Background, Language, Values

and Beliefs, and Teaching

Strategies of Russian Culture

Взгляд на фон, язык, оценивает и

верования, и обучение стратегий России

Chris Farley,
Tiffany Lacroix,
Dorothy Rock,
Andy Young
Background - Фон
• Founded in 12th century
• Almost twice the size of the United
States and largest country in world
with 6.5 million square miles.
• 141.9 million citizens descend from
more than 100 ethnic groups.
• Centralized semi-authoritarian state with carefully managed national
elections.
• Fond of live performances at theatres: opera, musical, ballet, drama,
etc.
• Their post-Communist system struggled (and still
struggles) with concepts such as cost-effectiveness,
efficiency, creativity and improvements.
• Wide natural resource base including major deposits
of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals,
timber; note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain,
and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources.
 Background – Education System
Фон - Образование
• Boasts a 99% literacy rate for citizens age 15 and over.
• Medical and education in Russia are free – university
education free by passing entrance tests.
• Students study history of Russia and world history in
school. Books of western authors are mandatory reading
in literature courses.
• Standard secondary school program includes studying of
a foreign language for 6 years (grades 5-11) – usually
English. • Russians have highest education level in world
(more than 40% of population have college
degree) with respect to science, engineering,
and technical specialties.
• Education system in process of undergoing
dramatic transition to meet demands of
economic changes.
 Language - Язык
• Slavonic Branch of Indo-European Language
– Closely related to Polish, Czech, and Serbo-Croation
• Spoken by about 150 million people in Russian and
former republics of USSR
• Russian is a phonetic language
– Pronunciation can be determined from spelling and vice-
versa
• Formed using the Cyrillic Alphabet
– 33 letters (21 consonants, 10 vowels, 2 without sound –
soft sign and hard sign)
– Some letters similar to Latin Alphabet
– Consist of 5 vowel sounds, no differentiation between long
and short vowel sounds
 Language Difficulties
языковые трудности
• Uses a punctuation system said to be one of the most
difficult to learn
• Russian consists of 5 vowel sounds, with no differentation
between short and long vowels. English has 12 vowel
sounds (5 long, 7 short), plus 8 dipthongs.
• Grammar systems show significant variations
– English has a fairly fixed word order and meaning changes by
addition of words; Russian conveys meaning largely through
changes in the composition of words and word order is very
fluid
• Russian has no articles. This causes significant problems
because the whole concept of article use is alien to Russian
learners of English, and the English article system itself is
extremely complex.
Russian Values and Beliefs
Ценности и верования
• Culture is non-individualistic – power of
individual much less than in West.
• Prefer order and consistency over
change.
• Deeply rooted belief that all citizens are
equal.
• Family life is the highest priority and
dependent upon all its members.
• People’s business is everyone else’s;
very few secrets.
 Russian vs. American Values and Beliefs
Русский язык против американских Ценностей и
Верований

Russians Americans
Going to extremes Moderation in everything

Open-heartedness Being Reserved

Being practical, saving
Generosity, hospitality money

Complaining about problems Being always OK

"Being" orientation "Action" orientation

Leisure orientation Work orientation

Problem making Problem solving

Critical/ironical attitude to one's country Patriotism

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

Collectivism Individualism
 Teaching Ideas or Strategies
Обучение Стратегий
• In Russia, hand shaking is a very important custom. This
bean game could be incorporated into a math lesson:
Bean Activity
• Theatre is a large component of Russian society. Include
Reader’s Theatre into classroom instruction:
Reader’s Theatre Example
• Small group activities
• Make classroom activities relevant
• Use abundant to to
visual aids students’ lives
reinforce and
written
other classes
and spoken words
• Create a supportive environment with a
classroom that honors students’ culture
• Encourage peer tutoring to allow students to
interact and share tips with one another
• Maintain consistent daily schedule
 Resources For Teachers
Ресурсы для Преподавателей
• http://eslgo.com/ - Site devoted to teaching English as a
second language and for teachers with ESL students.
• http://bogglesworldesl.com/ - Jobs, Worksheets, and
Flashcards for the ESL and TEFL Teacher.
• http://www.eslmania.com/ - Bright ideas for teaching ESL.
• http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/eslplans.html - ESL
Lesson Plans and Resources
• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/index.html
- Guide to US Government for Kids
• http://www.starfall.com/ - Where children have
fun learning to read
• http://eslbears.homestead.com/ - Guide to ESL
activities and exercises
 Bibliography
Библиография
A Brief History of Russia. Retrieved May 19, 2009, from
http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/russia_guide/HistoryofRussia.htm#p
ESL.fis.edu (n.d.). The difference between English and Russian.
Retrieved May 25, 2009, from
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/russian.htm
Free Translation. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from
http://ets6.freetranslation.com/
Hello Online. Retrieved June 3, 2009, from
http://www.hello-online.ru/content.php?contid=740
How to Teach an ESL Class. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from
http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/How-to-Teach-an-ESL-Class.htm
Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies. Retrieved May 25, 2009,
from http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/plans.html
Peregoy, S. and Boyle, O. (2008). 5th edition. Reading, writing, and
learning in ESL. A resource book for k- 12 teachers.
Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.