University Russian, 8th Edition

Author: Lin Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: This book is the eighth in a series of oral and written practice textbooks co-authored by Beijing Foreign Studies University and the Pushkin Russian Language Institute in Moscow. It is designed for undergraduate Russian majors in their final semester of their junior year in Chinese universities. The basic task of advanced oral and written courses is to develop and refine language skills and improve oral and written communication abilities. The junior year is the final stage of university Russian language teaching, so the main objective of teaching at this level is to adhere to the principle of applying knowledge to practice, ensuring that students' Russian language knowledge and oral and written skills are as adapted as possible to the practical needs of future careers. This objective is reflected in the following aspects:
1. In the selection of topics and texts, more emphasis is placed on reflecting the realities of China and Russia, including their national conditions, society, culture, arts, education, and economic reforms. The selection of materials and the format of exercises adhere to the principle of "problem-based teaching," which involves posing questions, discussing them, inspiring independent thinking, and developing the ability to express ideas in a foreign language.
2. In terms of language knowledge, the junior year textbook includes a section on functional rhetoric. Its purpose is to briefly introduce the main linguistic features of functional rhetorical styles, enabling students to grasp the common expressive means used in various styles. This section includes concise theoretical explanations and rhetorical analysis exercises. To enrich students' intuitive understanding of functional styles and cultivate their linguistic sensitivity, the text materials for each topic are designed to be diverse in genre, generally including three articles of different types.
3. To expand students' vocabulary and improve their ability to independently analyze word formation and lexical meaning, a separate section on word formation and semantic differentiation is included before each text. This section introduces common word-formation methods, the semantic and usage differences between synonyms, as well as the usage of common sentence patterns and idioms, accompanied by practical exercises. The selection of entries is designed to be related to the theme of the lesson and to meet the students' language expression needs during topic discussions. However, they are also relatively independent and form a systematic whole. Teachers may choose to use them during or after the lesson.
4. To help students understand the texts, annotations are provided for some commonly used words in the texts, along with a small number of language exercises to guide students in independently recognizing, comparing, and summarizing various positive linguistic phenomena from aspects such as word structure, semantic evolution, rhetorical color, and usage scope.
5. The textbook provides some discussion questions and informational materials to help students engage in free discussions on the topics. During the teaching process, teachers may appropriately supplement these materials with the latest information provided by mass media. The estimated teaching time for each topic in this book is 12–16 hours, including 2 hours for rhetorical exercises and 2 hours for word-formation and vocabulary exercises. As an appendix, the book provides some common business application formats along with brief explanations and exercises. The teaching of application writing should be integrated with the instruction on official language styles. Schools may refer to these materials as needed.