The more than decade-old Intensive Russian Program at UC Berkeley attracts students from all over the United States. Dr. Arkady Alexeev, the program director, is a native speaker of Russian who received a Soviet degree equivalent to the Ph.D. in Leningrad followed by an American Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley in Slavic Linguistics.
Communication is the focus of the Summer Intensive Program. Students are prepared to communicate well in a real Russian environment. The historical Berkeley campus and the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area have much to offer the student of Russian: a sizable Russian population, the San Francisco Russian Center with its cultural activities, Russian churches, Russian bookstores and restaurants, all of which offer students innumerable opportunities for contact with native speakers of Russian. But the Russian Summer Program does not rely on chance contacts. The program invites native Russian guest speakers, organize tours of Russian points of interest in San Francisco and the vicinity, and invite students to view Russian exhibits and films. The Intensive Russian Program prepares students for further success in Russian studies.
This year's program includes first-year elementary intensive and second-year intermediate intensive Russian. Both courses consist of small course sections supervised and taught by native Russian speakers and advanced graduate student instructors. The program offers students four hours of intensive class work every day, including special classes in conversation and oral and written drills and grammar exercises. Daily homework and language laboratory assignments complement instruction. Courses meet Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Every week the students watch a Russian film or attend a lecture on Russian culture during the Wednesday "lab." Each Friday the students and their Russian teachers gather at Berkeley cafes to chat in Russian and enjoy the company of their fellow students in a Russian atmosphere. The Workshop also organizes a picnic in the picturesque Berkeley hills for all students of Slavic 10 and 20.
Students should prepare for a full-time investment as these courses cover 30 weeks of regular instruction over a 10-week session.
