Russian

Proficiency Levels, Learning Objectives and Course Content

according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

see also: Language Proficiency Levels and Course Levels


A1 CEFR

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she owns. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

A1/1

Textbook:  Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

Speaking Topics (Examples): Personal details: greeting and introducing oneself, asking for and giving information about name and profession; giving information about place of residence, introducing someone, asking about and giving information about health, origin and nationality; saying which languages one speaks; speaking about one's family; expressing affiliation; naming the numbers 1 to 4; speaking about one's profession and job.

Planned Grammar Topics:  Russian alphabet, salutation and word formation in Russian names; personal and possessive pronouns in the nominative and accusative cases, nouns in the nominative, genitive and prepositional singular case, indication of place in response to the questions Где? Откуда?; basic numbers 1-20; rendering of names; rendering of have / have not; verbs: conjugation in the present tense.

A1/2

Textbook: Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

Speaking Topics:   Shopping at the supermarket and the market; stating quantities, weights and packaging; asking for and stating prices; talking about leisure activities and hobbies; telling time and days of the week; saying when, how often and where one likes or doesn't like to go; formulating wishes; talking about meals, understanding a menu.

Planned Grammar Topics: Nouns in the accusative singular and in the nominative and accusative plural forms, verbs connected with hobbies, reflexive verbs, the verb of movement ходить; selected irregular verbs (есть, пить, хотеть), nouns in the instrumental singular form, prepositions c, без; telling the time; basic numbers 21-200, the genitive after numerals.

A1/3

Textbook: Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

Speaking topics: Receiving guests, ordering in a restaurant, shopping in a department store, naming and evaluating clothes and colors, offering compliments, asking for favors, asking for age and dates, extending congratulations and good wishes, speaking about gifts and presents, talking about holidays, describing vacation habits, talking about the weather, understanding weather forecasts, describing travel experiences.

Planned Grammar Topics:  Personal pronouns in the dative singular and plural, adjectives and interrogatives in the nominative and accusative singular and plural forms, verbs on -ова-/-ева-; the verb носить; month and date and season indications; basic numbers 300-1000, ordinal numbers 1-31, accusative singular of animate masculines; dative singular of nouns; accusative and dative indications of direction.


A2 CEFR

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine situations requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

A2/1

Textbook: Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

Speaking Topics:  Describing the location of a place, discussing advantages and disadvantages of living in the city and in the countryside; indicating which means of transport one uses; talking about an (un)healthy lifestyle and one's own health, naming parts of the body; describing symptoms of illnesses; giving advice and recommendations; talking about one's work and daily working routine, naming and evaluating professional activities; talking about housework.

Planned Grammar Topics: Comparative forms of adjectives, shortened form of adjectives; noun in the genitive plural, target and non-target non-prefixed verbs of movement; past tense forms of the verb; declension of the feminine nouns ending in -ь; adjectives in the prepositional singular; the modal verb мочь; reflexive pronoun себя; distinctions between adjectives and adverbs; second person imperative. The use of the verb must, the instrumental after the verbs заниматься, работать and the short adjective доволен, the introduction to verbal aspects, the personal pronoun in the dative case, the indication of the duration.

A2/2

Textbook: Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

Speaking Topics: Describing a city neighborhood, giving walking directions, describing a house/apartment and one’s living conditions, describing a trip, expressing intentions and planning activities; talking about places of interest, formulating, accepting or declining invitations; making an appointment; booking a ticket, information about education, studies, family status, future plans and stages of life.

Planned Grammar Topics:  The use of the category of aspects in the past tense; genitive singular of adjectives, ordinal and possessive pronouns; instrumental case with the prepositions над, под, перед, за, рядом, между; genitive case with the prepositions около, у, напротив, от, до;  dative case with the preposition по, accusative case with the preposition через; rendering of impersonal verbs, use of aspects in the future tense, day and time of day indications; instrumental case after the verbs быть, стать; ordinal numbers 32-100, year indications, dative singular/plural of adjectives, possessive pronouns and demonstrative pronouns, dative case to indicate the person to whom the action is directed; expression of not having in the past and future tense.

A2/3

Textbook: Jasno! Neu A1-A2 Course book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527678-9 and Exercise book with MP3-CD and videos ISBN: 978-3-12-527679-6, Klett Publishers.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics:  Talking about a professional career, discussing communication in real and virtual life; talking about advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet; talking about TV programs, movies, social networks; expressing opinions; talking about Moscow and its sights, making comparisons; formulating wishes, asking for and giving recommendations; describing trips and sharing travel impressions; making simple professional phone calls.

Planned Grammar Topics:  Grammatical expression of years, instrumental singular/plural and prepositional singular/plural of adjectives, possessive pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns; declension of nouns with -ие; rendering of need/not need in the present tense; simple and compound comparative of adjectives, compound superlative of adjectives, subjunctive; passive of unfinished verbs, accusative case of animate masculine nouns in the plural form.


B1 CEFR

Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered at work, school, leisure etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

B1/1

Textbook:  Jasno! B1. Russian for Advanced Learners. Course and Exercise book with 2 audio CDs. ISBN 978-3-12-527593-5.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics:  Understanding announcements on airplanes and at train stations; reading and understanding timetables; discussing advantages and disadvantages of train and air travel, communicating arrival and departure times, naming a destination of the trip and conversation at passport control and customs; talking about a dream trip to Russia; talking about marital status, learning about wedding customs, understanding toasts, giving opinions on marriage and advice on family problems; discussing preschool education, school years and vocational training.

Planned Grammar TopicsPrefixed and non-prefixed target and non-target verbs of movement, indication of time periods with prepositions с / до + genitive case and по + accusative case ; possessive pronoun свой; formation of nouns with the help of suffix -(е)ние; verbs related to the marital status; declension of surnames; reciprocal pronoun друг друга; relative clauses, time indications with тому назад and через; modal construction with short adjective должен; second person imperative of complete and incomplete verbs; indication of age, non-prefixed purposeful and non-purposeful verbs of movement везти /возить, вести / водить, плыть/ плавать; the use of verbs начать(ся), закончить(ся); instrumental case in passive structures; the use of verbs (вы)учить (на)учиться; negative pronouns and adverbs with ни-.

B1/2

Textbook:  Jasno! B1. Russian for Advanced Learners. Course and Exercise book with 2 audio CDs. ISBN 978-3-12-527593-5.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics:  Art in people's lives, discuss literary/musical preferences; express one's own artistic interests; discuss climate change and environmental protection; discuss one's own contribution to solving ecological problems; discuss lifestyles, describe people's appearances and character, talk about attitudes toward sports.

Planned Grammar Topics:  time span с ... до, indefinite pronouns and adverbs; simple superlative, declension of demonstrative pronoun тот; interrogative pronoun чей? Formation of adjectives with the suffix -н-; formation of nouns with the suffix -ость; interrogative particle ли and interrogative sentence with the conjunction ли, conditional sentences with the conjunction если and если бы, finite clauses, present participle active, past participle active, present participle passive, past participle passive (long form).

B1/3

Textbook: Jasno! B1. Russian for Advanced Learners. Course and Exercise book with 2 audio CDs. ISBN 978-3-12-527593-5.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics:  discussing aid projects for the socially weak and one‘s own participation in them; describing social differences in the society, description of graphs and tables; expressing oneself on the topic of adoption; reporting and discussing historic events and personalities of Russia; learning about different views on the history of the Soviet Union, talking about one’s personal understanding of history.

Planned Grammar Topics: Declension of the word group: base number 2-4 + adjective/pronoun + noun, past participle passive (short form), passive forms of complete verbs; adverbial participles, object clauses with что and imperative clauses with чтобы, comparative with comparative word in the genitive case; formation of nouns using prefixes без- / бес-; simple comparative structures.


B2 CEFR

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with mother-tongue speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a point of view on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

B2/1

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*: Speaking about problems in the capital and in the Russian province, discussing professional careers, talking about problems in the family, learning idiomatic expressions, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. "Kultura" TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar Topics: Present participle active, past participle active, declension of family names, review of adjective case forms, possessive pronouns and demonstrative pronouns.

 

B2/2

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*:  Exchanging opinions on the topic "Science: progress or danger?", talking about modern means of communication, an introduction to cultural life in Russia, including cultural diversity, Soviet and Russian film directors and actors, Soviet and Russian feature films, learning new idiomatic expressions.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar Topics:  Review of all adjective case forms, possessive and demonstrative pronouns, present participle passive, past participle passive, past participle passive (short form)

B2/3

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*: Speaking about cultural life in Russia, watching Russian theater shows on the Internet, learning biographies of famous Russian writers (e.g. Chekhov) and actors, learning new idiomatic expressions, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. "Kultura" TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar Topics: Review of all adjective case forms, possessive and demonstrative pronouns, adverbial participles.


C1 CEFR

Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

C1/1

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*: Learning new idiomatic expressions, speaking about the Russians and the peculiarities of the national character, learning slang and jargonisms, talking about the role of the Russian literature in the modern world, reading selected pieces of modern Russian literature (from the 20th century) in the original, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.

C1/2

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*:  Learning Russian proverbs and sayings, discussing health, traditional vs. alternative medicine, vegetarianism, genetically modified foods, migration and social problems in Russia, reading selected pieces of modern Russian literature from the 19th century in the original, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.

C1/3

Textbook: Course materials are prepared by the course instructor / Suggested alternative: Makova, M.N., Uskova, O.A. In the world of people. Vol.1 Writing. Speaking: a handbook to prepare for the Russian language exam for foreigners (B2-C1). - 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: Zlatoust Publishers, 2017 ISBN 978-5-86547-612-2.

The current textbook is to be found in your selected course description.

Speaking Topics*:  Learning new Russian proverbs, discussing the following topics: classical and alternative education, concept of mass cultura, return of valuable cultural objects, myths and reality of the Russian mass media. Reading selected pieces of classical Russian literature from the 19th century in the original, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.


C2 CEFR

Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and explanations in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.

C2/1

Textbook: Course materials will be provided by the instructor / Suggested alternative: Starovoitova, I.A. Your opinion. Conversation textbook. (C1-C2). - 6th ed. - Moscow: Flinta Publishers, 2013 ISBN 978-5-89349-676-5.

Speaking Topics*: Discussing sports issues: Olympics and doping scandals, talking about children in professional sports, speaking about space exploration, reading biographies of famous Russian cosmonauts (e.g. Gagarin) and engineers, reading modern Russian literature in the original (fantasy), discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.

C2/2

Textbook: Course materials will be provided by the instructor / Suggested alternative: Starovoitova, I.A. Your opinion. Conversation textbook. (C1-C2). - 6th ed. - Moscow: Flinta Publishers, 2013 ISBN 978-5-89349-676-5.

Speaking Topics*: Speaking about politicial issues: fight against corruption, freedom of speech, army and military service. Reading modern Russian literature in the original, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.

C2/3

Textbook: Course materials will be provided by the instructor / Suggested alternative: Starovoitova, I.A. Your opinion. Conversation textbook. (C1-C2). - 6th ed. - Moscow: Flinta Publishers, 2013 ISBN 978-5-89349-676-5.

Speaking Topics*: Talking about problems of the modern world: terrorism, globalization, cloning. Reading modern Russian literature of the 21st century in the original, discussing Russian TV programs, e.g. „Kultura“ TV channel.

*Selection of topics may vary depending on learning objectives.

Planned Grammar:  Review of selected grammar topics on as-needed basis.