Topics

Scenario topics were chosen primarily on the basis of the findings of a 360-Assessment conducted by American Councils in Almaty, Kazakhstan. These findings expanded on the descriptions of “disorienting dilemmas” that scenario authors had already encountered or heard about from their students — the very questions and stories that had inspired the project — but provided much deeper insights from interviews and focus-group conversations with host country faculty, tutors, homestay families, and internship supervisors.

The Russian cultural scenarios are divided into modules by setting: classroom, homestay, workplace or internship, and public places. Each module is further divided into topics, and each topic is further divided into individual scenarios. The division of modules by physical setting inevitably means that there is some overlap across modules: learners are encouraged to think about how they might respond to a politically sensitive question both at home and at the workplace, or to advice or even criticism both from classroom teachers and from host parents. Learners are encouraged to explore their own assumptions about time, physical and psychological space, appearance, hierarchies, individual vs. collective values in a variety of settings, and to make connections across those settings.

Scenario Settings

What did the authors have in mind in conceptualizing the scenarios? It goes without saying, but bears emphasizing nevertheless, that the “Russian-speaking world” is not and cannot be conceptualized as monolithic. Scenario authors pictured the encounters depicted in these scenarios as taking place in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or other Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union where Russian is among the dominant languages; however, some of these scenarios could take place in other settings in which Russian is a widely used language and speakers share at least aspects of a common history, including realia of educational institutions, housing, transportation, or public places such as monuments and museums in the former Soviet Union. The countries in which Russian is spoken are very different, however, so not all scenarios might be applicable to any setting; workplace hierarchies could vary, for example, from Moscow to Almaty. The context provided for each scenario does not indicate a specific city, but rather a point in time and place in a setting that could be in any number of locations; innumerable variations in outcomes are possible, depending on the city or the interlocutors.

Instructional Settings

The ideal setting for exploration of these scenarios is small-group discussion moderated by an instructor, tutor, or conversation guide with deep knowledge of a culture or cultures in which Russian is widely spoken. The scenarios could also be used in a Russian-language classroom, or in an English-language course about Russian culture, such as a study abroad preparation course. Scenarios are designed such that independent learners can work with them; however, the authors strongly recommend that learners work with a “cultural informant” such as a tutor.

Scenario Length and Language

The Russian scenarios were designed to be brief enough to be easily readable on a mobile device. In selecting this format, the authors understood that lengthy explanations would need to be sacrificed for the sake of mobility, convenience, and ease of access. This brevity in no way implies that the situations presented can be easily “solved” in a few words; we hope that these scenarios, despite their brevity, prompt lively discussion.

The language of the Russian-language scenarios is aimed toward learners who speak at least in the high Intermediate range on the ACTFL scale (ILR 1+) and can read in the Intermediate High to Advanced range (ILR 1+ to 2). The authors chose not to simplify the language, in order to provide learners both with Advanced-level input and with opportunities to learn context-appropriate language in their responses. At the request of instructors during project piloting, the scenarios have also been translated into English, so that learners at all levels can begin to explore the cultural questions posed in them. The Russian-language scenarios sometimes include Language Notes, some of which repeat language provided either in scenario prompts or in feedback to scenario outcomes, with the specific purpose of providing learners with tools they can use in role-play situations, and eventually in similar encounters outside the learning setting. Language Notes also provide some vocabulary to help learners understand the language of the scenarios themselves. The English-language scenarios also include some Language Notes, abridged from the Russian-language scenarios, that provide words and phrases that could be useful in future role-plays and “real-life” situations.

Extension Tasks and Related Resources

Time and copyright considerations did not permit scenario authors to provide texts (literary texts, films, advertisements, etc.) where scenarios similar to those depicted here take place. We hope to provide more ideas for extension tasks in the future, and we invite instructors and learners to send us examples as well.

Modules

Authors

Karen Evans-Romaine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Gulnara Glowacki, University of Wisconsin-Madison
SA. Karpukhin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Moldir Oskenbay, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Consultants

William J. Comer, Portland State University
Dianna Murphy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Anna Tumarkin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Acknowledgements

The materials developed for this project were originally created with federal funding during the period 2017 through 2020. These materials remain available to the public thanks to the support from the Center for Language & Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The names and affiliations listed below correspond to the grant period.

We are tremendously grateful to project reviewers, whose input on the Russian cultural scenarios in draft form was invaluable for their development:

Anna Alsufieva, Portland State University
Thomas Jesús Garza, University of Texas at Austin
Alex Groce, American Councils
Susan Kresin, University of California, Los Angeles
Moldir Oskenbay, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Olga Permitina, Queens College
Olga Thomasson, University of Georgia
Victoria Thorstensson, Nazarbayev University

Data and Content Entry

Denis Melik Tangiyev, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 
Stephen L. Tschudi, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 
Dmitrii Egorov, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 
Ruslan Suvorov, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 
Tian Wang, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 

Images and Graphic Design

Julio C. Rodriguez, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 

References

Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

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