Reviewed by: Rush to Russian by Olga I. Glazunova Lisa DeWaard Dykstra Rush to Russian. by Olga I. Glazunova. (LINCOM language course-books.) Munich: LINCOM Europa, 2002. Pp. 201. ISBN 389586336X. $40.30. Rush to Russian is an introductory Russian textbook designed for classroom and/or self-study use. The book is organized into two parts: the introductory phonetic course and the main course. The introductory phonetic course presents the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet interspersed with basic grammatical concepts and coordinating exercises. Several types of information are made available to students: ‘Tangentially’ sections provide interesting cultural and linguistic asides, ‘Grammar’ sections give brief explanations of key grammatical concepts, ‘Calligraphy’ sections show how Cyrillic letters look when rendered into italics, and ‘NB’ (nota bene) sections contain grammar notes. The main course is a collection of short essays and dialogue centered around the life of an American student, John Smith, who studies abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. The readings range from conversations in the cafeteria to short stories about trips to the countryside with Russian friends. Each reading is followed by (1) notes that explain difficult words in the text, (2) a small section in which the most important expressions are highlighted, (3) grammar explanations, and (4) grammar exercises. This textbook employs an interesting concept in that it structures its content around a single theme: the story of an American student in Russia. This content integration is also found in many foreign language textbook series commonly used in the United States. The dialogue and texts reflect a variety of important cultural and interpersonal situations that an exchange student might face when in Russia. The ‘Tangentially’ sections provide interesting cultural and linguistic bits of information. The answer key included in the back of the book is a helpful aid to the student, as is the glossary. This text, however, suffers from a number of distracting weaknesses. First, the book suffers from the lack of a good editor: the English in the text is marred by awkward phrasing and grammatical errors. Second, unlike most current textbooks, Rush to Russian has no accompanying audio or video tapes. These ancillary materials are valuable for pronunciation practice and cultural information. Even in a classroom setting where students have language models, additional Russian voices aid in the acquisition of phonology. For the self-study learner, their absence may be devastating. Third, the book has no photographs or other visual material, which add to the appeal of a text. Finally, the glossary, though comprehensive, does not indicate the part of speech for each lexical entry. [End Page 621] More serious than the above concerns are methodological problems with the text. Russian presents a number of challenges for the native English-speaking student: the alphabet, complex grammar, and noncognate vocabulary. Glazunova takes an unusual approach in presenting material: she stretches out the presentation of the alphabet over the entire first third of the textbook, interspersing the introduction of new letters with grammar information and new vocabulary. Taking so long seems unwarranted; the alphabet is the least difficult of the three hurdles mentioned above. This format also places restrictions on the vocabulary that can be be introduced, since the author (wisely) limits the inclusion of vocabulary to only those words that contain letters that have been learned to that point. This complicates grammar presentation: present tense verb conjugation is presented before the letter sh—a major part of second person singular morphology. The author opts to present second person singular verb forms at a later point. At times, grammatical information is presented after students have already been expected to use it in exercises. For example, exercises using the genitive and instrumental cases are presented before the cases themselves (exercise 10, p. 12). The grammar explanations are often short and do not provide examples of exceptions. The jump from the introductory phonetic course to the main course is too great; after learning the alphabet and a basic set of grammar rules, students are expected to read long and complex texts. Finally, the focus of the exercises that follow the texts is grammatical; no comprehension checks are included. Overall, the textbook aims at a good target, but misses. Although some aspects of...
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Mar 16, 2024
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