Russian @ IMSA

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Why Study Russian at IMSA?


Russian is one of six languages offered at IMSA, so why should you study Russian? Well, did you know that Russian is the 5th most commonly spoken language in the world, and it is an official language in the United Nations? ДА! You will read Russian classics (in Russian, of course) by famous writers such as Чехов (Chekhov), Лермонтов (Lermontov), Пушкин (Pushkin), Маяковский (Mayakovsky), and Ахматова (Akhmatova). You will study Russian at IMSA by immersion. In fact, by the end of the first semester you will find it easy to speak only Russian in class. Be different! 75% of all students studying a foreign language in the US are only able to study Spanish, French or German in high school. Why not stand out? Studying Russian will make you stand out in the college admissions process. Most students who study Russian for three years at IMSA test out of four to six semesters of college-level Russian courses! Studying Russian at IMSA provides an opportunity for students to travel to Russia during their Junior or Senior years to experience Russian culture firsthand. Click here to read about the 2007 trip to St. Petersburg.


Students Speak Out


Brian Flynn, Class of 2009
When I came to IMSA, I never intended to study Russian. In fact, Russian was not even one of my top three choices for languages. However, after only a couple weeks, if not days, I was hooked. Russian is down-right amazing! We’ve learned things like verb conjugations, family members, foods, sports, instruments, adjective and noun agreement, and I could go on! I never thought I’d learn so much in a first-year language class. Talking about food was especially great, because after a couple days I was able to identify and describe most of the foods I eat daily! It is by far my favorite class this year, and I’m extremely excited to be able to study it in the future.

    -Brian Flynn, Class of 2009





Jennifer Townsend, Class of 2006
I'm still not sure why I chose to study Russian at IMSA, but I do know why I'm going to study it in college: Russian at IMSA has been an incredible experience. I'm addicted to both the class and the language. I often feel surprised that others can't read Cyrillic, and when I get strange looks from my roommate half the time it's because I've lapsed into Russian. Going to St. Petersburg, Russia with some of my classmates last year was insanely fun. We spent a week surrounded by the language and culture- an experience I can't wait to repeat. Russian is incredible!

    -Jen Townsend, Class of 2006




Ari Blumenthal, Class of 2007
After one week, our class learned the entire Cyrillic alphabet. After a few months, we could hold basic conversations. After one year, we learned of all the different cases in Russian, and after two years our class has become a community of individuals who help and work with each other. From our first project, where we talked about our families, to our Russian banquet, where we prepared fabulous foods, to our soap operas that we just finished, this class has been a great experience, which I am glad to have had.

    -Ari Blumenthal, Class of 2007

 

 

Russian is amazing. When I first saw it on my course schedule, I was skeptical at best. However, after a few classes I was hooked. The pace is perfect, there is never more work than we can handle and always enough to keep us interested. Once you learn Russian, you see it everywhere. I saw it on a candy wrapper. It read "chocolate" ... in Russian. How cool is that?   

 -Emily Zhao, Class of 2008


Emily Zhao, Class of 2008