Russian 3
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course is aimed at third-year BA students of the degree course in Foreign Languages and Literature. It is divided into theoretical lessons, held by the course lecturer and aimed at providing students with the notions of Russian language and linguistics, and practical language classes, held by linguistic collaborators and aimed at acquiring practical skills in the Russian language. Year-long, the course supposes the acquisition of written and oral communication skills, with the related syntactic, morphological and lexical knowledge, corresponding to the third level (B1) of the official standard established by the Council of Europe for knowledge of foreign languages.
Expected learning outcomes
The knowledge that the course intends to offer mainly concerns the syntax of the Russian sentence: the student must be able to recognize at first sight the structure of any sentence, analyze and explain the functioning of the morphological categories therein. In particular, students will be provided with the concepts necessary for the analysis of the communicative structure of the statement and highlighted the main mechanisms for the expression of the communicative structure in Russian: the information structure and intonative constructions, the relationship between the communicative structure, the syntactic one and the word order. The knowledge of the structure of the actants of the verb and of the correspondence between the semantic roles, the syntactic ones and the morphological cases will be deepened. Then the complex sentence will be addressed: the criteria and types of subordination will be exposed, and the most frequent models in written and spoken Russian (constructions) will be analyzed. Furthermore, the tools of textual cohesion in the written and spoken Russian text will be analyzed: the discursive words, the collocations, the typical syntactic strategies adopted in Russian texts. Finally, a part of the course will be dedicated to the consolidation of translation skills, especially where there is no correspondence between Russian and Italian syntactic structures, and therefore to the practice of translation from Italian into Russian.
Lesson period: year
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The course is entitled "The Syntax of the Simple and Complex Sentence in Russian" and is divided into three parts that will be covered sequentially.
Part A will study the primary and secondary members of the proposition, the different types of simple sentences, the means of expression of the subject and predicate, and the concordance between the subject and the predicate. Impersonal sentences. The expression of the non-concordant and concordant attribute, the use of participial constructs. The relative clauses.
In part B, we will study explanatory clauses, direct and indirect speech, the expression of time in simple and complex sentences, the expression of cause in simple and complex sentences, and the expression of purpose in simple sentences and in complex sentences.
In part C, the hypothetical period, concessive propositions and comparative propositions will be studied. In addition, texts (adapted and non-adapted) belonging to different text types will be analysed in class.
Part A will study the primary and secondary members of the proposition, the different types of simple sentences, the means of expression of the subject and predicate, and the concordance between the subject and the predicate. Impersonal sentences. The expression of the non-concordant and concordant attribute, the use of participial constructs. The relative clauses.
In part B, we will study explanatory clauses, direct and indirect speech, the expression of time in simple and complex sentences, the expression of cause in simple and complex sentences, and the expression of purpose in simple sentences and in complex sentences.
In part C, the hypothetical period, concessive propositions and comparative propositions will be studied. In addition, texts (adapted and non-adapted) belonging to different text types will be analysed in class.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is in Russian and presupposes a proficiency at a A2 level.
It's crucial to note that to be eligible for the Russian Language 3 exam, students must have completed the Russian Language 2 (written and oral) and Russian Literature 2 exams.
It's crucial to note that to be eligible for the Russian Language 3 exam, students must have completed the Russian Language 2 (written and oral) and Russian Literature 2 exams.
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 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 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:
1. All materials and texts that will be uploaded on the MyAriel website.
2. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di Russo. Livello B1+. Milano, Hoepli, 2020.
3. La lingua russa del 2000. Grammatica e comunicazione, Fici F., Žukova N., Le Lettere, 2009. Chapters:
- 2. I PARTICIPI (pp. 32-42);
- 5. LA STRUTTURA DELLA FRASE (pp. 69-91);
- 9. PREPOSIZIONI E CONGIUNZIONI (pp. 123-147).
4. Francesca Fici Giusti, Lucyna Gebert, Simonetta Signorini, La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia, Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1991. Chapters:
- Parte seconda (Il sintagma nominale. La frase semplice): pp. 111 - 233.
Coursebook and materials for the practical language class (Esercitazioni) (Please refer also to the website https://www.unimi.it/it/corsi/insegnamenti-dei-corsi-di-laurea/2024/esercitazioni-linguistiche-lingua-russa):
1. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di Russo. Livello B1+. Milano, Hoepli, 2020.
2. All materials and texts that will be uploaded on the MyAriel website by mother-tongue lecturers.
Further readings:
1. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, Sintassi russa. Teoria ed esercizi. Milano, Hoepli, 2005.
2. Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo di Vladimir Kovalev, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
All references are available at the University Library.
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 and texts that will be uploaded on the MyAriel website.
2. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di Russo. Livello B1+. Milano, Hoepli, 2020.
3. La lingua russa del 2000. Grammatica e comunicazione, Fici F., Žukova N., Le Lettere, 2009. Chapters:
- 2. I PARTICIPI (pp. 32-42);
- 5. LA STRUTTURA DELLA FRASE (pp. 69-91);
- 9. PREPOSIZIONI E CONGIUNZIONI (pp. 123-147).
4. Francesca Fici Giusti, Lucyna Gebert, Simonetta Signorini, La lingua russa. Storia, struttura, tipologia, Roma, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1991. Chapters:
- Parte seconda (Il sintagma nominale. La frase semplice): pp. 111 - 233.
Coursebook and materials for the practical language class (Esercitazioni) (Please refer also to the website https://www.unimi.it/it/corsi/insegnamenti-dei-corsi-di-laurea/2024/esercitazioni-linguistiche-lingua-russa):
1. N. Nikitina, Eserciziario di Russo. Livello B1+. Milano, Hoepli, 2020.
2. All materials and texts that will be uploaded on the MyAriel website by mother-tongue lecturers.
Further readings:
1. G. Cevese, Ju. Dobrovolskaja, Sintassi russa. Teoria ed esercizi. Milano, Hoepli, 2005.
2. Il Kovalev. Dizionario russo-italiano, italiano-russo di Vladimir Kovalev, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020.
All references are available at the University Library.
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 3 exams if you have taken the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 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 (without dictionary).
- 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 a texts from Italian into Russian (with dictionary).
- Summary from a text read by the mother-tongue teacher (without dictionary).
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);
2. Reading, summary and syntactical analysis of texts (50 pages) on which the student must have worked independently throughout the year (the texts will be uploaded on the course webpage). 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 syntactical structures contained therein (in Russian).
3. Grammatical theory questions relating to the topics covered during the course and the required readings (this part will be in Italian for the bibliographical materials in Italian and in Russian for the materials in Russian).
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=3655). 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 3 exams if you have taken the Russian Language 2 and Russian Literature 2 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 (without dictionary).
- 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 a texts from Italian into Russian (with dictionary).
- Summary from a text read by the mother-tongue teacher (without dictionary).
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);
2. Reading, summary and syntactical analysis of texts (50 pages) on which the student must have worked independently throughout the year (the texts will be uploaded on the course webpage). 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 syntactical structures contained therein (in Russian).
3. Grammatical theory questions relating to the topics covered during the course and the required readings (this part will be in Italian for the bibliographical materials in Italian and in Russian for the materials in Russian).
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=3655). 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.
Professor(s)