AREAS OF EXPERTISE

My experience enables me to TAILOR instructional materials to broad levels of Russian students, from complete beginners to educated natives (sometimes in one classroom!).

The quality of my instructional materials EMPOWERS my students to succeed in different fields: in secondary and in higher education, in private business and in government service.

I am not only capable of but also LOVE designing teaching materials. It’s very creative and deeply involves all my skills process - to make learning clear, engaging and relevant to current, historical, cultural and social situations in addition to student needs.

And I LOVE teaching Russian language to adults. It’s super exciting and rewarding to help my students grow as Russian language users from one level to another:

I was trained and worked as a certified OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) tester for some time. And I was exposed to and analyzed several other proficiency testing systems also.

I discovered several critical things from this important experience:

I found out that the same speaking skills could be assessed at a higher level if you are aware of what…

I was not born as a grammarian. And it didn’t happen overnight.

I actually hated grammar classes at the university (boring!).

After graduation though, over and over again I found myself in situations (teaching, researching, writing) when making Russian grammar clear for others (native and non-native speakers) was my job. And it eventually became my creative puzzle.

I started to love this constant search for ways to present Russian grammar in a SIMPLE, CLEAR, and ENGAGING   way.

And it turned out to be that I am really GOOD  at it now. Which was highly BENEFICIAL for my students.

Not to mention that my Ph.D. research and both textbooks were written about contemporary Russian grammar.

As a language user, I have an ILR Level 5 in all skills in Russian. It didn’t happen overnight.

I developed this command from using my mother tongue in a wide range of contexts - from highly formal communication (i.e. defense of my Ph.D. thesis in Academy of Science) to very informal (colloquial chats) with everything in between. With tons of reading: fiction and history, philosophy and politics, spirituality and humor, and jargons in the media “comments section” too!

I am especially good with Russian colloquial speech – a unique style that educated Russians use in informal contexts. It’s full of quotes, humor, plays on words, creativity, and a lot of meanings between and beyond the lines.

Also I have a solid arsenal of idiomatic expressions, ranging from colloquial to highly formal (ancient and Biblical).

As a college professor, for several years I’ve designed and taught courses in Culture of Russian Speech (including Stylistics) and in Rhetoric in Russian tradition to traditional, native and heritage students.

My course in Culture of Russian Speech described the Russian stylistic system and contemporary variations in norms.

My course in Rhetoric included persuasion in public speaking and debates and training in unrehearsed speech in formal contexts.

As an author, I wrote a textbook “My Language Is My Friend, or How To Navigate Through The Ocean Of Contemporary Russian Speech” that included the best of my teaching experience in my Culture of Russian Speech course.