cannot be achieved in the classroom or with a single instructor. Thus, in our Russian classes we use recorded audio materials which students can work with outside of class. However, currently available materials, including those designed specifically for students, are not satisfactory. They are not at the appropriate level, and those with exercises are poorly designed, which is frustrating for students and does not encourage learning. For this reason, with funding from an FLTC Mini-Grant, I designed a new Russian listening comprehension course (RUS 2070) in 2007.

Devoting an entire course to listening comprehension gives students the ability to focus significant attention on this important skill. I decided to make this course a fully online one for two reasons. In the first place, it allows students to work at an independent rate. Secondly, we currently do not have the staff to teach another course, and this one lends itself particularly well to being taught online. In RUS 2070, students study written and audio versions of new vocabulary, watch short videos in Russian, do exercises, then take tests, all on Blackboard. Since its introduction in Fall 2008, this course has been very successful in terms of both enrollments and the achievement of our academic goals.

Due to the success of RUS 2070, this past year I decided to develop an advanced-level listening comprehensive course, RUS 3070; again, with the support of an FLTC Mini-Grant. The format of this course is similar to that of RUS 2070, but with some modifications. Not only did we select more advanced video clips; we also included audio texts without video, such as poetry and prose recitations. In the absence of visual cues, students are forced to rely fully on the audio text, and, this, consequently, should make them develop their listening skills more fully. Moreover, we made the accompanying exercises more extensive and difficult. They not only test comprehension, but force the student to more actively work with the new vocabulary, grammatical constructions, and content. Tasks include deducing unstated factual information from the text, summarizing and restating ideas, finishing sentences, and giving definitions for new vocabulary in Russian, rather than English.

Overall, this new course, RUS 3070, which was introduced this past fall, gives students the opportunity to continue developing their Russian listening comprehension skills at a more advanced level. It can be taken in conjunction with third- or fourth-year Russian; it is also challenging enough for students who have completed the four-year Russian language sequence we offer, but who would like to maintain and/or improve their Russian. RUS 3070 is also at an appropriate level for heritage speakers with limited reading and writing skills; they improve their abilities in these areas as they work with the audio and visual materials. Last, but not least, the use of poetry and fables in this new course acquaints students with an important aspect of Russian culture, improving their Russian cultural literacy.