Russian Language Classes in New York

Sarah Lawrence College:
Sarah Lawrence is a small coeducational liberal arts college, offering undergraduate degrees in Russian. Located just fifteen miles north of New York City on a wooded campus, Sarah Lawrence is nationally renowned for its rigorous academic standards. At Sarah Lawrence, first- and second-year Russian classes are offered every year. Third-year students are strongly encouraged to take their junior year abroad; an advanced reading course is offered for students returning from Russia and / or according to student need.

Russian is taught at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.

The goal of the Russian language classes is to teach students to speak, comprehend, read and write a fascinating language with a logic very different from that of English. Oral proficiency is the focus of the first-year class, culminating in end-of-semester projects where students draw on textbook dialogues to write and film skits in small groups. In the second-year course, reading is also emphasized, and we include poetry as well as texts paired with films. The advanced course operates as much as possible as a literature class in the original. Topics, texts and authors covered vary widely, and student input is strongly encouraged. Past syllabi have included works by such authors as Gogol, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Tsvetaeva and Pelevin.

Students of Russian should also be aware that they can pursue their interest in Russia and Eastern Europe more generally in many other areas of the College. Conference work can always be directed toward your field of interest, and courses focusing either entirely or in part on Russia and/or Eastern Europe are regularly offered in a number of disciplines, including history, literature, film history, dance history and philosophy.