Learn Russian in Riga: Teaching

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Teaching in Riga

All Russian courses are based on communicative approaches and combine learning common expressions used in everyday situations with thorough and systematic work on grammar. This is very important for Russian with its developed system of grammar forms with an inflectional system and a non-fixed word order – a language in which word endings or word’s place create the meaning.

Conversational topics are given with appropriate grammar structures, while the grammar part of the course proceeds gradually from simple “basic concepts” to more complex issues in a psychologically proven order (e.g. naming objects – describing locations – actions with objects – moving to and from, etc.). One of the Russian school’s most important principles consists in giving students the linguistic means to express themselves in everyday situations by constant training of communicative skills and models, which allows learners to achieve their own communicative objectives.

For beginners, the Russian school has it’s own course book Poehali, which has been tested and used in the school for several years. During this period feedback from teachers and students has been analysed and many changes have been made. Poehali is a joint project with Zlatoust, a leading publishers in the field of Russian as a Foreign Language.

The language school follows a tried and tested open group system with continuous enrolment and student intake every second week throughout the year (some restrictions for beginners apply). As students arrive from all over the world, groups tend to be very international. This is a perfect occasion to make new friends but it also requires that teaching will be in Russian only with no explanations given in English or any other language.

Group tuition structure

Communicative teaching is provided in small groups (maximum 12 students per group) making this course both pleasurable and linguistically productive. All groups are formed according to a written and oral assessment test compulsory for every student.

Standard Group Courses
Give participants the chance to learn communicative skills in “real life” situations. This course of 20 weekly lessons is offered year round and follows a modular pattern of two-week units. For participants staying four weeks or longer, following modules build upon the grammar basics of the first module, treating the same topics from a different angle with more in-depth explanations, more complex vocabulary, different exercises and more dialogues.
Each course starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday, with lessons taking place usually between 10:00 and 14:00.

Intensive Group Courses
The intensive group course runs over twenty-five lessons per week in groups with a maximum of twelve participants, with twenty  standard group lessons, plus five lessons taught over two afternoons:

• A1 – Survival Russian, outdoor experiences (shopping, ordering food), telephone conversations (booking a table, etc.).
• A1+/A2 – Russian customs, mentality and easy-to-understand aspects of Russian culture and history.
• B1/B2 – Business life, economy, politics, mass media and cultural and historical topics at a higher level.

Private Tuition

The language school staff have been teaching Russian to the corporate and diplomatic world since 1992, and in Riga since 2022 and has acquired a lot of experience teaching students across very different industries. Individual classes prior to an assignment to Russia are a very effective way to prepare for an upcoming relocation. One-to-One classes are demanding and require full concentration over a prolonged period of time. Teacher and student jointly determine the exact content of any One-to-One course. The student is invited to specify his/her field of interests by completing a needs analysis form, which allows the staff to pre-select material, establish a study-plan and prepare a specific vocabulary.

One-to-one courses are available in varying degrees of intensity: 15, 20, 30 or 40 lessons per week.
If enrolling for 30 lessons or more the student is taught by a team of two teachers.

Individual courses can be booked throughout the year. The minimum course length is one week with each course starting on a Monday and ending on a Friday. If required and with sufficient notice, lessons can also be held on weekends.

Russian Language Teachers

All of the school’s teachers are native speakers and hold a university degree either in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language (RKI) or Linguistics. The school encourages their teachers to learn new languages, because we believe that having this experience as students is a valuable source for further improvement of their own professional skills. The teachers apply a variety of techniques ranging from introduction to the Russian language history, from etymology and comparative linguistics to role-play, live discussions and creative work (drawing, story telling) in the class. Teacher training sessions take place on a regular basis. During team work the Russian teachers can share their experiences, discuss the problems they recently solved, new methods and techniques they have implemented and evaluate new teaching materials.

Russian language levels

In group courses, the staff teach at six levels of Russian year-round (beginner to intermediate) and eight levels during busy summer period (adding upper-intermediate and advanced classes). For reasons of compatibility, they have adapted the framework of the European Language Portfolio. Lesson numbers in the table below are averaged, based on experience teaching past students. Students enrolling for a one-to-one course will need less time to pass from one level to the next.

A0 Beginner
Russian is a new language for me. At most I recognise a few Cyrillic letters and know some words, but I have never had Russian lessons.
Length/ 20 lessons duration. Courses offered all year round on specific starting dates

A1 & A1+ Elementary

I understand and can use simple everyday words and phrases. I can communicate in a simple way as long as the other person speaks slowly and clearly and is willing to help me.
Length / A1: 40-60 lessons / A1+: 60-80 lessons
Courses offered all year round, courses start weekly
Active vocabulary: 780 words or phrases

B2 High Intermediate
I can communicate with confidence and fluently in a way that makes normal conversation with native speakers effortless for both parties. I can express myself clearly and in detail on a wide range of topics, explain a point of view on a complex matter and describe the advantages and disadvantages of different options without spending too much time looking for expressions.
Length: B2: 200 lessons / B2+: 200 lessons
Courses offered by all year round as a group course
Active vocabulary – 6000 words or phrases
Recommended exam: TRKI-2

In reality a student chooses to attend a short course or a longer “Languages for Life” or Academic Year programme according to their linguistic goals, personal wishes and time constraints.

End of Course Certificates

All students receive a graded certificate (in Russian) at the end of their stay, indicating course type, course dates, numbers of lessons and level achieved. The school place great importance that students attend classes punctually. The school reserves the right to refuse to issue a course certificate to students who persistently arrive late. The teachers expect students to arrive for tuition rested and alert.

Students wishing to take an exam during their stay, may sign up for a TRKI Russian language test. The exam is closely aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The TRKI Russian language test is available for B1 to C2 language levels.