FSI-Russian/FSI-book.xml

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  <info>
    <title>The RUSSIAN Fast Course</title>

    <cover>
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        <caption>
          <para>Clipart ETC is copyright © 2010 by the University of South Florida.<link
              xlink:href="http://etc.usf.edu/clipa">http://etc.usf.edu/clipart</link></para>
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    <author>
      <personname><firstname/><surname/></personname>

      <affiliation>
        <orgname>FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE</orgname>
      </affiliation>
    </author>
  </info>

  <preface>
    <title>Preface</title>

    <para>The Russian FAST course first appeared at FSI more than 15 years ago, and it has been
      growing and changing ever since. The current edition owes its existence to many individuals,
      all of whom we would like to thank. While time and space do not permit us to thank them all
      individually, we would like to bring special attention to the efforts of the following:</para>

    <para>Without the computer skills and language teaching expertise of Language and Culture
      Instructor Garegin Petrosian, this book would not exist today. Thanks are also owed to Linda
      Coble and the staff in OMIS who responded, generously and promptly, to every request for
      software, as well as hardware.</para>

    <para>Tatiana Hassan, Natasha Lord, Olga Shishkevish and many other Language and Culture
      instructors in the Russian Section make up the team which brought the first, and then later
      versions of the FAST course to our students. We are grateful to them all for their hard work
      and dedication. Special thanks are due Tatiana Hassan who has been the driving force behind
      the current FAST course and this latest version of the book.</para>

    <para>Without the efforts of Lawrence Williams and David Coy in Multi-Media Operations we could
      not have produced the tapes which accompany this book. Thanks also go to those instructors in
      the Russian Section who lent their voices.</para>

    <para>Thanks are also owed to all the Language and Culture Instructors in the Russian Section
      who gave so freely of their time to proofread, correct and suggest improvements to this
      book.</para>

    <para>Our work on the FAST course has always enjoyed the support of our administration. We owe a
      special debt of gratitude to Dr. James Snow, Chair of NEE, Dr. David Argoff and Gary Crawford,
      Associate Deans of the School of Language Studies at FSI.</para>

    <para>Finally, and most importantly, we are grateful to our students, who have so patiently
      helped us test these materials and who have so generously shared their comments. We have
      benefited greatly by their experiences, and we hope that our future students will do so as
      well.</para>

    <para>Maureen Riley</para>

    <para dir="ltr">Language Training Supervisor</para>

    <para>Russian Language Section</para>

    <para>September, 1995</para>

    <note>
      <para>This course was formatted by Eric Streit (eric@yojik.eu) using the docbook format from
        the pdf scanned documents found on:</para>

      <para>http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php .</para>

      <para>The Russian part was checked by Gulnara Streit (my wife). You can find the pdf, epub
        versions on http://www.yojik.eu/ . (whole book or separate lessons)</para>

      <para>Version: 25 April 2011</para>
    </note>
  </preface>

  <preface>
    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para><foreignphrase xml:lang="ru">ДОБРО́ ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ В РУССКИЙ ОТДЕЛ</foreignphrase>!</para>

    <para>WELCOME TO THE RUSSIAN F.A.S.T. COURSE!</para>

    <para>Welcome to the Russian F.A.S.T. course! We're glad you're going to be with us for the next
      8 weeks, and we'd like to do everything we can to make this time both enjoyable and profitable
      for you. You may be wondering just what we have in store for you, and what you may expect to
      accomplish in the time you have. So, without further ado...</para>

    <para>F.A.S.T. COURSE OBJECTIVES</para>

    <para>The F.A.S.T (Familiarization And Short Term) course is designed to prepare students for
      life in Russia (and the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union) by giving them
      the necessary basic skills in the language. We want you to leave here with the ability to
      face, without hesitation, any number of situations you will encounter in day-to-day life in
      those cities where you will live, work and visit. Some of the skills we will help you to
      acquire include the following:</para>

    <orderedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>The ability to ask simple questions pertaining to your daily practical needs. You will
          need to know HOW to get something done, HOW to elicit necessary information.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>The ability to understand key words in the answers to your questions. You will learn
          to use those key words in your own speech.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>The ability to work with numbers (as used in prices, phone numbers, addresses, etc.),
          especially the larger numbers which are in use today: 1,000 and above. Most importantly,
          you will learn to recognize and understand these numbers when you encounter them, either
          in written or in spoken form. You will also be able to produce simple number combinations
          of your own (your address, your telephone number, etc.)</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>The ability to read and understand street signs, signs in the metro and other forms of
          transportation, in stores, hotels, etc. You will be able to read and decipher such things
          as concert/theater programs, menus, instructions for guests in hotels, rules for using
          public transport, hours of operation of various establishments, etc.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>You will become familiar with the telephone and be able to handle many types of
          different calls.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>The ability to introduce yourself, and others when necessary; to appropriately greet
          people and to distinguish between different levels of formality and informality in the
          language. You will be able to speak about yourself, your family, your interests and work
          and be able to ask your friends and colleagues the same.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>Finally, you will become familiar with Russia (and other NIS countries, whenever
          possible), its geography, history, politics, art and literature.</para>
      </listitem>
    </orderedlist>

    <para>The F.A.S.T. course, and this textbook, have been designed to familiarize you with the
      Russian language and Russian culture in their broadest contexts. You should not expect to
      receive a formal presentation of the grammar and structure of the language. You WILL learn
      some grammar, but only that which it is necessary for you to know in order to perform a given
      task. There are simple grammar notes contained in each lesson, but if you are a student who
      wishes to learn more about the theoretical aspect of Russian grammar, you may find the
      purchase of Brian Kemple's Essential Russian Grammar helpful.</para>

    <para>The course will emphasize more the development of good, oral skills and aural
      comprehension and less so the development of an ability to read and write in Russian. However,
      skills such as being able to read signs and to write down names, addresses and/or phone
      numbers will be essential for you to acquire. With the help of the book and your instructors,
      you will accomplish that.</para>

    <para>All that remains to be said is that, while we are here to teach you the basics of Russian,
      you must realize that only you can learn them. No single textbook or instructor will be
      sufficient without a certain effort on your part. You will rarely be asked to do homework
      assignments, but you should plan on doing work outside the classroom. We have audio tapes to
      accompany each lesson, and the Multi-Media Center has some computer-assisted Russian language
      materials. All this together can combine to make your F.A.S.T. course experience the best one
      possible.</para>

    <para><foreignphrase xml:lang="ru">УДАЧИ ВАМ</foreignphrase>!</para>

    <para>GOOD LUCK!</para>
  </preface>

  <preface>
    <title>Fast tapes</title>

    <table pgwide="1">
      <title>TAPE 1-2 Contains Lessons 1 - 4</title>

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        <colspec colname="c1" colnum="1" colwidth="5cm"/>

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        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>Side A:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry><para>Lesson 1: Alphabet</para>
              <para>(pg. 37) Russian Phonetics</para>
              <para>(pg. 40) Spelling and Pronunciation</para></entry>
          </row>

          <row>
            <entry><emphasis>Side B:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry><para> Lesson 2</para>
              <para> Lesson 3 Table of Intonation Constructions</para>
              <para> Lesson 4</para></entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>

    <table pgwide="1">
      <title>TAPE 3-4 Contains Lessons 5-7</title>

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        <colspec colname="c1" colnum="1" colwidth="5cm"/>

        <colspec colname="c2" colnum="2" colwidth="10cm"/>

        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis role="italic">Side A:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry><para> Lesson 5</para>
              <para> Lesson 6</para></entry>
          </row>

          <row>
            <entry><emphasis role="italic">Side B:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry>Lesson 7</entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
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    </table>

    <table pgwide="1">
      <title>TAPE 5-6 Contains Lessons 8-10</title>

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        <colspec colname="c2" colnum="2" colwidth="10cm"/>

        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis role="italic">Side A:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry><para>Lesson 8</para>
              <para>Lesson 9</para></entry>
          </row>

          <row>
            <entry><emphasis role="italic">Side B:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry>Lesson 10 (to pg. 27)</entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>

    <table pgwide="1">
      <title>TAPE 7 - 8 Contains Lessons 10-11</title>

      <tgroup cols="2">
        <colspec colname="c1" colnum="1" colwidth="5cm"/>

        <colspec colname="c2" colnum="2" colwidth="10cm"/>

        <tbody>
          <row>
            <entry><emphasis role="italic">Side A:</emphasis></entry>

            <entry><para>Lesson 10 (continued from pg. 28)</para>
              <para>Lesson 11</para></entry>
          </row>
        </tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </table>
  </preface>

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