Russian

Course summary

Learning a modern language for GCSE is a matter of taking your first steps. You learn rudimentary grammar and vocabulary that enable you to get by but real conversations are still beyond your reach. It is at the sixth-form level that you will deepen your grammatical competence and broaden your vocabulary so that you can converse about and debate real-world issues, and immerse yourself in the culture, literature and arts of the country. Even though we live in an age where it seems English is spoken everywhere and where Google Translate will help you where it is not, there is nothing like the experience and satisfaction of being able to step inside a different way of speaking and seeing the world. The Russian A level will introduce you to real Russian in real situations. You will look at the media, literature and film to acquaint you with and develop your knowledge of Russia, her language and culture from past to present. In the first year, you will focus on two major topic areas. The first is Developing Russian Society which will focus on society in post-Soviet Russia. The second is Political and Artistic Culture in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan where you will learn about media, festivals and traditions. As part of the course, you will study Pushkin’s novel “The Queen of Spades” in Russian. In the second year, you will cover two more topic areas as well as undertake a detailed study of another short novella, “A Week Like Any Other”, by Natalia Baranskaya. The first of the new topics is “Moscow and St. Petersburg: Changes in the Life of the Big Russian City” in which you will look at population changes, life in the city and problems such as homelessness and crime. The second new topic is “The Last Years of the USSR: Gorbachev (1985-1991)” in which you will study the causes and consequences of perestroika and glasnost along with the events of 1991. Finally, you will have to work through improving your translation skills in a range of texts covering the four main themes.