Russian Lower Intermediate (full syllabus)

In this three-part Russian course, you’ll cover a wide array of topics – from talking about where you live, your likes and dislikes to discussing the weather, your daily routine, illnesses and hospital visits.

New forms of grammar are introduced – this includes plural noun and pronoun endings, the imperfective and perfective, ordinal numbers and comparative adjectives and adverbs.

You’ll also gain an insight into Russian cultural affairs, economics, politics and history, using newspapers, literature and videos.

You’ll receive the lesson material in advance, so you can practice on your own and come to class ready to participate in games, role-plays and discussions.

At the end of the year, you’ll be communicating in Russian at CEFR A2 level.

Who is it for?

To join this course you should be able to communicate at CEFR A1 level of Russian, (approximately 60 hours of formal learning). You may have completed our full beginners syllabus. Check the eligibility section for more information.

Timetable

The course includes 60 hours of learning and is taught across three terms, starting in October and finishing in July.

October – December (Part 1)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks.

Christmas Break

January – March (Part 2)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks.

Easter break

April/May – July (Part 3)

One evening per week (two-hour lessons) for ten consecutive weeks

Benefits

• Enrol on the full syllabus and benefit from the discounted rate
• Content can be tailored to your specific interests and needs
• Small groups allow more time for individual tutoring and feedback
• Video explainers to practice pronunciation and develop speaking skills.

By the end of this course you will be able to

• identify colours
• talk about what you wear
• discuss likes and dislikes
• explain where you live
• talk about your favourite leisure activities and family relationships
• talk about illness and the hospital
• discuss the weather
• talk about daily routines
• discuss plans for going out
• increase your vocabulary for a range of shopping scenarios
• read some Russian literature.

Grammatical structures

• plural nouns
• genitive plural nouns
• adverbs
• the accusative singular of adjectives
• the nominative and accusative plural of adjectives.
• instrumental with verbs
• the future of to be
• plural noun and pronoun endings
• introduction to verb aspects
• imperfective and perfective
• ordinal numbers
• comparative adjectives and adverbs
• conjunction to join two sentences
• numbers in the genitive case.

You will be awarded an official City, University of London certificate on completion of the course if you attend over 70 per cent of the classes. The course is not formally accredited.

Assessment

Any assessment will be informal to help you evaluate your own progress.

Teaching

All our Russian courses are designed to develop your skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing the language.

Interactive games such as Bingo, Battleships and Snakes and Ladders will help you practice vocabulary. Working in small groups you’ll form sentences and write short stories where everyone contributes.

Newspapers, audio and video clips will help you learn the language, and discover more about Russian culture, economics and politics.

If you’ve already studied Russian for around 60 hours and are confident with the Russian alphabet and Cyrillic script, this course is for you.

It is the right level if you:

• have completed our full Russian Beginners syllabus, or equivalent course elsewhere
• can communicate at A1 level, according to the Common European Framework of languages.

You should already know:

• instrumental singular of nouns
• nouns in dative, instrumental and prepositional plural
• declension of personal pronouns
• how to talk about your job, order food and buy clothes.

Not quite the right level? We have a range of other levels from Beginners to Intermediate onwards.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.