For Instructors

Advocating for the ongoing study and attainment of advanced proficiency in the Russian language is crucial, particularly in academic and professional contexts. Our resource offers a series of video interviews featuring specialists from diverse fields, including STEM, public service, and higher education, accompanied by supplementary learning materials. This resource facilitates linguistic growth and encourages more profound reflection on the multifaceted significance of Russian language competency within contemporary contexts of various STEAM and Public Service fields. 

Each interview offers the opportunity to delve into individual experiences and expertise or to identify overarching themes across multiple discussions, such as, for example, Как вы выбрали специальность? Что помогло вам так хорошо выучить русский язык? Какие научные открытия вы ожидаете в ближайшем будущем? Despite variations in backgrounds and linguistic styles among the interviewees, a common thread of Russian language and culture emerges, underscoring its unifying role across diverse spheres. Embracing this diversity in language usage enriches students’ understanding, fostering an appreciation for different pronunciation styles, speech rates, and professional terminologies. The significance of Russian language proficiency within various professional trajectories is explored alongside broader questions regarding career selection, language acquisition, and anticipated scientific advancements. 

Below you will find some suggestions on how to use this resource to enhance your Russian courses, organized by ACTFL proficiency levels:

Interpretive Listening

Task: Listen to the interviewee’s responses to the first question in the interview, Biography (Расскажите, пожалуйста, о себе.) and to their responses in the Lightning Question Round (the last section of each interview). Write down the answers:

  • Где он/а родился?
  • Где вырос/выросла?
  • Где учился/училась?
  • Какой университет закончил/а?
  • Где он/она жил/жила раньше и где живет сейчас?
  • Куда он/она переехала после школы/университета?
  • Книги или кино?
  • Какая любимая книга на русском языке или фильм?

Interpersonal Speaking (Function: Asking and Answering Questions, Providing biographical information, Describing Likes and Dislikes)

Task: Discuss the above questions with your partner.

Interpretive Reading

Task: Read the short bio provided at the top of the interview transcript. Identify 3 important biographical facts of the interviewee’s personal and academic path.

Interpretive Listening

Task: Listen to a 5-minute clip from the interview with mathematician Alina Chertok “What helps and what hinders your academic career?” and create a list of pros and cons.

Task: Listen to a 5-minute clip from the interview with Professor of Cybersecurity Alexandra Boldyreva “Не могли бы вы дать несколько практических советов по компьютерной безопасности?” and create a guide on digital safety.

Interpersonal Speaking

Task: Listen to interviewees’ answers to the question on the word of the year (Слово года) and discuss with your partner, which word of the year you would choose for the following categories:

  • your major
  • your academic year
  • your campus life

Interpretive Reading/Listening (Function: Comparing)

Task: Read the short bio on the interview transcript, then listen to the first question about the interviewee describing themselves. Compare the two sources and write down new information that you learned about the interviewee from the interview transcript text that was not reflected in the interview video, and vice versa.

Interpretive Listening

  • Task: Listen to the entire interview and check your comprehension by completing the Interview Quiz.

Interpretive Reading/Presentational Speaking (Function: Retelling)

  • Task: Find information in several interview transcript texts on how highly successful professionals made their career choices. Choose the most inspirational story and retell it in class. Explain why it inspired you.

Interpretive Listening/Presentational Writing (Function: Summarizing)

  • Task: Listen to how interviewees answer the question Как/почему вы выбрали свою специальность? and summarize based on three and more interviews who or what has influenced their career choices.
  • Task: Explore a question of your choice across the interviews (use navigation in the videos or PDF Interview scripts for reference), summarize and report to class.

Interpretive Listening/Presentational Speaking (Function: Explaining)

  • Task: Focus on “How it works?” interview questions and choose a specific topic, such as vaccine mechanism (Biology), Moebius strip (Physics), hearing organ anatomy (Medicine), space photography in mapping (Environmental geography). Prepare an explanation of how the subject of your interest works and present it in class with visual support (slides, pictures, charts, graphs).

Interpretive Listening/Presentational Speaking (Function: Comparing)

  • Task: Watch a video clip on the difference in education systems in the USA and Russia (Biology; Space Exploration) or healthcare systems in Ukraine and the USA (Medicine) and make a chart using a Venn diagram or any other visual organizer). Report back to your class.

Interpretive Reading/Presentational Speaking (Function: Hypothesising and Making Predictions

Task: Learn through series of interviews what kind of challenges specialists from different fields expect to face in near future (Какие важные задачи стоят сейчас перед учеными в криптографии? (Cybersecurity); Как новые технологии и искусственный интеллект могут изменить журналистику? Как будет выглядеть журналистика через 5 лет? (Journalism); Каким вы видите университет будущего? (Education). Make predictions about how other professional fields or areas of life would change in five or ten years based on the insights gathered from these interviews.

Task: Choose a question you would like to study in depth (for examples, see the list below). Explore it through several interviews on the website. Develop a questionnaire or a list of questions and interview 3-4 Russian speakers. Review, summarize, and report back to your class.

Special topics for further exploration in your current Intermediate or Advanced course:

  • Gender and academic career (mentioned in the interview on Mathematics)
  • System of Education in the US and Russia (mentioned in the interview on Biology and Space Exploration)
  • Climate change and its impact on the lives of indigenous people (mentioned in the interview on Environmental geography
  • What can we do for people with disabilities? (mentioned in the interview on Medicine and Public Health)
  • How AI changes professional fields (mentioned in the interviews on Cybersecurity, Journalism, Language Education)
  • Role models in the professional world (various interviews)
  • The future potential of CRISPR technology and gene editing (Medicine; Biology)
  • Russian/Soviet scientists (Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Medicine, Cybersecurity)

Interview with Professor Benjamin Rifkin, Fairleigh Dickinson University

One of the leading experts in Russian language instruction, Professor Benjamin Rifkin, Provost of Fairleigh Dickinson University, shares insights on his language acquisition journey, reflecting on contemporary teaching methods compared to his own learning experience. He discusses his proudest projects, ongoing book endeavors, and the challenges confronting Russian language educators today. Rifkin also contemplates the future landscape of universities, emphasizing the significance of comprehensive language proficiency. Exploring the value of fluency in Russian, he highlights promising career prospects for specialists in the field, underscoring the importance of achieving Advanced or Professional Proficiency in learning Russian. 

​​Professor Benjamin Rifkin, Provost of Fairleigh Dickinson University shares his professional experience and academic career path, including his work and research in Russia, and his experience in teaching, research, and administrative positions. He shares his personal experience of learning Russian during his college years and provides valuable advice on how to achieve Professional Level of language proficiency. Professor Rifkin also discusses his pedagogical projects,  reflects on the changes in language teaching in the United States, and shares his vision of university education in the future.