Course Catalogue

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This course dovetails with the second semester of the Russian for Social Scientists beginners course (CEES5054), and is specifically designed for students who complete the equivalent first semester of CEES5054 at our partner university, the University of Tartu. It builds up on the initial knowledge which students receive in the semester-one module (whether taken at the University of Glasgow or the University of Tartu), focusing on grammar and information retrieval skills, ability to express oneself in Russian, general and subject-related vocabulary and Russian realia.

Classroom teaching: 4 hours x 11 weeks = 44 hours

Note: students enrolled on this course should be taught alongside students on the CEES5054 course

Mandatory Entry Requirements

The students are required to have completed an initial, one-semester (20 credits) course of beginners Russian, with the basic reading and pronunciation skills, basic vocabulary and knowledge of the key elements of Russian grammar such as the basic patterns of conjugation and noun declension in singular. Usually this will be from the University of Tartu, our partner institution. However, other students can be considered for entry if they have completed a similar course at another institution.

Recommended Entry Requirements

Equivalent of 20 credits in beginners' Russian at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

CEES5054

None

The summative assessment will consist of a 2-hour written paper, comprising grammar, comprehension and translation elements (worth 70%), and a short oral examination requiring the reading of a short text and general conversation (worth 30%)

This course provides students with intensive Russian language tuition over 1 semester. The course is taught to enable students to acquire sufficient linguistic knowledge and translating skill to be able to read social sciences' texts in the original language and to use these in their study of social sciences' disciplines. At the end of the course the students will have attained the necessary competence in Russian in order to use original language sources competently with the help of a dictionary, so that they can undertake more advanced research programmes or employment in the field of Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

· read and translate standard social sciences' texts with the aid of a dictionary;
· write a full summary in English of a Russian-language social sciences' text;
· conduct an everyday conversation in Russian and give a brief, basic presentation about their research;
· make effective use of dictionaries and other reference sources;
· understand a brief oral presentation in Russian on social sciences' topics.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.