SPECIAL FORCES RUSSIAN FUNCTIONAL PROGRAM
Introduction and guidelines for the use of the quizzes and answer keys accompanying lessons 1 - 48.
There are 48 quizzes and 48 answer keys.
Each quiz is divided into 4 sections. These are:
A. This section consists of questions which are to be answered orally. It is recommended that each answer be given in as complete a manner as possible, in order to practice the target language as much as optimally feasible. On the other hand the recommendation is not intended to convey the idea that the student learns the text by heart, but rather that he supplies answers that make contextual sense. The instructor as well as the student, must use commonsense in the evaluation of answers as these are given in the answer key, as the latter will give merely one"correct" answer, when in fact more than one answer may be correct.
B. The structural exercises test the students' mastery of the structures that were introduced in each respective lesson. Here too the instructor should eschew rigidity and give the student the benefit of doubt.
C. & D. Translations: In either case, that is, Russian to
English as well as English to Russian, care should be taken that translations don't become too free, that is to say, literal translations are not only acceptable, but are actually preferred.
The translations are meant to test knowledge of disparate vocabulary items in a meaningful configuration, they are not exercises in stylistic-aesthetic niceties. Thus it is recommended, that students consider every word of text under consideration to carry equal weight. Redundancies or unnecessary fillers may be eliminated at a later date, preferably when the instructor discusses the test material after the quiz has been administered.