Spring 2023 webinars and lounges

April 22, 5:00 - 6:30 pm EST
​Webinar "Russian Outside of the Classroom: Community-Based Teaching" 

This webinar touches upon the methodology and pedagogical strategies of Community-Engaged Learning (CEL), a powerful approach in moving L2 and Heritage speakers from performance to proficiency-based learning while fostering civic engagement. The presentation brings together two models of CEL implemented as the entire course “Russian in Boston” and through Project-Based Learning on the topic of “War in Ukraine.”  Presenters address all 5Cs of the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, discuss the collaborative work done between faculty, students, and community, outline the language and culture learning objectives, as well as a range of strategies through which CEL can occur. Presenters also explore CEL opportunities for student engagement and address the challenges and benefits of CEL in various learning environments from high school to post-secondary with language proficiency ranging from novice to advanced.   

About the Presenters
Dr Svitlana Malykhina is Lecturer in Russian and Coordinator of Russian Language program at the World Languages and Literatures at Boston University. Her research and teaching areas include Russian and Ukrainian languages, cross-cultural communication, media discourse analysis, and heritage languages. Selected publications: Renaissance of Classical Allusions in Contemporary Russian Media (2014); Skaz: Masters of Russian  Storytelling. The dual-language anthology (2015); Change and Continuity in the Urban Semiosphere of Post-Soviet Kharkiv (2020).
Elizabeth Lee Roby is an Upper School Russian Teacher and Language Department Chair at Friends School of Baltimore. She designs and implements the curriculum and co-curricular programming for all levels of Russian, grades 9-12. She is the author of “Designing and Integrating a Community-Based Learning Dimension into a Traditional Proficiency-Based High School Curriculum” (2019).
Join us for other webinars and teachers’ lounges this semester. All events are free and open to ACTR members (you can get or renew your membership here).

In the 2021-2022 academic year, ACTR partnered with the Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute, Indiana University, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Pittsburgh to cover registration fees for non-members who are K-12 teachers for one webinar of their choice.  

February 4, 5:00 - 6:00 pm EST: Follow-up teachers' lounge on the round table on Standards. 

February 25, 5:00 - 6:30 pm EST: Webinar “Teaching Culture through Film” (by Olga Mesropova and Lynne deBenedette). 
March 4, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. EST: Follow-up teachers' lounge 

March 25, 5:00 - 6:30 pm EST: Webinar "Project-Based Learning in Pre-college and College Russian Language Classroom" 
April 1, 5:00 - 6:00 pm EST: Follow-up teachers' lounge 

April 22, 5:00 - 6:30 pm EST: Webinar "Russian Outside of the Classroom: Community-Based Teaching"
Webinar series organizers

Irina Dubinina, Brandeis U, idubinin at brandeis.edu
Olga Klimova, University of Pittsburgh, vok1 at pitt.edu

Please contact organizers with questions or suggestions for topics. If you are interested in leading a webinar for ACTR, please let us know.

Past Webinars

ACTR webinars led by leading scholars and teachers of Russian present a unique opportunity for professional development. 
Contact Evgeny Dengub ([email protected]) to get a recording of a webinar you are interested in (available for free to all active ACTR members).

Proficiency-Oriented Approach to Teaching Listening Comprehension 

December 2021
​Presenter: Olga Mukhortova, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Undergraduate Russian School, Russian Department, Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, Monterey

Gender-Inclusive Language and Practices for Teaching

April 2021
​Presenters: Devin Browne (a teacher of Russian and French), Fredrikh Chernyshev (a trans/queer activist), and Alexander Pershai (a linguist and a DEI researcher)

Building Intercultural Competence in a Russian Language Class

March 2021
Presenter Katya Nemtchinova (Seattle Pacific University)
Using Authentic Materials for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
February 2021
by Olga Klimova and Izolda Savenkova
ACTR National Conversations

Changes to the Pedagogy at the K-12 Level

July 2020
Panelists: Emily Matts Henry, Paavo Husen, Ken Petersen, Katerina Ratushnyuk, 
John Rock, Betsy Sandstrom, Jane Shuffelton, Mara Sukholutskaya, Mark Trotter
Moderator: Nataliya Ushakova
ACTR National Conversations

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, 
Moderator: Evgeny Dengub
ACTR National Conversations

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
ACTR National Conversations

Inclusivity in the Language Classroom

July 2020
Panelists: Lindsay Ceballos, Thomas Garza, Lauren Nelson, Rachel Stauffer
Moderator: Colleen Lucey
ACTR National Conversations

Co-Curricular Activities and Events; Building Communities of Learners

July 2020
Panelists: Evgeny Dengub, Kathleen Evans, Laura Marshall, Lee Roby, Iza Savenkova
Maria Shardakova 
Moderator: Irina Dubinina

Roundtable on Teaching Languages Online 

March 2020

The Academic Job Market in Russian Language, Literature, and Culture: Preparation, Pitfalls, and Pathways

February 2020
by Karen Evans-Romaine

Unlocking Russian Pronunciation 

September 2019
by Kimberly DiMattia

   

To Blend or Not to Blend: The Case for Hybrid Courses

April 2019
by Shannon Donnally Spasova 

   

Oral History Projects in the Russian-Language Curriculum

by Colleen Lucey and Benjamin Rifkin (March 2019)

Синтаксис сложного предложения в практике РКИ (продвинутый уровень)

by Anna Alsufieva (February 2019)

Verbs of Motion: Keep it Simple and Meaningful

by Irina Six (December 2018)

Online Resources for Russian Teachers 

by Evgeny Dengub (November 2018)

Упражнения на практику устной речи: мемы, виммельбухи, кубики историй

by Yulia Amlinskaya (October 2018)

Лакуны в словарях и грамматиках русского языка

by Alexey Shmelev (March 2018)

The Movement toward Transformation in Education: What It Offers Russian Language Teachers

by Betty Lou Leaver (February 2018)

Russian Flagship Practices: Intensive Language Learning for Students of All Majors

by Karen Evans-Romaine (January 2018)

The Backwards Flip: Designing Russian Courses for Advanced Proficiency

by Thomas Garza (December 2017)

Guided Subtitles in Teaching Russian

by Richard Robin (November 2017)
​

Обучение устной речи в условиях современного иноязычного образования

by Valentina Trufanova (May 2017)

Guiding principles and practical strategies for teaching mixed classes  

by Maria Carreira (May 2017)

Современный русский язык в интернете и других новых коммуникативных сферах

by Максим Кронгауз (March 2017)

Approaches to working with heritage learners: learning outcomes and ways to achieve them

by Irina Dubinina and Alla Smyslova (March 2017)

Heritage Language Curricular Development for Russian Heritage Speakers: Foundations and Rationale

by Olga Kagan (February 2017)

Heritage Speakers of Russian: a Linguistic Portrait

by Maria Polinsky (February 2017)

High School to College Articulation: Building Proficiency and Structural Control at the Pre-College Level

Webinar recording and materials
by Lee Roby (January 2017)

Moving from Intermediate to Advanced in Russian

by Cynthia Martin (December 2016)

Striking a Balance: Input, Vocabulary and Grammar in Teaching Russian

by William Comer and Lynn deBenedette (November 2016)

Contemporary Russian: What do We Teach Our Students?

Watch the recording 
by Елена Шмелева (March 2016)

Proficiency-oriented and Standards-based Assessment

by Benjamin Rifkin (February 2016)