University of Oregon

Unit 10: “В гостях”

Vocabulary

Check to see if you know the names of these Russian holidays.

Look at some of the Russian holidays and their dates on Russiapedia.

Use these interactive flashcards to learn and practice the Unit Vocabulary. Use all the different modes (Flashcards, Match, Gravity, Text, etc.) both to memorize the words and to test yourself.

Grammar

Review the rules for forming time of the day constructions.

Practice telling time of the hour with this exercise that features audio.

Practice using correct forms of dates and months to tell when holidays are celebrated.

Practice conjugating the verbs featured in the unit.

Review the rules for forming conditional and hypothetical constructions.

Reading Comprehension

Read this text about Russian holidays and check your comprehension.

Read and listen to these texts about Russian spring holidays: Масленица and Пасха.

Listening Comprehension

Listen to these girls talking about how they celebrate their birthdays and see how much you can understand: Audio 1, Audio 2.

Listen to this girl talking about how International Women’s Day is celebrated.

Listen to these guys talk about New Year’s celebrations: Audio 1, Audio 2; Audio 3.

This talk is about Russian Easter.

This girl talks about Maslenitsa, the Russian Butter Week Celebration, celebrated before the start of the Great Lent.

Check you listening comprehension by filling in the gaps in this dialogue.

Culture

Watch this cartoon about Winnie-the-Pooh paying a visit to his friend, it is called «Винни Пух идет в гости». Here is the cartoon with the Russian script, English translation, and grammar notes.

Read about Дед Мороз/ Father Frost, the Russian Santa Clause, here, and about his granddaughter, Снегурочка/ Snow Maiden, here.

Read about a very peculiar Russian holiday, Старый Новый Год/ Old New Year.

Read more about День знаний/ Day of Knowledge.

Watch this cartoon «Новогдняя сказка»/ “New Year’s Fairy Tale,” featuring a popular song about the Christmas tree.

Watch this video featuring another popular New Year song, and pay attention to the script, translation, and grammar notes.

Watch the Russian cartoon “The Nutcracker“/ «Щелкунчик», one of the world’s most popular Christmas stories, based on the famous ballet by Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky.

Watch this cartoon «Ишь ты, Масленица» about the Butter Week (Maslenitsa).

Watch this video where Russian people explain what is International Women’s Day / Восьмое марта.

Watch this video to find out why Russians celebrate Victory Day /День Победы.

Songs

Дискотека Авария – «Новый год»

Корни – «С Новым годом, люди»

Валерий Меладзе – «Ночь накануне рождества»

Корни – «С днем рождения, Вика»

Дима Билан – «Поздравляю»

Songs featuring hypothetical mood:

Монеточка – «Каждый раз»

Земфира – «Если бы»

Library Resources (on reserve for 1st and 2nd year Russian)

Time of the Day: Introductory Russian Grammar pages 442-444 (rules and drills to practice); Grammar in Illustrations page 192.

The Hypothetical Mood: Introductory Russian Grammar pages 400-402 (rules and drills to practice); Grammar in Illustrations pages 264-265 and 347.

Reciprocal Pronoun ДРУГ ДРУГА: Introductory Russian Grammar pages 203-204 (rules and drills to practice).

Verbal Adjectives and Adverbs (Participles and Gerunds): Introductory Russian Grammar pages 451-462 (rules and drills to practice); Grammar in Illustrations pages 282-291.

Holiday Vocabulary: Oxford Picture Dictionary pages 239-240.

Holidays in Russia: The Russian’s World pages 251-268.