Join us for other webinars and teachers’ lounges. All events are free and open to ACTR members (you can get or renew your membership here). The recording of webinars and teacher's lounges will be emailed to all registered participants. |
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Friday, September 20: Roundtable on Professional Development Opportunities + Open House
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. EST
Roundtable on Professional Development opportunities in the field (45 min) followed by ACTR Open house (45 min.)
This session will provide an overview of several professional development opportunities for teachers of Russian at all levels, including ACTR-based professional development programs and activities, the American Councils Summer Russian Teachers Program in Almaty, other opportunities, to enhance Russian-language skills, the AATSEEL Certification Program in Diverse and Inclusive Pedagogies (CDIPS) and K-12 Teacher Excellence Program program, STARTALK, various funding opportunities, online courses and resources, and others.
Everything you wanted to know about joining the ACTR Board, but were afraid to ask!
Have you thought about joining the ACTR Board or one of the committees, but didn't know where to start? Here is the opportunity to get your questions answered! Come to our Open House on Friday, September 20, 2024 to speak with current members of the ACTR Board about the nomination process and to learn about how YOU can become a part of the ACTR Board!
For questions, email Olga Klimova at vok1 at pitt.edu or Lee Roby at eroby at friendsbalt.org
Roundtable: Diverse Voices From the Field
Friday, May 10, 2024, 5:30-7:00 EST
Colleagues from countries other than Russia will each present a Russian-language teaching activity or resources offering an insider’s view, followed by a Q&A and discussion. The framing idea is to offer models of well-grounded teaching activities for instructors of Russian with less in-country familiarity or experience.
Roundtable participants:
Roundtable: Student Study Abroad Experiences After 2020
Thursday, April 25, 2024, 5:30-7:00 EST
In the wake of the Covid pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the study abroad landscape for Russian has been radically altered. Please join us for a roundtable in which a diverse group of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students will share their experiences of studying Russian abroad after 2020.
Roundtable participants’ comments will be prompted by the following questions:
The Use of Generative AI in the Russian Language Classroom
Thursday, March 14, 5:30-7:00 EST
This webinar will outline strategies and best practices for incorporating generative AI into the Russian language classroom. Presenters will share resources and activities that draw on the affordances of AI to enhance students’ classroom experience. They will also consider the efficacy of using AI chatbots to provide students with task-based conversation practice outside the classroom. The presentation will include samples of student work alongside students’ reflections on their experience using AI to complete Russian assignments. In addition to exploring the benefits of incorporating generative AI into language instruction, presenters will discuss potential risks and drawbacks of AI usage, as well as tips for encouraging students to engage responsibly, ethically, and effectively with AI as they progress in their language learning. Specific topics to be covered include prompt engineering, AI as a tool for providing feedback and assessment, the ethics of AI usage, and the impact of AI on students’ experience and perceptions of language learning.
Kit Pribble
Kit Pribble is an Assistant Professor of Russian at Wake Forest University. Her areas of research are second language acquisition with an emphasis on digital learning technologies, as well as the development of Romantic prose forms in Russia in the 1830s and 40s. Dr. Pribble has published and presented widely on topics within 19th-century Russian literature, Romanticism, and L2 pedagogy, including projects on using Slavic folklore and digital social reading in the L2 classroom. She teaches Russian at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels alongside courses on literature and culture.
Doina Grecu
Doina Grecu is a PhD candidate studying TESOL and World Language Education at the University of Georgia. Her research interests focus on teacher language ideologies and their influence on classroom practices, as well as the decolonization of the Russian as a Foreign Language classroom. She is currently teaching Russian at the intermediate level and has previously worked with students at the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels as part of the Russian Flagship Program at UGA.
An Interdisciplinary Partnership: Teaching Russian during the War through Songs and Visual Arts
Friday, February 23, 5:30-7:00 EST
This webinar will outline the methodology, share resources, and present pedagogical strategies for integrating into Russian language instruction products of Russian popular culture created in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Through the analysis of anti-war visual arts and propaganda-serving, pro-war shanson music, presenters aim to equip language instructors with critical lenses and explicit strategies to teach media literacy. The objective is to expand students’ cultural perspectives by heightening awareness of wartime culture, developing their ability to interpret images and song lyrics, and sparking interest in civic and social justice. Presenters will share activities designed to enhance language competencies through scaffolded assignments, which allow students to interpret popular culture in the classroom setting while exploring anonymous anti-war street graffiti, stickers, street art, conceptual art, installations, song lyrics, and videos in a variety of formats.
Julia Denne
Julia Kriventsova Denne is an independent instructor and owner of the “By the Onion Sea” program (www.bytheonionsea.com). She teaches Russian classes for both high-school students, including heritage and bilingual students, and adults in the Chicago area and online. She has also been conducting adult seminars on Russian and world literature, art, history, and culture at the Newberry Library in Chicago for over 15 years.
Anastasia Gordienko
Anastasia Gordienko is Assistant Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at the University of Arizona. Her interests lie in the intersection of Russian and Ukrainian history, culture, and identity. Her monograph Outlaw Music in Russia: The Rise of an Unlikely Genre (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2023) explores a paradoxical quid pro quo synergy among Russian criminal music, the shanson, and Putin’s politics. Gordienko has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses at UA, covering subjects such as Ukraine, fairy tales, criminal culture, and the Russian language.
ACTR webinars led by leading scholars and teachers of Russian present a unique opportunity for professional development.
Information Session on American Councils' Russian Study Abroad Programs November 2023 Presenters: Vladka Shikova, Nellie Manis, Angela MacDougall Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Second Languages to Students with Learning Disabilities February 2023 Presenter: Linda Hecker (Landmark College) Teaching Culture through Film February 2022 Presenters: Olga Mesropova and Lynne deBenedette Gender-Inclusive Language and Practices in Teaching April 2021 Presenters: Devin Browne, Fredrikh Chernyshev, Alexander Pershai Changes to the Pedagogy at the K-12 Level July 2020 Presenters: Emily Matts Henry, Paavo Husen, Ken Peterson, Katerina Ratushnyuk, John Rook, Betsy Sandstrom, Jane Shuffleton, Mara Sukholutskaya, Mark Trotter Moderator: Nataliya Ushakova Study Abroad and Flagship Programs and Intensive Summer Programs during COVID-19 July 2020 Panelists: Karen Evans-Romaine, Graham Hettlinger, Jason Merrill, Jeannette Owen, Nana Tsikhelashvili, Irina Walsh Modernator: Evgeny Dengub Unlocking Russian Pronunciation September 2019 Presenter: Kimberly DiMattia Синтаксис сложного предложения в практике РКИ (продвинутый уровень) February 2019 Presenter: Anna Alsufieva Упражнения на практику устной речи: мемы, виммельбухи, кубики историй October 2018 Presenter: Yulia Amlinskaya Russian Flagship Practices: Intensive Language Learning for Students of All Majors January 2018 Presenter: Karen Evans-Romaine Обучение устной речи в условиях современного иноязычного образования May 2017 Presenter: Valentina Trufanova Striking a Balance: Input, Vocabulary and Grammar in Teaching Russian November 2016 Presenters: William Comer and Lynn deBenedette | Webinar: "Your Feedback is Very Important to Us! Feedback and Assessment in the Second Language Classroom" April 2023 Presenter: Olesya Kisselev (University of Texas at San Antonio) Russian Outside of the Classroom: Community-Based Teaching April 2022 Diverse Voices from the Field, Part II January 2022 Presenters: Dr. Jose Vergara, Dr. David Parker, Dr. Raquel Green Building Intercultural Competence in a Russian Language Class March 2021 Presenter: Katya Nemtchinova (Seattle Pacific University) Inclusivity in the Language Classroom July 2020 Panelists: Lindsay Ceballos, Thomas Garza, Lauren Nelson, Rachel Stauffer Moderator: Colleen Lucey Changes to the Pedagogy at the Post-Secondary Level July 2020 Panelists: William Comer, Lynne deBenedette, Cynthia Martin, Shannon Spasova, Kristen Welsh Moderator: Irina Dubinina Roundtable on Teaching Languages Online March 2020 To Blend or Not to Blend: The Case for Hybrid Courses April 2019 Presenter: Shannon Donnally Spasova Verbs of Motion: Keep it Simple and Meaningful December 2018 Presenter: Irina Six Лакуны в словарях и грамматиках русского языка March 2018 Presenter: Alexey Shmelev The Backwards Flip: Designing Russian Courses for Advanced Proficiency December 2017 Presenter: Thomas Garza Современный русский язывк в интернете и других новых коммуникативных сферах March 2017 Presenter: Максим Кронгауз January 2017 Presenter: Lee Roby | Webinar: "Rehumanizing the Humanities: Ungrading the Language Classroom" March 2023 Presenter: Evgeny Dengub (University of Southern California) Project-Based Learning in Pre-college and College Russian Language Classroom March 2022 Proficiency-Oriented Approach to Teaching Listening Comprehension December 2021 Presenters: Olga Muhkortova, Ph.D. (Defense Language Institute) Using Authentic Materials for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion February 2021 Presenters: Olga Klimova, Izolda Savenkova Co-Curricular Activities and Events: Building Communities of Learners July 2020 Panelists: Evgeny Dengub, Kathleen Evans, Laura Marshall, Lee Roby, Iza Savenkonva, Maria Shardakova Moderator: Irina Dubinina Authentic Texts in a Russian Language Proficiency-Based Classroom February 2021 Presenters: Evgeny Dengub and Irina Dubinina The Academic Job Market in Russian Language, Literature and Culture: Preparation, Pitfalls, and Pathways February 2020 Presenter: Karen Evans-Romaine Oral History Projects in the Russian Language Curriculum March 2019 Presenters: Colleen Lucey and Benjamin Rifkin Online Resources for Russian Teachers November 2018 Presenter: Evgeny Dengub The Movement Toward Transformation in Education: What it Offers Russian Language Teachers February 2018 Presenter: Betty Lou Leaver Guided Subtitles in Teaching Russian November 2017 Presenter: Richard Robin Approaches to Working with Heritage Learners: Learning Outcomes and Ways to Achieve Them March 2017 Presenter: Irina Dubinina and Alla Smyslova Moving from Intermediate to Advanced in Russian December 2016 Presenter: Cynthia Martin Proficiency-oriented and Standards-based Assessment February 2016 Presenter: Benjamin Rifkin |