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Между нами (Mezhdu Nami)
A free, online-first beginner Russian coursebook aligned with ACTFL Novice proficiency goals.
Organized into units built around a continuous storyline, the textbook combines short dialogues, grammar explanations in English, and embedded multimedia. Its structure supports incremental language development while remaining accessible to true beginners.
What it does exceptionally well
Highly novice-friendly design: Clear, concise dialogues; manageable unit length; and transparent grammar explanations in English reduce cognitive overload for beginning learners.
Strong accessibility and flexibility: The online format allows students to revisit audio and text easily, supporting pronunciation, stress, and intonation practice outside of class.
Thoughtful technology integration: Embedded videos and platform-based materials encourage digital engagement and multimodal learning.
Practical cultural framing: Introduces major cities, everyday communicative norms (e.g., ты/вы), and recurring sociocultural notes that support pragmatic competence.
Instructor-friendly organization: Materials support structured lesson planning; classroom activities are easy to print, adapt, and supplement.
Built-in recycling and assessment: The combination of online work, in-class activities, and homework promotes frequent repetition and regular performance checks.
Teaching considerations
The platform is particularly effective when instructors intentionally foreground spontaneous speaking through in-class interaction (e.g., short role-plays, guided storytelling, or brief presentations), complementing the strong online support for listening and reading. Pacing decisions are key: balancing the online, in-class, and homework components ensures that the curriculum remains engaging without feeling overly dense.
Beginner’s Russian with Interactive Workbook (Kudyma, Miller, Kagan; 2011)
A beginner textbook emphasizing phonetics, listening, and speaking, supported by an extensive online workbook ecosystem (audio, video, podcasts, interactive exercises).
Designed for a speaking- and listening-first approach, the textbook integrates abundant multimedia resources with communicative classroom tasks, making it especially well suited for beginners who benefit from early oral engagement.
What it does especially well
Strong communicative orientation from the start: Frequent pair and group work (dialogues, interviews, surveys, conversation-recreation tasks) promotes early interaction and confidence in speaking.
Robust listening infrastructure: Abundant audio and podcast materials support pronunciation, phonetic awareness, and listening comprehension from day one.
Engaging, learner-friendly design: Visuals, mini-games, comics, and clear tables support motivation and comprehension; thematic units focus on practical, everyday topics (family, small talk, housing, eating out, weather).
Substantial cultural integration: Each chapter includes cultural sections ranging from foundational knowledge (geography, naming practices) to broader sociocultural themes (housing costs, gender roles, wellness, ethnicity, literature).
Technology-forward for its level: A free, Canvas-style online resource hub familiarizes students early with digital learning environments and self-directed practice.
Teaching considerations
The textbook works best when instructors actively frame and scaffold classroom tasks, providing brief in-the-moment explanations and transitions that help students see how individual activities fit into larger communicative goals. While the platform emphasizes practice-oriented quizzes, instructors typically design formal assessments that align with their specific course outcomes.
Golosa (Robin, Evans-Romaine, Shatalina; Routledge, 2022)
A beginning-level Russian textbook designed to bring students to Novice High / low Intermediate proficiency.
The textbook is organized into theme-based units (family, university, food, travel, health), each typically culminating in practical, real-life tasks. Its design emphasizes structured progression and accuracy development alongside functional language use.
What it does especially well
Clear structure and progression: Predictable unit design integrates vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, and culture, supporting steady cumulative learning.
Strong focus on survival communication: Provides solid preparation for everyday novice-level tasks such as introductions, ordering food, asking for directions, and shopping.
Expandable pair and group work: Includes dialogues, role-plays, and communicative activities that lend themselves well to further interaction and adaptation.
Consistent cultural component: Cultural notes appear regularly (holidays, etiquette, naming practices), with newer editions making efforts toward broader post-Soviet inclusivity.
Well-developed assessment scaffolding: Frequent low-stakes checks (homework, drills, quizzes, tests) support accuracy-building and provide clear performance benchmarks.
Teaching considerations
The textbook is most effective when instructors balance its strong form-focused foundation with earlier and more frequent communicative practice, helping students apply grammatical knowledge in real-time interaction. To support fluency development, instructors often integrate short, low-pressure speaking tasks that encourage spontaneous language use alongside paradigm learning.
В пути (Olga Kagan & Frank Miller)
An intermediate-oriented Russian textbook targeting B1/B2 development, with grammatical content integrated into thematic chapters (e.g., university life alongside usage of в/на). The textbook also introduces register awareness, including formal and informal letter writing.
The curriculum is designed for learners transitioning from lower-intermediate or returning to Russian after a break, combining thematic content with continued grammatical development.
What it does especially well
Logical curricular design: Early chapters align well with the needs of students “returning” to Russian, focusing on introductions, student life, and familiar communicative domains.
Targeted skill development: Selected activities (interviews and surveys with guiding questions; biography-from-data tasks) support paragraph-level narration and structured oral production.
Support for classroom interaction: Dialogues and interactional phrases (e.g., мне кажется, (не) думаю) provide useful linguistic tools for discussion and opinion-sharing.
Initial technology integration: The Student Activities Manual (SAM), audio/video components, and a chapter-level “record yourself” task encourage multimodal engagement and self-monitoring.
Teaching considerations
The textbook is most effective when instructors curate reading selections strategically, pairing denser texts with relevance-driven authentic materials that better match intermediate proficiency and learner interests. Writing development and assessment are typically strengthened by designing a parallel writing sequence and formal evaluation framework aligned with course goals.
Colloquial Russian 2 (Soboleva, 2019)
A second-year / intermediate Russian coursebook targeting B1/B2 proficiency, organized thematically around modern, real-world texts. The textbook emphasizes reading and listening input, supported by written tasks, with a broadly communicative pedagogical intent.
The coursebook is particularly content-rich and is well suited for learners ready to engage with authentic language and socially grounded topics.
What it does especially well
Contemporary topics and authentic input: Readings are drawn from relatively current materials, offering students exposure to real language use beyond pedagogically simplified texts.
Focused attention to colloquial usage: Dedicated “colloquialisms” sections help students notice and interpret everyday spoken language and informal registers.
Substantial cultural and social scope: Chapters address society, demographics, religion, media, traditions, and international contexts, extending well beyond a narrowly literary or canonical focus.
Clear thematic progression: The curriculum moves from more concrete, everyday topics toward abstract social and economic themes, supporting development toward Intermediate High proficiency.
Flexible task design: Many activities (question creation, interviews, debate prompts) lend themselves well to instructor-led adaptation into interactive speaking tasks.
Teaching considerations
The textbook is most effective when instructors intentionally foreground speaking practice, building structured oral tasks around the rich reading and listening input provided. Because some topics and examples are closely tied to specific historical or cultural moments, instructors may choose to contextualize or update selected materials, aligning them with current classroom sensitivities and learning goals. Pacing decisions are important: the textbook is particularly well-suited for learners who already have a solid intermediate foundation, while those transitioning directly from first year may benefit from additional scaffolding and vocabulary support early on.
Этажи (Dengub & Nazarova) — Second Year Russian Language and Culture
A second-year Russian textbook supporting development from Novice High / Intermediate Low toward Intermediate Mid/High, integrating skills with authentic cultural materials and clearly articulated learning goals.
The textbook is designed as a culture-and-communication–centered curriculum, combining thematic units with integrated skill development and explicit proficiency-oriented outcomes.
What it does especially well
Strong ACTFL alignment: Real-world thematic focus (food, travel, health, education, traditions) paired with integrated listening, speaking, reading, and writing supports proficiency-driven instruction.
Authentic-feeling audio input: Recordings resemble natural conversations, helping students build readiness for real-world listening.
Interactive classroom orientation: Many tasks encourage pair and group work, presentations, and role-plays, positioning the instructor as a facilitator of communication.
Supportive technology ecosystem: Online listening and reading practice, along with Quizlet sets, help students develop consistent study routines.
Varied reading genres: Includes emails, text messages, informational passages, and more academic-style texts, typically supported by pre- and post-reading tasks.
Clear writing progression: Multiple writing formats (emails, messages, short essays) are introduced alongside connectors and discourse markers to support coherence.
Explicit learning goals: Transparent objectives encourage student self-assessment and support learner autonomy.
Teaching considerations
The textbook is particularly effective when instructors broaden comparative perspectives, supplementing the core materials with examples from diverse Russian-speaking contexts to complement the Russia-centered framing. Instructors working with heritage or immigrant-background students may choose to add reflective or choice-based cultural tasksthat allow learners to connect course themes to their own experiences.
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