Russian 2
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide knowledge of the structure and functioning of the Russian verbal category. The analysis of the verb will be deepened also thanks to the study of the prefixes, highlighting both their semantic and grammatical influence on the verb itself. The course also aims to examine the main derivational processes that characterize the Russian lexical system.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: the category of the verb in relation to the perfect and imperfective aspect; the imperative mode, the verbs of motion (with and without prefix) and the passive, participial and gerundive constructions; the category of the indefinite pronouns; the adjectives of short form; the relative, objective and final sentences. Applying knowledge and understanding: use of acquired structures in practice; reading and understanding of intermediate level texts, production of short texts; recognition within texts of the structures of the Russian verbal category and explanation of their functioning; recognition within texts of vocabulary-derivatives, identification of their root and brief explanation of the derivational process that led to their formation. The developed linguistic skills will correspond to the level A2 of the official standard established by the Council of Europe for the knowledge of foreign languages.
Lesson period: year
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The course is entitled The Verb and Other Morphosyntactic Categories of the Russian Language and consists of the following three parts:
A: Verbs of motion without prefixes and with prefixes. The degrees of the adjective. The imperative. Verbs of static position.
B: The verbal aspect. Verbs of dynamic position. The expression of dates and times.
C: The short form of the adjective. The relative and final subordinates. The indefinite pronouns. Participial constructions and gerundives. The influence of prefixes on some basic verbs.
In Part A, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The system of verbs of movement from the non-prefixed verb pairs (unidirectional/multidirectional verb), verbs indicating different types of movement (on foot, by means, in air, in water), transitive verbs with the meaning of 'to carry', the action of the prefixes u-, pri-, v-, vy-, pere-, do-, ot-, pod-, pro-, ob-, za-, s- on non-prefixed verbs.
The comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives and adverbs.
The formation and use of the imperative mode.
The verbs of static position, meaning 'to stand', 'to sit', 'to lie down', and 'to hang', and their rections and prepositions.
In Part B, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The aspect category of the verb from the definition and aspect pairs, the use of imperfective and perfective aspects in the past and future tense, and the use of imperfective and perfective aspects in temporal subordinations. The particularities of the use of aspects with the imperative, the particularities of the use of aspects with the infinitive and the particularities of the use of aspects with negation.
Position verbs, describing a movement from one position to another (putting, hanging, getting up, sitting, lying down) and their reggences and prepositions.
The expression of dates and times.
In Part C, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The formation and use of the short adjective.
The relative clauses introduced by the pronoun kotoryj.
The final clauses introduced by the conjunction čtoby.
The indefinite pronouns with the particles -to, -nibud', -libo, koe-.
The formation of participles.
The formation of gerunds.
The meanings of prefixes (po-, pere-, pro-, do-, na-, pri-, ot-, za-) and their influence on some elementary verbs.
The course will be in Italian, with some parts in Russian.
The course programme is valid until the end of September 2026.
Students are invited to register for the course using the EasyLesson app.
A: Verbs of motion without prefixes and with prefixes. The degrees of the adjective. The imperative. Verbs of static position.
B: The verbal aspect. Verbs of dynamic position. The expression of dates and times.
C: The short form of the adjective. The relative and final subordinates. The indefinite pronouns. Participial constructions and gerundives. The influence of prefixes on some basic verbs.
In Part A, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The system of verbs of movement from the non-prefixed verb pairs (unidirectional/multidirectional verb), verbs indicating different types of movement (on foot, by means, in air, in water), transitive verbs with the meaning of 'to carry', the action of the prefixes u-, pri-, v-, vy-, pere-, do-, ot-, pod-, pro-, ob-, za-, s- on non-prefixed verbs.
The comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives and adverbs.
The formation and use of the imperative mode.
The verbs of static position, meaning 'to stand', 'to sit', 'to lie down', and 'to hang', and their rections and prepositions.
In Part B, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The aspect category of the verb from the definition and aspect pairs, the use of imperfective and perfective aspects in the past and future tense, and the use of imperfective and perfective aspects in temporal subordinations. The particularities of the use of aspects with the imperative, the particularities of the use of aspects with the infinitive and the particularities of the use of aspects with negation.
Position verbs, describing a movement from one position to another (putting, hanging, getting up, sitting, lying down) and their reggences and prepositions.
The expression of dates and times.
In Part C, the following topics will be studied in detail:
The formation and use of the short adjective.
The relative clauses introduced by the pronoun kotoryj.
The final clauses introduced by the conjunction čtoby.
The indefinite pronouns with the particles -to, -nibud', -libo, koe-.
The formation of participles.
The formation of gerunds.
The meanings of prefixes (po-, pere-, pro-, do-, na-, pri-, ot-, za-) and their influence on some elementary verbs.
The course will be in Italian, with some parts in Russian.
The course programme is valid until the end of September 2026.
Students are invited to register for the course using the EasyLesson app.
Prerequisites for admission
It's crucial to note that to be eligible for the Russian Language 2 exam, students are required to have successfully completed the Russian Language 1 (written and oral) and Russian Literature 1 exams. Without passing these exams, students will not be able to attempt the partial written examinations or the overall written examination of Russian Language 2.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures, reading and text analysis, and exercises. Topics will be addressed from a theoretical point of view with examples and analysed within texts. Multiple-choice, cloze, transformation, translation, and production exercises will be proposed.
The course will be mainly Italian, with some parts (text analysis) in Russian.
In addition, the course is complemented by practical language classes, for which please refer to the related web page. : https://www.unimi.it/it/corsi/insegnamenti-dei-corsi-di-laurea/2024/esercitazioni-linguistiche-lingua-russa.
The course will be mainly Italian, with some parts (text analysis) in Russian.
In addition, the course is complemented by practical language classes, for which please refer to the related web page. : https://www.unimi.it/it/corsi/insegnamenti-dei-corsi-di-laurea/2024/esercitazioni-linguistiche-lingua-russa.
Teaching Resources
Required readings and coursebook:
1. All materials that will be uploaded on the course webpage https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654;
2. F. Fici, S. Fedotova, La lingua russa del Duemila 2000 (Nuova edizione aggiornata), vol. 1, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2008. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages: 91 - 126.
3. F. Fici, N. Žukova, La lingua russa del 2000, vol. 2, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2009. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages:
- pp. 27 - 76;
- pp. 92 - 101.
4. F. Fici Giusti, L. Gebert, S. Signorini, La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, Roma 1991. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages: 237 - 294.
5. N. Nikitina, Grammatica d'uso della lingua russa. A2, Hoepli, Milano, 2018.
Required coursebook for the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) See also the relevant webpage:
1. D. Magnati, F. Legittimo, Davajte...! Comunicare in russo 2: corso di lingua e cultura russa, Hoepli, Milano, 2017.
2. All uploaded materials on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654.
Further references:
1. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, E. Magnanini, Grammatica russa. Manuale di teoria. Milano, Hoepli, 2018.
2. Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo di Vladimir Kovalev, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
Warnings for non-attending students and Russophone or Slavophone students:
The syllabus for non-attending students and Russian-speaking or Slavophone students is unchanged from that for attending students. Non-attending students should contact the lecturer well before the examination to clarify doubts.
1. All materials that will be uploaded on the course webpage https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654;
2. F. Fici, S. Fedotova, La lingua russa del Duemila 2000 (Nuova edizione aggiornata), vol. 1, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2008. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages: 91 - 126.
3. F. Fici, N. Žukova, La lingua russa del 2000, vol. 2, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2009. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages:
- pp. 27 - 76;
- pp. 92 - 101.
4. F. Fici Giusti, L. Gebert, S. Signorini, La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, Roma 1991. (Available in the University library). Students are required to study the following pages: 237 - 294.
5. N. Nikitina, Grammatica d'uso della lingua russa. A2, Hoepli, Milano, 2018.
Required coursebook for the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) See also the relevant webpage:
1. D. Magnati, F. Legittimo, Davajte...! Comunicare in russo 2: corso di lingua e cultura russa, Hoepli, Milano, 2017.
2. All uploaded materials on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654.
Further references:
1. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, E. Magnanini, Grammatica russa. Manuale di teoria. Milano, Hoepli, 2018.
2. Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo di Vladimir Kovalev, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
Warnings for non-attending students and Russophone or Slavophone students:
The syllabus for non-attending students and Russian-speaking or Slavophone students is unchanged from that for attending students. Non-attending students should contact the lecturer well before the examination to clarify doubts.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The course lecturers will comprehensively evaluate students' ability to write and speak accurately in Russian and their ability to effectively apply the grammatical structures and lexical areas covered in the lectures (Corso monografico)/practical language classes (Esercitazioni) in both exercises and independent text production.
Exam structure
The exam consists of a written test and an oral test. The written test gives rise to an evaluation in thirtieths that will be averaged with the oral examination assessment. The examination grade can only be recorded when students have passed both the written and oral exams.
The written exam can be taken from the end of the course, i.e. from May 2025, and the oral examination from June 2025. The written exam is not preparatory to the oral exam: it is possible to take the oral exam before the written exam.
Please note that you can only take Russian Language 2 exams if you have taken the Russian Language 1 and Russian Literature 1 exams.
Attending students (active participation in at least 80% of the lectures (Corso monografico) and 80% of the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) with both mother-tongue lecturers may have access to the partial tests (replacing only the general written test) that take place at the end of first and second Semesters. In this case, the final grade for the written exam is given by the average of the two partial tests. To take the second partial test, in addition to having reached the minimum required attendance in both semesters, it is essential to have passed the first partial test. If failing one of the two partial tests, students must take the entire general written test during the official exam sessions (May, September, January).
The first partial test will include:
- Grammar test with multiple-choice, cloze, transformation, and concordance exercises with different sentence elements (concerning the topics covered during the first semester).
- Sentences translation from Italian into Russian based on the application of grammatical rules seen during the first semester.
- Text comprehension with open questions (in Russian).
The second partial test will comprise the following:
- Grammar test with multiple-choice, cloze, and concordance exercises with the different sentence elements (concerning the topics covered during the second semester).
- Translation of sentences from Italian into Russian based on the application of grammatical rules seen in the second semester.
- Written composition in Russian (minimum 15 sentences) on a topic covered during the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) (the list of the topics will be published on the course web page).
The general written exam (for those who do not take the partial tests or have failed one) will comprise the two tests described above in one go.
For the written examination to be passed, a pass mark (minimum 18/30) must be achieved in all its parts.
Oral exam
The oral examination will test the student's theoretical and practical skills relating to the topics covered during the lectures (Corso monografico)/practical language classes (Esercitazioni). The oral exam comprises the following:
1. Conversation/dialogue in Russian on a topic assigned directly during the examination. (The assigned topics will presuppose knowledge of the vocabulary covered during the exercises. The list of topics will be published on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654);
2. Reading, summary and morphological analysis of texts (40 pages) on which the student must have worked independently throughout the year (the texts will be uploaded on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654). During the examination, students must prove that they can correctly read the assigned pages aloud, explain their content in all its salient points (in Russian), answer any questions the lecturer may have about the content (in Russian), analyse the morphological forms contained therein (the basic terminology, which will be provided in class, necessary for analysis must be known in Russian).
3. Grammatical theory questions relating to the topics covered during the course (this part can be done in Italian, but examples in Russian must be presented).
Students attending the exercises (active attendance of at least 80% of the exercises by both mother-tongue teachers) may replace point 1 above (conversation in Russian) with an in itinere assessment that will take place throughout the year. During the exercises, students are expected to prepare and present work assigned by the teachers and actively participate in classroom conversations. The lecturers will constantly assess these presentations, contributing with a grade (fail, just enough, fair, good, excellent) to determine the final exam grade. In the event of a 'fail' ongoing assessment, the student must repeat point 1 in the regular examination sessions.
All students, whether attending or not, must take the other points of the oral examination (points 2 and 3) in the regular examination sessions.
Students who are not attending or attend less than 80% of the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) with both mother-tongue lecturers must also take point 1 of the oral examination in the regular examination sessions.
The oral examination will only be considered passed if the student obtains a positive assessment in both the Russian conversation part and the monographic course part.
Warning
The final version of the syllabus will be available on the course webpage: (https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654). All students are required to consult it before appearing for the examination.
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the course lecturer promptly.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and DSA must be agreed with the lecturer well in advance.
Exam structure
The exam consists of a written test and an oral test. The written test gives rise to an evaluation in thirtieths that will be averaged with the oral examination assessment. The examination grade can only be recorded when students have passed both the written and oral exams.
The written exam can be taken from the end of the course, i.e. from May 2025, and the oral examination from June 2025. The written exam is not preparatory to the oral exam: it is possible to take the oral exam before the written exam.
Please note that you can only take Russian Language 2 exams if you have taken the Russian Language 1 and Russian Literature 1 exams.
Attending students (active participation in at least 80% of the lectures (Corso monografico) and 80% of the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) with both mother-tongue lecturers may have access to the partial tests (replacing only the general written test) that take place at the end of first and second Semesters. In this case, the final grade for the written exam is given by the average of the two partial tests. To take the second partial test, in addition to having reached the minimum required attendance in both semesters, it is essential to have passed the first partial test. If failing one of the two partial tests, students must take the entire general written test during the official exam sessions (May, September, January).
The first partial test will include:
- Grammar test with multiple-choice, cloze, transformation, and concordance exercises with different sentence elements (concerning the topics covered during the first semester).
- Sentences translation from Italian into Russian based on the application of grammatical rules seen during the first semester.
- Text comprehension with open questions (in Russian).
The second partial test will comprise the following:
- Grammar test with multiple-choice, cloze, and concordance exercises with the different sentence elements (concerning the topics covered during the second semester).
- Translation of sentences from Italian into Russian based on the application of grammatical rules seen in the second semester.
- Written composition in Russian (minimum 15 sentences) on a topic covered during the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) (the list of the topics will be published on the course web page).
The general written exam (for those who do not take the partial tests or have failed one) will comprise the two tests described above in one go.
For the written examination to be passed, a pass mark (minimum 18/30) must be achieved in all its parts.
Oral exam
The oral examination will test the student's theoretical and practical skills relating to the topics covered during the lectures (Corso monografico)/practical language classes (Esercitazioni). The oral exam comprises the following:
1. Conversation/dialogue in Russian on a topic assigned directly during the examination. (The assigned topics will presuppose knowledge of the vocabulary covered during the exercises. The list of topics will be published on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654);
2. Reading, summary and morphological analysis of texts (40 pages) on which the student must have worked independently throughout the year (the texts will be uploaded on the course webpage: https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654). During the examination, students must prove that they can correctly read the assigned pages aloud, explain their content in all its salient points (in Russian), answer any questions the lecturer may have about the content (in Russian), analyse the morphological forms contained therein (the basic terminology, which will be provided in class, necessary for analysis must be known in Russian).
3. Grammatical theory questions relating to the topics covered during the course (this part can be done in Italian, but examples in Russian must be presented).
Students attending the exercises (active attendance of at least 80% of the exercises by both mother-tongue teachers) may replace point 1 above (conversation in Russian) with an in itinere assessment that will take place throughout the year. During the exercises, students are expected to prepare and present work assigned by the teachers and actively participate in classroom conversations. The lecturers will constantly assess these presentations, contributing with a grade (fail, just enough, fair, good, excellent) to determine the final exam grade. In the event of a 'fail' ongoing assessment, the student must repeat point 1 in the regular examination sessions.
All students, whether attending or not, must take the other points of the oral examination (points 2 and 3) in the regular examination sessions.
Students who are not attending or attend less than 80% of the practical language classes (Esercitazioni) with both mother-tongue lecturers must also take point 1 of the oral examination in the regular examination sessions.
The oral examination will only be considered passed if the student obtains a positive assessment in both the Russian conversation part and the monographic course part.
Warning
The final version of the syllabus will be available on the course webpage: (https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=3654). All students are required to consult it before appearing for the examination.
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the course lecturer promptly.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and DSA must be agreed with the lecturer well in advance.
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)