Fall 1997 Proposal
institution: Willamette University
language: Russian
project: Course Release
title: Russian Verbs of Motion
duration: Spring 1998 till 1999 (explanation in the text)
description:
Brief Description of Project.
Verbs of motion in Russian and other Slavic languages is a grammatical concept
different from other verb usage, and is difficult for non-Slavic speakers to grasp.
In Russian, "to go" is a different verb depending whether the subject is walking
or riding on a conveyance, whether this "going" is in one direction or is multidirectional,
or whether it has already happened or will happen once. Textbooks have tried to
present these concepts in imaginative and not so imaginative diagrams, arrows,
etc. In this project we suggest that by presenting the verbs of motion not in
the linear way of a textbook but with multimedia (audio, video and/or animation),
the student will be more likely to grasp the peculiarities in the usage of these
verbs.
In the first stage the basic verb forms will be introduced, and the student will
do exercises to show that the depicted concept of going by foot or conveyance,
to where, when, and how frequently - is understood. This stage will be presented
to the student at the end of the second semester of Russ. 132, and as review to
the Intermediate Russian student at the beginning of Russ. 231.
In the second stage the prefixed forms of the verbs will be introduced and the
student will navigate around town on foot or by conveyance, demonstrating an understanding
of arriving, leaving, entering, exiting, going around, up to, through, etc. This
stage will be introduced to the student at the Intermediate Russian level.
At the end of each segment of each stage, to show his understanding of the concept,
the student will be asked to answer questions relevant to the material.
Professors Osipovich and Seifer of Lewis and Clark College and I are proposing
to do this project together in stages. They will apply for Mellon grant money
on their own.
outcome: Statement of the Purpose and Desired Outcome
The purpose of this project is to help the student of Russian to be able to use
verbs of motion in an easier manner. As stated in the project description this
is a difficult concept, which the student cannot compare with anything in his
mother tongue and which has not been explained satisfactorily in textbooks. It
is our premise that multimedia technology can bridge this difficulty. The desired
outcome is that students who will be "walking" and "driving" on the monitor screen
will be able to better grasp this concept.
Time Line:
I have been advised that at this early "pioneering" stage it is very difficult
to estimate the length of the project. Ideally, I would like for it to go as follows:
Project work:
Magda Schay (WU)- 1998 Spring Semester,
Tatjana Osipovich (LCC) - 1998 Fall Semester
Donna Seifer (LCC) - 1998 summer, and 1999 Spring
Project testing:
Stage one: T. Osipovich and M. Schay - 1998 Fall will use the project as review
of basic forms, in Russ 231.
(Ideally in 1998 late Spring we can introduce it in Russ. 131, but I am being
warned not to be too ambitious.)
Stage two: T. Osipovich, D. Seifer and M. Schay - Fall 1999 will use the material
in Intermediate Russian (231-232).
The student will have two tries to get the correct answer to each question, and
a frequency and success record will be kept.
amount: $2500 for student worker
breakdown: Breakdown (Types of support requested):
Natalia Shevchenko is researching the types of support that will be necessary
for this project. At this time, she suggests that the following applications will
be necessary:
Real Audio
Quick Time Movie
Graphics package capable of animated gifs
Claris Home Page and other Web authoring ware
I am requesting $2500.00 for student worker support. I have identified a Sophomore,
Math Major/Computer Science Minor who is taking Russian and is interested in working
on this project.
My Macintosh LC III cannot be updated beyond Netscape 2.0 and is not capable of
encoding and decoding web materials in Cyrillic. I will request a MAC 8600/ 600
or
630 in the department budget. In the mean time I will need to work at the faculty
work station.