OVERVIEW

The course is divided into: a) theoretical course (MT): Prof. Daniele Franzoni; b) lectorate (practical language exercises): Prof. Raissa Salakhova, Liza Ivanova

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Starting from a theoretical reflection on linguistic phenomena, the course aims to deepen the knowledge of Russian grammar, lexicon and syntax and to consolidate the four language skills (Russian level A2): listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The course is divided into: a) theoretical module, b) grammar, c) understanding and production of written texts, d) understanding and production of the oral speech.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course aims to consolidate and deepen students' grammatical and lexical-grammatical knowledge, analyzing the structure of the language, also through the formal problems it poses to large language models. At the same time, it is designed to develop the ability to understand and produce discourse in Russian (written and oral, with particular attention to orthoepy) regarding daily life in contemporary Russia.

The course is designed to create a solid linguistic and cultural foundation, which is necessary to approach the topics proposed in the third year of study (Russian Language III) and is essential for professional preparation.

By the end of the course, the student will:

• Have knowledge of Russian morphology and syntax (A2 level) and basic vocabulary (A2 level).

• Be able to produce discourse in Russian (written and oral) about themselves and compare daily Italian and Russian life (A2 level).

• Be able to interact in Russian on topics of daily life in Russia and Italy.

• Have developed a greater awareness of the formal structure of the language, as well as Natural Language Processing, by understanding the logical and systemic challenges posed by large anguage models (LLM)

PREREQUISITES

Russian language level A1 (writing, reading, understanding, speaking).

Good knowledge of logical analysis and sentence structure in the Italian language

TEACHING METHODS

The practical course (lettorato) will be held in the first semester and in the second semester. 100 academic hours of Lettorato (50 hours in first semester and 50 hours in second semester) include 60 hours of the first Lettorato + 40 hours of the second Lettorato. The Theoretical course (MT) will be held in the second semester (30 hours).

Attendance is free, but highly recommended.

The classes will be supported by material provided via AulaWeb and Teams.

The course on AulaWeb can be found simply by entering the name Lingua Russa II.

It is the student's responsibility to regularly check the communications and any uploaded materials

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Nouns, Adjectives, Numerals, and Pronouns: Formation of the plural for nouns, adjectives, ordinal numerals, and pronouns.

• Morphosyntax:

  • Nouns: Meaning and usage of cases with and without prepositions.

  • Adjectives: Classification, declension, long and short forms, and degrees of comparison.

  • Adverbs: Degrees of comparison.

• Verbs: Verbal aspect, verbs ending in "-sya," and verbs of motion with and without prefixes.

• Numerals: Classification and usage.

• Pronouns: Classification and declension.

• Syntax: Simple and complex sentences, coordination and subordination, and direct and indirect speech.

• Fundamentals of NLP: The linguistic, computer science, and statistical foundations of NLP, as well as the functioning of Large Language Models (LLMs).

The course program is the same for both students who attend classes and those who do not.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Modulo Teorico:

J. Alammar, M. Grootendorst, Hands-On Large Language Models. Language Understanding and Generation, O'Reilly, 2025 [limitatamente a i capp. 1-3]

E. Ježek, R. Sprugnoli, Linguistica computazionale. Introduzione all'analisi automatica dei testi, il Mulino, 2023

Modulo Teorico e Lettorato:

S. Chavronina Govorite po-russki  [ISBN] 9785883378361
Pul’kina, Il’za Maksimil’janovna, e Zaxava-Nekrasova, Ekaterina Borisovna. Il russo: grammatica pratica con esercizi . 3a ed. Mosca; Genova: Russkij jazyk; Edest, 1991 (o altre edizioni in russo o inglese).

C. Cevese, J. Dobrovolskaja, Sintassi russa. Teoria ed esercizi [qualsiasi edizione]

C. Cevese, J. Dobrovolskaja, Magnini E., Grammatica russa. Manuale di teoria, Hoepli [qualsiasi edizione]

Lettorato:

T. Esmantova, Russkij jazyk: 5 elementov : Ucebnik + CD MP3. Uroven' B1 (bazovyj - pervyj sertifikacionnyj)

Nikitina N., Eserciziario di russo (Livelli B1-B2), Hoepli, 2016

Any supplementary materials will be provided throughout the year. Students are required to check regularly for communications from their instructors.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

September 29, 2025

Class schedule

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students who attend for 9 credits
Theoretical Module (MT): oral exam.
Practical Module (Lettorato): written test. 

Students who attend for 6 credits
Practical Module (Lettorato): written test. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Theoretical Module (MT): the oral exam is aimed at verifying the student's familiarity with the topics in the syllabus: it includes reading and analysis of a text, with a talk on one of the lexical topics studied during the semester with the use and analysis of the morphosyntactic structures learned in the semester. During the exam students will also be asked to explain in a theretical way the functioning of such structures.

Practical Module (Lettorato): written lexico-grammatical test.

The final exam is comprehensive of both theoretical and lettorato modules. The finale exam grade (for 9 CFU) is calculated with the grade of the MT exam (50% of the finale grade) and the grade of the Lettorato exam (50% of the finale grade).

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students certified with SLD, disabilities or other special education needs are advised to contact the instructor at the beginning of the course, in order to agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the course learning outcomes, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.