A couple of years ago, I created a YouTube channel to provide extra guidance in teaching the Soroka lessons. My goal with this channel is to help teachers and parents have a better understanding of the Soroka books, so that teaching your kids can become part of your routine. On my channel I address the different techniques that can be used, and why they are important in the learning process. My videos cover techniques such as drilling and the oral approach; as well as my response to letters and questions that I have received. All videos are in Russian and English subtitles are available. Turn them on if they are not turned on automatically.
My videos addressing the Oral Approach explain how listening, speaking, reading, and writing, are key in learning the Russian language. However, for many kids, repetition can become boring and tedious. A way to make lessons more fun, is by introducing toys in your teaching. Using different characters to play different roles is an excellent way of strengthening a child’s ability to learn how to have a conversation. When kids associate learning a new language with having fun, it better encourages participation.
Another process that encourages learning is one called “drilling”. Since 80% of my lessons consist of speaking, it is essential that in order for kids to speak, we too need to speak. Methods such as “substitution” are one of the effective ways of drilling. Substitution requires the student to replace a word in a phrase with a different word. This helps kids understand the structure of sentences in the Russian language. For example, if a kid is given the phrase: “I can’t see it.”, and told to replace the word “see”, with the word “hear”, they are learning how to form a new sentence. In my videos I explain this method along with other methods that can help kids form sentences, as well as questions.
Helping teachers and parents with these lessons, I cover ways that schedules can make for a consistent learning plan, as well as ways of helpful teaching (even without the book). There are alternate ways to lay out your lessons if working through the book cover to cover does not seem to be effective. One example is the introduction of dictation, and how drawing can be incorporated in a child’s learning. When answering questions from parents and teachers, I give advice as to how I would handle individual situations. Some of these pertain to children with busy schedules, parents with busy schedules, and how you can adjust your lessons to best accommodate your life. You can view my youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/sorokadigital
