Russian course outline

The Cactus Course Outlines provide a learning framework for the Cactus Foreign Language Evening Courses. They are designed to provide you with a good idea of what you might cover over a 10-week period, and include typical themes, grammar and vocabulary fields. They are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that our teachers may decide to adapt their learning plans to the specific level, aims and interests of their classes. Use the tabs below to view the relevant Russian course outline for your level.

Russian Beginner 1

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Name, profession and personal information
  • Greeting and parting.
  • What are they doing?
  • My Family.
  • Who and What?
  • Introduction
  • Eating out
  • Talking about places and things
  • Numbers (1-100) and mathematics
  • Telling the time
  • Asking directions
  • Talking about position (где, в, на)
  • Describing things and activities

Grammar:

  • Gender of nouns.
  • Personal pronouns.
  • Personal pronouns in the Nominative and Accusative case.
  • Verbs in the present tense: 1st and 2nd group conjugation.
  • Plural of nouns. Possessive pronouns.
  • Consonants: hard and soft; voiced and voiceless.
  • Vowels: reduction of о, е, я.
  • Intonation of a question and a statement. Accent (stress).
  • Reading rules. Voiced and voiceless consonants combinations

Cultural Content:

  • People in Russia

Skills Work:

  • Alphabet
  • Pronunciation: key sounds and intonation
  • Reading rules
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing simple words

Russian Beginner 2

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Describing people
  • Work and activities
  • Weather & climate.
  • My day
  • Getting around the city.
  • Clothes, Food & Shopping
  • Home & Accommodation
  • Languages & Countries
  • Reading rules and intonation.
  • Difficulties of pronunciation.

Grammar:

  • Nouns in the Prepositional case. Prepositions “ в”, “на” in the Prepositional and Accusative case.
  • Verbs in the past tense.
  • Numbers.
  • Adjectives.
  • Adverbs of time and quality.
  • Irregular verbs вставать, давать, продавать. Accusative case inanimate and animate.
  • Demonstrative pronouns это, эта, этот, эти in the Nominative and Accusative case.
  • Verb “хотеть”.
  • Prepositional case with preposition “about”.
  • Impersonal structures.
  • Personal pronouns in the Prepositional case.

Cultural Content:

  • Russia: geography and history

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding (dialogues and role plays)
  • Writing

Russian Beginner 3

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Cities & Streets
  • House & Flat, Rooms & Furniture
  • Dates, Week agenda. Planning your week activities
  • Summer holidays & Travel
  • Cultural aspects, music, films, television, books & theatres
  • Positions & Directions

Grammar:

  • Adjectives and Possessive pronouns in the Prepositional case.
  • Irregular verb of 1st group conjugation “брать”.
  • Irregular verbs of 2nd group conjugation: просить, платить, видеть, ненавидеть, переводить, любить, спать, готовить.
  • Days of the week in the accusative case. When did you have a meeting?-On Monday.
  • Verbs with suffixes “-ова-, -ева-»: e.g. планировать.
  • Structure “У меня был…”
  • Reflexive verbs of type “кататься»
  • Verbs “мочь and уметь»
  • Pronoun “свой”
  • Conjunctions: because, that is why (потому что, поэтому)

Cultural Content:

  • Russian holidays / festivals and traditions

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding (dialogues and role plays)
  • Writing

Russian Elementary 1

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Possessions, positions, the genitive and dative
  • Transport
  • Travel & Travelling
  • Directions
  • Travel tips
  • Staying in hotels
  • Restaurants, local & International cuisines and customs
  • Describing processes, activities and states
  • People in the World

Grammar:

  • Verbs of Motion.
  • Nouns and adjectives in the Genitive case singular and plural
  • Genitive and dative cases
  • Prepositions (в, на, из, с, к, у, от)
  • Genitive case with numbers

Cultural Content:

  • Reading papers and magazines
  • Common idioms and proverbs

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Elementary 2

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Introductions, self, job and family
  • Time and Time zones
  • Daily activities
  • Health
  • Vacation and Travel
  • Sightseeing
  • My hobbies, sports and free time activities
  • Eating out (Cafés, restaurants and markets)

Grammar:

  • Verb aspect: Non-perfective and perfective verb pairs.
  • Dative case.
  • Category of state: стоять, лежать, висеть, находиться.
  • Modal words (Мне нравится… Надо, нужно, можно)
  • Verb aspect: Imperative.
  • Instrumental case.
  • Comparative and superlative structures.
  • Verbs of motion with prefixes.

Cultural content:

  • The world of work and leisure

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Elementary 3

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talking about yourself
  • Shopping, Souvenirs ; Money and Buying things
  • Food and Drink, Products.
  • Clothes
  • Health, Tastes and Diet – Healthy way of life.
  • The body
  • At the doctors.
  • Dining out-menu, ordering, deciding what to eat
  • Talking about work and professions; how to choose an employee; how to judge a person by his/her CV
  • My day.
  • Time
  • Everyday activities. How to start a new life.
  • Hobby and entertainment. Sharing your experiences.

Grammar:

  • Mastering vocabulary and functional grammar necessary for communication and skills
  • Verbs of Motion, all aspects
  • Verbs of Motion with prefixes such as “идти, прийти, пойти, войти, выйти, зайти, подойти, перейти”
  • Other verbs with prefixes such as “читать, прочитать, перечитать, зачитаться, вчитаться”, etc.,
  • Participles and Gerund

Cultural Content:

  • Russia in the World
  • Russian baths.

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Intermediate 1

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talking about tastes. Tastes differ.
  • What century? What year? What is this book about?
  • How to ask and explain directions.
  • Stories about travellers, tourism and adventures.
  • Person’s appearance: face and figure, typical appearance.

Grammar:

  • Animate nouns and adjectives in the Accusative case.
  • Time structures with Prepositional case.
  • Imperfective and perfective verbs of motion with prefixes.
  • Prepositions with verbs of motions.
  • Comparative and superlative degree of adjectives.

Cultural Content:

  • The subjects of Russian cultural and ‘business’ sphere included in conversations and discussions

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Intermediate 2

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Features of character, horoscope.
  • Discussions on global issues: ecology and space flights.
  • Home and office interior.
  • How to bring up children. Problems of childhood in different countries.
  • Languages and how to learn foreign language.
  • World economics and level of life. Poverty and wealth; social justice.

Grammar:

  • Short adjectives.
  • Conditional clauses.
  • Subjunctive mood.
  • Verb aspects in the future.
  • Instrumental case with prepositions.
  • Negative structures.
  • Participles.
  • Passive structures.
  • Adverbial participle (or Russian Gerund- деепричастие).

Cultural Content:

  • Russian and international society – social issues
  • Famous people
  • Russian Media
  • Russian Business and Economy

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Intermediate 3

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
  • Languages and how to learn foreign language.
  • Reading and analysing Russian literature: poetry and prose.
  • Watching and discussing films.
  • Reading and analysing newspapers
  • World economics and level of life. Poverty and wealth; social justice

Grammar:

  • Conditionals and Subjunctives
  • Verb aspects
  • Cases and prepositions
  • Negative structures.
  • Verbal nouns and adjectives
  • Passive and active structures

Cultural Content:

  • Aspects of Russian social, cultural and ‘business’ spheres in conversations, debates and discussions

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Upper Intermediate

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
  • Reading and analyzing Russian literature: poetry and prose.
  • Watching and discussing films.
  • Reading and analysing newspapers.

Grammar:

  • Advanced grammar

Cultural Content:

  • Russian and international society – social issues
  • Famous people
  • Russian Media
  • Russian Business and Economy

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Advanced

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
  • Reading and analysing Russian literature: poetry and prose.
  • Watching and discussing films.
  • Reading and analysing newspapers.

Grammar:

  • Advanced grammar

Cultural Content:

  • Russian and international society – social issues
  • Famous people
  • Russian Media
  • Russian Business and Economy

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing

Russian Proficiency

Topics & Vocabulary:

  • Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
  • Reading and analysing Russian literature: poetry and prose.
  • Watching and discussing films.
  • Reading and analysing newspapers.

Grammar:

  • High level grammar

Cultural Content:

  • Russian and international society – social issues
  • Famous people
  • Russian Media
  • Russian Business and Economy

Skills Work:

  • Reading and listening
  • Speaking and understanding
  • Writing
  • Discussing
 
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