University Russian "The East" First Course

Author: Ye Ling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-08-01
Features: This textbook is part of a Russian language series jointly compiled by Beijing Foreign Studies University and the Pushkin Russian Language Institute. It is designed for university students who have not studied Russian in high school, to be used over one semester. The pronunciation introduction course requires approximately six weeks of teaching time, while the grammar and vocabulary introduction course requires about twelve weeks.
I. Pronunciation Introduction Course
The pronunciation introduction section consists of nine lessons. The main tasks are to teach pronunciation, writing, phonetic rules, common intonation patterns, and some basic grammatical structures, with subsequent speech training focused on mastering pronunciation and intonation. During the compilation process, we paid attention to the following issues:
1) Since distinguishing between voiceless and voiced consonants is a common challenge for Chinese learners of Russian, who often confuse them, the textbook has shifted from teaching voiceless and voiced consonants in pairs to first teaching voiceless consonants and then voiced consonants. This approach disperses the difficulty andizes training, which has proven effective in teaching practice.
2) We strictly adhere to the principle of teaching single sounds before introducing words. For example, a word very commonly used in spoken language only appears after the pronunciation of [ ] is learned in Lesson 8. Some complete grammatical phenomena, constrained by phonetic factors, are introduced in stages. For instance, they appear in Lesson 3, while other person forms are fully introduced in Lesson 8.
3) We implement the principle of closely integrating pronunciation, intonation, grammar, vocabulary, and speech training. With pronunciation and intonation as the focus, appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures are provided to conduct comprehensive training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
4) The teaching of phonetic and grammatical knowledge, as well as practice, adopts an inductive method—presenting examples before explaining rules, followed by exercises. Review lessons also aim to summarize and systematize the learned material, thereby enhancing students' awareness of language application.
II. Grammar and Vocabulary Introduction Course
The grammar and vocabulary introduction section consists of fourteen lessons. The main tasks are to learn word forms and expand vocabulary. Pronunciation and oral/written language training are closely aligned with these central objectives, laying a solid foundation for the next stage of learning dialogues, texts, and conducting oral/written exercises by theme. Each lesson in the grammar and vocabulary introduction course is divided into three parts: pronunciation, grammar, dialogues, and texts.
The pronunciation section continues to teach new phonetic and intonation knowledge while reviewing previously learned phonetic rules in conjunction with the lesson's grammatical content. For example, when teaching the fifth case of nouns, exercises focus on the continuous use of prepositions with the fifth case.
The grammar and sentence patterns section uses sentence patterns as examples to first demonstrate grammatical rules, then integrates word form changes with oral training in phrases, sentences, dialogues, and short texts to provide students with skill-building exercises. This approach helps students grasp grammatical knowledge more easily, reduces the difficulty of learning word forms, and enhances their interest in learning Russian.
The dialogues and texts section gradually expand students' vocabulary and develop their ability to engage in sustained conversations and oral narration. The dialogues and texts selected for this textbook reflect specific themes while being carefully coordinated with grammatical content.
The oral/written exercises are designed to further integrate pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, aiming to solidify students' mastery of the language material. During this stage, students are expected to actively acquire approximately 8,000 words.