The article aims to determine the role of critical thinking skills in learning Russian at Chinese universities and to consider this aspect when organizing an online learning environment for students. The research involved 600 students and 50 teachers from the Russian language and math faculties. The analysis of Chinese students' Russian language…

The relationship between written and spoken recall (SR) has primarily been analyzed with English-speaking monolinguals. Written recall (WR) has been reported more accurate due to higher cognitive load and attention required to produce a text. This study examined the written and spoken text recall relationship in L2 learners of Russian and analyzed…

The current study examined the relationship between overall second language (L2) proficiency and utterance fluency measures for several L2s in order to determine whether utterance measures can be used to predict L2 proficiency. The study measured the speech rate, number of hesitations, number and length of pauses, number and length of runs, and…

In this study, the authors evaluated the strengths and limitations of a self-assessment based on ACTFL Can-Do statements ("ACTFL," 2013]) as a tool for measuring linguistic gains over an internship abroad in Russia. They assessed its reliability, determined how its items mapped with the ACTFL scale, and measured the degree to which…

The researcher examined 54 oral proficiency interviews (OPIs) with L2 Russian speakers ranging from Intermediate High through Superior (predominantly Advanced Mid) for narrative as defined by Labov. Descriptors adapted from episodic analysis were also used. While the author found that OPIs provided relatively weak prompts for narrative, Superior…

This article explores the linguistic profiles of heritage speakers of Russian and Spanish. Data from the 2009-2013 ACTFL-UCLA NHLRC Heritage Language Project included biographical information as well as speech samples that were elicited using the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview-computer and were rated according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines…

In response to Leaver, Rifkin, and Shekhtman (2004), Wong and VanPatten (2004) challenged instructors of Russian to present evidence for the claim that mechanical drills (Traditional Instruction) were necessary for second language learning, and to demonstrate empirically the claim that Processing Instruction would not be an effective intervention…

This research describes a method applied at a U.S. university in a third-year Russian language course designed to facilitate Advanced and Superior second language writing proficiency through the forum of argumentation and debate. Participants had extensive informal language experience living in a Russian-speaking country but comparatively little…

This study reports on the measured proficiency-referenced learning outcomes during study abroad of a large, multi-institutional cohort (N=1,881) of U.S. students of Russian who have undertaken intensive language study on ACTR-administered formal language study programs at Russian universities for periods of 2, 4, and 9 months over the course of…

This study aims to identify the two principal reasons why college students choose a certain language to satisfy a general education second language requirement by polling 172 students enrolled in first-year language courses in 13 languages at a large Northeastern research university. Students answered a questionnaire and chose the two main reasons…

This research describes a method applied in a third-year Russian language course designed to push students' writing proficiency to the Intermediate/Advanced threshold and beyond and the findings associated therewith. The approach centered around argumentation and debate, a subject usually designed to improve students' command of logic and…

This article explores the possibility of combining in the same course heritage learners who are borderline or seminative speakers with advanced language learners of Russian. After providing typology of advanced language learners in Russian and establishing that register and genre can be the focal point of such a course, the article discusses the…

As part of a larger summative evaluation of a foreign language department and a two-year foreign language core competency, the researcher investigated fourth-semester student self-efficacy (a person's belief, rooted in experience, that they can do something) and future expectancy of second language use. In effect, this was also an evaluation of…

This article describes the shortcomings of one of the major testing tools in the foreign languages field, the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI), with regard to the elicitation of the function of description. In doing so, the article raises questions about the applicability of the SOPI as a surrogate for the Oral Proficiency Interview…