How do I feel about this? Absolutely positive.
For those teachers who know the methodology; the technology; in what order to give lexical topics, grammatical topics, phonetics — for those who know all these, they don’t even need a textbook.
I’ll show you how I can conduct an RFL (Russian as a foreign language) lesson without a textbook.
Continue reading “Teaching RFL without textbooks”
Today we will look at specific examples of exercises and types of listening tasks. As usual, we are helped by A.A. Akishina and O.E. Kagan’s book “Learning to Teach.” The book has already become a classic. If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to read it and use it in your work. So, what should you do in class to develop listening skills?
1. Understand the teacher’s commands that must be followed: слушай, читай, повтори, скажи, подними руку.
Continue reading “20 listening exercises for the Russian lesson”There are a lot of good Russian textbooks for children on the market. How can you choose the one that is right for you and your students?
I can already hear the exclamation: Well, since she is an author, she will now start promoting her textbooks! But I won’t start; later I’ll explain why. And now back to the topic. In the first part, I will tell you about selection criteria, how I personally would choose a Russian textbook, what questions I would ask during the selection. In the second part, so be it — we will talk a little about my books, and decide for yourself whether the textbook Soroka is suitable for you, or you need to look for something else. But first, how to choose a textbook.
Continue reading “How to choose a textbook of Russian for children: 12 questions”How often do you come across myths? I’m not talking about ancient stories that explain unfamiliar natural phenomena or teach us something — for example, the ancient Greek myths of Prometheus, Heracles or Perseus. Rather, I’m talking about fancies that generate dubious notions of any activity without their confirmation in practice — for instance, myths concerning what helps children to learn Russian quicker.
In life, I often encounter different parents’ views that I’d like to comment on and dispel from the perspective of teaching experience. In the article, I consider the four most widespread myths.
Continue reading “Myths vs Reality”First of all, the 50-plus age is my favorite one — it’s my age!
I had a group of such students. Voice of America journalists filmed a story about it. Here is the video of our lesson (3:12).
Today I will answer a question from the mail: You represent Soroka as a one-year-long course, but the Student’s Book is so thin. How is that?
Today we will deal with a calendar and count. Soroka is designed for those students who study Russian once a week. Let’s count how many lessons they have over a year.
Continue reading “Thin but Functional”