several sites at the University of Hawaii, the University of Minnesota, the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the "Online Journal: Language Learning and Technology," which may be useful for instructors investigating internet-based resources for instruction in language and culture. The AATSEEL web site also has lists of summer immersion and study programs.
Intensive programs in Slavic and East European languages as well as in the languages of the Republics of the former Soviet Union can be found at URL http://aatseel.org/intensive-programs/index.htm. The listings include those programs offered in U.S. (and some Canadian) colleges and universities as well as programs abroad. Lots of free features, lessons, reviews and recommended links are provided by the following web site: http://www.masterrussian.com. Below is the list of several URLs and websites regarding learning and teaching Russian. The full list can be found on UCLA's Language Material Project web site. You can access its website at http://www.lmp.ucla.edu or go directly to the bulletin board at http://lmp.ucla.edu/News.aspx?menu=012:
Listen to the Slavic Languages. Peter Houtzagers.
A web site with audio files of written texts for six Slavic languages, including Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Serbian. The texts with accompanying audio files include Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Birth of Jesus, The Good Samaritan, Winnie the Pooh, and Alice in Wonderland. Users may listen to each audio file while reading a bilingual script.
RAILS: Content-based lessons to teach advanced-level listening comprehension produced on a grant from the US Department of Education (Principal Investigator Benjamin Rifkin). Lessons themselves are free from UW-Madison, but some of the lessons have copyright fees paid to the distributors of films on which the lessons are based. As of July 2005, 12 lessons are available: 3 lessons based on an interview with Veniamin Smekhov, 9 lessons based on documentary films by Marina Goldovskaia. As of July 2006, 12 more lessons will be available, including lessons based on interviews with Maria Tendriakova, Russian Social Psychologist and Anthropologist, and Irina Khakamada, Russian politician and former presidential candidate. URL: http://imp.lss.wisc.edu/rails.Contact Dianna Murphy at firstname.lastname@example.com for licensing information. (There are some restrictions on use of the lessons based on the Goldovskaia films.)
Russian: An Interactive On-Line Reference Grammar. Robert Beard. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/language/index.htm. An online Russian reference grammar from Bucknell University. Designed for beginning students of Russian. Provides background information on optimizing computers to work with Cyrillic fonts as well as background information on the Russian alphabet and spelling rules. Includes sections on pronunciation and spelling, the verb, noun, adjective, pronoun, preposition, and conjunction. Includes interactive exercises after each topic. Also includes limited sound files. Offers links to other on-line resources for learning Russian, including a dictionary and a grammar.
Russian Grammar. Edna Andrews.
An online Russian reference grammar containing sections on phonology (with sections on orthography, a phonemic inventory, phonological rules and morphophonemics), morphology (including all major parts of speech, plus negation and possession), and syntax. Begins with a section on the history, geography and speakers of Russian. Includes a short selection of heavily parsed texts. Plans to include interactive multiple choice exercises in the future. Also includes background on the geography and speakers of Russian. This grammar is part of a series of on-line Slavic reference grammars offered by the Slavic and East European Language Resource Center.
Russian Grammar Exercises for Russian Students
A web site from the University of Denver with interactive exercises for beginning students of Russian. Contains exercises for each of the six Russian cases, exercises on the alphabet and the spelling rules, and verb conjugation exercises. Also contains a grammar on the exercise topics.
Russian Language Mentor
A supplementary learning material that consists of five different learning "tools" for learning and reviewing Russian. Includes a course of reading proficiency modules and listening proficiency modules. Also contains a section on English on Russian cultural literacy, a linguistic description of the case system, a section of crossword puzzles, a section on developing technical and scientific literacy, and more. The material is geared towards intermediate and advanced students.
A multi-language site offering online courses.
The UCLA Language Materials Project website has a new bulletin board. It contains a complete list of Russian teaching and authentic materials. You can access its website at http://www.lmp.ucla.edu or go directly to the bulletin board at http://lmp.ucla.edu/News.aspx?menu=012. CARLA's Less Commonly Taught Languages Project sponsors this list and many other resources: http://www.carla.umn.edu/LCTLIn an examination of materials that are currently available, what appears to be lacking for instruction in the Russian-language curriculum for North American learners are: feature films and documentaries with subtitles in Russian; a textbook on Russian culture in Russian for more advanced learners, together with reading activities (focusing on both content and strategy) and questions for reflection; more materials for the development of listening comprehension, especially on the advanced level (with genres including content-based lectures on literature and the social sciences); more materials on word formation to help students develop mastery of the inventory of Russian roots; more materials to teach learners strategies for learning Russian and strategies for understanding spoken and written Russian; and more materials focusing on phonetics and intonation, especially for learners who have had one or more years of instruction. Certainly the field would benefit enormously from the development of materials specifically designed for the needs of heritage learners. It would be very desirable for the profession to develop a repository for study guides for feature films and documentaries; many instructors have developed such guidesincluding both vocabulary and cultural background information, as well as questions to guide listening and viewingbut the materials remain available only on a local basis, compelling many of us to reinvent the wheel in this regard in each of our institutions if we do not have the good fortune of knowing another instructor who has developed materials appropriate for our own curricula.
Nevertheless, despite these gaps, the breadth, range and depth of materials available for teaching Russian have never been as great as they are now. The number of textbooks, readers, CD-ROMs, videotapes, and sources of authentic audio and video have increased dramatically, especially with the advent of new media for the delivery of these resources. Instructors should carefully consider the available options and should share their impressions with colleagues at their own and other institutions so that the field can provide a better and richer education in Russian language and culture to all our students at all levels of instruction. Sadly, many of the published materials, especially textbooks, readers, CD-ROMs and videos, have not been reviewed in the professional journals; it is incumbent upon all instructors of Russian to become more active reviewers of these materials to ensure that they are reviewed both promptly and professionally, thus increasing awareness within the field of the options that are available. New fora for the dissemination of book reviews, including the AATSEEL Book Review web site, should be encouraged, but the traditional forum of reviews published in the major journals should not be neglected. More members of the profession should participate in the review of instructional materials. Sadly, the names of the reviewers are far too few in the listings above: a select few members of the profession have volunteered to review materials. These individuals are to be commended (especially since a good review is time consuming, but rarely rewarded for tenure or promotion purposes). However, the lack of diversity among the reviewers may lead to a rather narrow perspective on instructional materials in our professional journals. If momre members of our profession were to participate in the review process, more views would be heard, benefiting a large number of instructors whose views, interests, pedagogical philosophies would find reflections in the reviews themselves. Lastly, new fora for the dissemination of materials for curricular development, such as electronic publishing, should be encouraged, recognized, and rewarded, since the field may not find publishers willing to venture into a market as small as the Russian market with such narrowly focused topics as those described above (e.g., study guides for feature and documentary films, and so forth). The AATSEEL web page or Russnet have great potential in this regard and are beginning to serve as a "host" for links to materials on web pages throughout the world that provide instructors with materials to meet specific needs not yet met by published materials. However, the profession must take on the responsibility of reviewing these materials in order to provide incentive for authors to come forward and share them and in order to assure the quality of materials published electronically for the sake of all learners and instructors who consider using them.
Works CitedAmerican Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. "Proficiency Guidelines for Russian." Foreign Language Annals 21 (1988): 177-97.
Bernhardt, Elizabeth. "Reading in the Foreign Language." In Wing., B., ed. Listening, Reading, and Writing: Analysis and Application. Reports of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference, 1986. 93-115.
Brecht, Richard, Dan Davidson, and Ralph B. Ginsberg. Predictors of Foreign Language Gain during Study Abroad. Washington, D.C.: National Foreign Language Center, 1993. (Reviewed by Barbara Freed in MLJ 80 [1996]: 267-72.)
Brecht, Richard, and Jennifer Robinson. Qualitative Analysis of Second Language Acquisition in Study Abroad. Washingto n, D.C.: National Foreign Language Center, 1993. (Reviewed by Barbara Freed in MLJ 80 [1996]: 267-72.)
Brecht, Richard, with John Caemmerer, and A. Ronald Walton. Russian in the United States: A Case Study of America's Language Needs and Capacities. Washington, D.C.: National Foreign Language Center, 1995. (Reviewed by Benjamin Rifkin in MLJ 81 [1997]: 136-38.)
Donchenko, Adele K. Review of "Russian Review Grammar" by Marianna Bogojavlensky. SEEJ 27 (1983): 130-31.
Edelman, Ruth, Peter Merrill and Jane Shuffelton. "Standards for Learning Russian." In Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project: 1999. 389-430.
Lubensky, Sophia and Donald Jarvis. Teaching, Learning, Acquiring Russian. Columbus: Slavica, 1984.
Omaggio-Hadley, Alice. Teaching Language in Context. 2nd edition. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1993.
Patton, Frederick. "Russian Language Textbooks for Americans, 1975-1982." In Lubensky and Jarvis 1984: 347-59.
Phillips, June K. "Practical Implications of Recent Research in Reading." Foreign Language Annals 17 (1984): 285-96.
Rifkin, Benjamin. "The Communicative Orientation of Russian-Language Textbooks." SEEJ 36 (1992): 463-88.
. "Second Language Acquisition Theory and the New Generation of Russian-Language Textbooks." SEEJ 41 (1997): 330-40.
Rifkin, Benjamin, et al. "Gender Representation in Foreign Language Textbooks: A Case Study of Textbooks of Russian." MLJ 82 (1998): 217-36.
Schillinger, John. "An Analysis of College Level Russian Textbooks." In Lubensky and Jarvis 1984: 360-72.
Swaffar, Janet, Katherine Arens, and Heidi Byrnes. Reading for Meaning: An Integrated Approach to Language Learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991.
[!] For maximum compatibility this page has been prepared without any special diacritic marks (webmaster).
[!!] I am indebted to Benjamin Rifkin for his assistance with the 2005 update of this list. Research for this update was supported in part by the 2004 Junior Faculty Development Program, a program sponsored and managed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State under authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 as amended, and administered by American Councils for International Education. The opinions expressed herein are the author's own and do not necessarily express the views of either ECA or American Councils.
[1] Both Stilman, Stilman and Harkins and Davis and Oprendek, as well as early textbooks, are considered at some length in Rifkin (1992).


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A White Paper Report: Removing the Barriers to Shared Services -- A Prescription for Creating Efficiency and Taxpayer Savings Through Local Government Shared Services. (2006) Somerset County Municipal Managers Association
Municipal Government Approaches to Service Delivery: An Analysis from A Transactions Cost Perspective. (1997)
Luzerne County's Municipal Cooperation Community Toolkit 2005 Shared Service Success Stories
Explaining Local Government Cooperation on Public Works: Evidence from Michigan.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Artists have had a major impact on the creation and development of America's national parks from the beginning of the national park movement. Similar to Thomas Moran's contribution to the creation of America's first national park, the painter Belmore Browne was a strong advocate for the establishment of Mt. McKinley National Park, now known as Denali National Park, in 1917. Since then artists and writers have continued to contribute to the celebration and preservation of Alaska's public lands.
Denali National Park has one of the premier artist-in-residence programs in the U.S. park system. Over the years, many artists have supported the park and worked within its landscape to create powerful works that have merit not only as beautiful objects but also as important tools for interpreting the park's natural history and complex ecosystems.
Alaska Geographic supports arts programs within Alaska's public lands. From financial support, to creating publications and organizing arts-related events, we help to further develop the arts and public lands connection here in the North.
There are many exciting arts-related projects and events throughout Alaska including:
Questions or comments specific to the Denali Arts Program can be sent to:
Tim RainsNational Park Service Media email@example.com(907) 683-6435
Questions or comments regarding Alaska Geographic's involvement in arts programs within Alaska's public lands can be directed to our Anchorage office at:email@example.com(907) 274-8440


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Letters to the Editor
I love your high-quality magazine and look forward to each issue. Only one complaint: you've started putting a thick black border around the feature article pages. The ink sticks to my fingers and gets smudged all over the pages, making it much less appealing to read. Please get rid of the borders! I would also like Metro-X to get rid of all the black on their back page ad, which also smudges all over the place, but I guess that's another letter to be written to their marketing department. Or maybe your whole magazine is just too hot to read! Thanks.
—Walter Cooke firstname.lastname@example.com
We added the border to call attention to the feature section—makes it easy to find. The smudge factor did not occur to us and doesn't happen on the copies we receive. However, yours is not the only complaint we have received and we are talking to the printer about possible solutions. Perhaps we need to rethink this one. Thanks for your comments —Editor
I will be the first to admit there are no absolutes in this world, but the comment offered by Shawn McMahon in the Letters section, Linux Journal, June 1999 issue concerning PCI modems not working in Linux, is absolutely wrong. Unfortunately, your response to his letter was likewise in error, thereby perpetuating this misinformation. You stated, "PCI modems are basically Windows-only." I realize you used a caveat in your response; however, as the (in my opinion) pre-eminent and "first-class" leader in Linux-related magazines/journals, you should do a little more research before making blanket statements that are inaccurate.
I am limiting my comments to one modem only for obvious reasons, but I must tell you that "some" PCI modems work equally well in Linux and Windows. For example, I recently installed a US Robotics/3Com V.Everything PCI modem in one of my computers, and have not experienced any problems with it whatsoever. I configured the modem to use com2 when operating in an MS Windows environment, and /dev/ttyS1 when using Linux. I connect to my ISP consistently at 48,000 bps (probably due to the antiquated wiring of our local telco) regardless of the OS I am running.
I enjoy perusing your journal immensely; in fact, I anxiously await its arrival every month. When it finally gets here, I scurry into my "library" and don't come out for an hour, much to the chagrin of the rest of the family. Kudos to all at LJ! Keep up the good work!
—Greg Bailey firstname.lastname@example.com
Sorry, everyone I talked to about Shawn's letter agreed he was right. With so much hardware available today, no one can know everything. Congratulations on finding a PCI modem that works for Linux and you —Editor
A Linux lab was constructed in December 1998 by a volunteer group of Linux users in Tucson, Arizona for Corbett Elementary school. All machines within the lab run only Linux, except for the district's server console—we were not given permission to remove Windows 95 from it, unfortunately. Even if it isn't the first Linux lab in a public school within the U.S., it's most likely the first in an elementary school (K-6). It contains 32 Compaq Pentium 90s, one AST Pentium 90 server, one 486 DX-33 Ethernet switch, one Gateway 486 DX/2-66 print server and one Compaq Pentium 200 MMX (district)—all running Slackware 3.6 and 4.0. The lab officially opened late January 1999, and the students love it. Some were having too much fun with XBill though, so we had to remove the gore. The entire district, which constitutes 105 schools, pipes out to the Net on a single T1—not everything can be perfect. On that note, I'm the network administrator for this lab.
—James Daniel email@example.com
I think your article "The Distributions Take a Stand on Standards" by Norman Jacobowitz (June 1999) does not prove a thing. No vendor in his right mind would state that they will not go along with existing and upcoming Linux standards and invent their own for "product improvements". Not even Microsoft did so before introducing new proprietary software solutions.
At the moment, it's all about market share for a huge upcoming market and who's best in keeping up a good "front show" while thinking about how to get the biggest piece of the pie in the back office. What do you think about new software for Linux labeled as running on "Red Hat Linux"? Check out www.kai.com/C_plus_plus/download.html#intel_linux.
I think Linux needs an independent organization like the OMG for CORBA. At the moment, there is not even one "Linux Standard". How do you explain to your customer which Linux configuration your software runs on? Some distributions know how to use this fact for their own benefit and could cause standards to go down the drain in a few years. Greetings from Germany.
—Roland Koeckel email@example.com
The Linux Standards Base, written about in "The Past and Future of Linux Standards" by Daniel Quinlan in that same issue, is striving to become that independent organization you are wanting —Editor
Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.
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Learn more about catching the bad guy in this free white paper.
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If you suck at this game firs - NFL 2K3
If you suck at this game first make your own team. assign 11 guys and then (if you can)save it. Now the next part takes a long time. Go to the NFL all-star team and go to the substitution. then get some paper and a pencil. press select and you will get their stats. then copy them on your peace of paper(height and weight dont matter). Now once you are done go to the create player and make a player. If you extra points on people put them on speed agility or something that matters. you should make about 4 or more people per each position except kicker and punter. make 2 or less. Now you should have a kick butt team P.S. your tight end and full back may not be that good.
Thanks for reading hope this helps.
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A new December screenshot gallery has been released for Assetto Corsa and features Ayrton Senna's driven Lotus 98T from Classic Team Lotus. These unedited ingame screenshots are taken from action at..
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Last week there was a video game sale announcement that centered around the decision to offer up what amounts to nearly the entire historic catalog of Interpay's games over at GOG.com (GOG.com is a ..
Whenever there is a new console on the horizon or the inventory of pre-owned gaming consoles and kit gets low over at the undisputed King of Used Games and Pre-Owned Gaming Systems -- game retailer ..
Also on: XBox, GameCube, check out those pages for more help with this game.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
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God of War
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists of the Roses
Need for Speed Carbon


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Filter by: Agriculture, Nutrition and Veterinary Sciences Animal Biotechnology Biochemistry and Molecular Biology CABNR/NAES - Administration Center for Resource Economics Natural Resources and Environmental Science Resource Economics --- All Personnel --- Account, General Albion, Rebecca Anderson, Krista Arnone, Jay Arrendale, Diana Ashley, Judith Baker, Josh Barnes, Lindsey Benedict, Jamie Bleich, Vern Blomquist, Gary Brown, Elizabeth Brown, Roger Burrows, Michelle Chambers, Jeanne Chandra, Sudeep Christman, Laine Collopy, Mike Cowee, Margaret Cramer, Grant Craner, James Cremo, Christine Cushman, John Damke, Hanna Davis, Marianne Demuth, Mark Dilts, Tom Ellison, Patricia Evans, Mariah Evenden, Angela Facemyer, Kevin Faciola, Antonio Fadali, Elizabeth Felten, Karon Figueroa, Rubi Glenn, Melissa Goodrich, Daisy Gray, Meeghan Grzymski, Joe Gustin, Mae Harper, Jeff Harris, Thomas Hathwaik, Upul Hee, Teri Henery, Rene Hess, Rebecca Higgins, Kimberly Hiibel, Sage Hogan, Zeb Holcomb, Mike Holcombe, Dale Howard, Christie Huntington, Justin John, Olivia Johnson, Dale Keller, Patricia Kikawa, Keith Kindred, Bo Kruse, Kristina Landis, Malieka Leger, Elizabeth Liebman, Susan W. Longland, William Makoba, Johnson Markee, Nancy Mastick, Cynthia Corley Mastick, Grant Matocq, Marjorie McGraw, Jerry Medeiros, Kerrie Miller, Glenn Miller, Wally Misono, Kunio Mixon, Rebecca mmoore, rrobert Moore, Robert Murray, Alison Nicolai, Chris Nieto, Nathan Nowak, Robert Omaye, Stanley T. Osborne, Craig Padovan, Beth Pardini, Lani Pardini, Ron Parker, Elliott Perryman, Barry Pritsos, Chris Pritsos, Karen Qiu, Yue (Sally) Qualls, Jerry Reynoza-Gomez, Juana Ricketts, Marie-Louise Robards, Ron Rocky, Ronald Rollins, Group Rollins, Kimberly Romenskaia, Irina Saito, Laurel Schlauch, Karen Schooley, David Sedinger, Jim Shenkoru, Teshome Shintani, David Smith, Shelly Snyder, Keirith Stewart, Kelley Stewart, Travis Stoughton, Julie Stringham, Tamzen Swanson, John Swanson, Sherman Tausch, Robin Taylor, Michael H. Teglas, Mike Teihm, Arnold Tittiger, Claus Valencik, Maria Verburg, Paul Walker, Mark Walker, Roger Warwick, John Webmaster, Weigel, Dan Weisberg, Peter Welch, William Weltz, Mark Wendel, Jeanne Wheatley, Matthew Wilker, Jon Wilson, David Woodrow, James Yamamoto, Susie Young, Sharon Zanjani, Esmail
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What are RSS Feeds? RSS feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest information and video in one place, as soon as it's published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from.
Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people plump for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.
How do I start using feeds? In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader or aggregator. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any articles, pod-cast, video, etc. that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications.
Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. For example, if you would like the latest CABNR News stories, simply visit the News section and you will notice an orange button on the right hand side.
Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to feeds much easier. For more details on these, please check their websites.
How do I get a news reader? There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer. List of common RSS News Readers
Frontpage News
News Archives
rss Feeds
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