AS Level RUSSIAN LANGUAGE (Edexcel) Courses

1 and 2 year courses

AS Course Outline

What Is Russian?
Russian will be suited to the candidates who are linguistically inclined or think about a future career in languages. It will also be suited to those who wish to combine language study with humanities, as well as to those who are keen to take up a foreign language in combination with technical subjects. Students taking Russian at AS would benefit from the prior learning of Russian (to an intermediate level), although no formal GCSE experience is required.

The subject at A-level aims to advance the candidates' main language skills - speaking, reading, writing and listening and comprehension. But it's far from being a pure language study. At AS it is closely linked to the Russian culture, history and modern life, literature and art. At A2 it takes on a more international dimension and includes the study of the main international issues and events, customs, traditions, beliefs and religions.

Main Topic Areas Include:
At the end of the AS, the students will have two exams in which they will be required to demonstrate their main language skills and the knowledge of the following areas:

  • Youth culture and concerns;
  • Lifestyle: health and fitness;
  • The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the Russian speaking world; and
  • Education and employment.

What skills will the students develop when studying Russian?
In addition to the language skills described above, the new specification supports the development of the following skills: communication, information and communication technology, improving own learning and performance, and working with others. I'd like to add presentation skills, research skills and essay writing.


Russian (Edexcel) AS Specification

Unit 1
8-10 min
30% of the AS marks
15% of the GCE marks

Spoken Expression and Response in Russian
Students converse in Russian on a general topic area that they have chosen in advance.
The exam is divided into two sections:
1. the students respond to Edexcel-set questions on a stimulus related to the student's chosen topic area; and
2. the teacher engages the student in a further discussion relating to the same general topic area.

Unit 2
2hrs 30 min
70% of the AS marks
35% of the GCE marks

Understanding and Written Response in Russian
Students understand and convey their understanding of Russian language texts and recordings.

The exam is divided into three sections:
1. students listen to authentic Russian-language texts and answer questions;
2. students read authentic printed materials and answer questions; and
3. write a 150-165 words' essay in Russian in response to a Russian-language stimulus.

Structure of the Course
Usually, this course is taught for 3 hrs (2 lessons) a week but this will depend on an individual candidate's level. Homework is given after each lesson and should be done on time, to ensure progress.

Recommended Reading
The specification recommends the following textbooks although, they say, they "are not directly mapped to this specification":

  • Daphne West and Michael Ransome Tranzit: A Bridge to Advanced Russian Language Studies (Bramcote Press, 1999)
  • Daphne West and Michael Ransome Kompas: An Advanced Russian course for Schools and Colleges (Bramcote Press, 2002)
  • Olga Glazunova Davaite govorit po-russki, 3rd edition (russkii iazyk, 2005)

Fees and Dates