Beginning Russian in Kiev

The strangely leaning St. Sophia Cathedral.

Did you know that Russian is recognized as an official language in both China and Ukraine? This little known fact has had important consequences for Cultural and Regional Studies student Sunshine Davis, whose sights are set on doing her senior project in Mongolia when the time comes. While many Westerners associate Mongolia primarily with China, Sunshine knew that most Mongolians had become comfortable with the Russian language during seven decades of Soviet-backed Communist rule. Thinking that knowing Russian would allow her to communicate throughout the region sandwiched between Russia and China--once known as Outer Mongolia--Sunshine created an independent study course in Beginning Russian Language and Culture with PC instructor Roxane Ronca in spring ’11. With Roxane’s guidance, Sunshine began to read and write Cyrillic script and absorbed the basic grammar of Russian from books, CDs, and simple conversations with her Russian-speaking mentor.

Sunshine on the pedestrian bridge over the Dnieper River. 

Next, Sunshine used the web to find a language school where she could immerse herself in studying Russian and Russophone cultures. Eventually, she found a qualified program that fit into her PC schedule and budget perfectly. But the school wasn’t located in Russia or Mongolia. Instead, the school she chose was located in Kiev, Ukraine, where the inhabitants speak Russian and Ukrainian interchangeably. Using the Independent Study option to earn PC credits, Sunshine spent spring block ’12 attending the Nova Mova Russian Language School in Kiev for 20 hours a week. The school introduced her to her host family so that she had a nurturing home base from which to explore the city on her own or with fellow students. 

The city's ancient Golden Gate at night.

Sunshine reports that the mode of instruction at Nova Mova (http://www.learnrussiankiev.com/) was lively and fun with instructors who were committed to helping students learn to read, write, and converse in Russian as quickly as possible. Although it was somewhat intimidating to get on the plane alone and head off to Kiev with only a little Russian under her belt, Sunshine knew she had made the right decision shortly after she arrived.

“My host family is very nice and very comfortable. This city seems easy to navigate and relatively safe.  I don't stand out as a foreigner, so I feel good about that,” she wrote after her first day at Nova Mova. 

Sunshine and another student at Novamova School show off their certificates of completion of Level A1.

Evaluating her study abroad experience once she returned to Prescott Sunshine wrote, “This [independent] study increased my confidence in my ability to organize international travel and to travel safely and effectively in foreign countries as well as greatly improved my comprehension of the Russian language.”  

Extracurricular opportunities included Language Exchange meetings in local restaurants.

For more information about studying Russian at home or abroad through independent study, contact the Learning Commons Coordinator well ahead of the semester you are planning for.

Learn Spanish Abroad through Independent Study

Many PC students want to learn Spanish both because it’s a local language and because it’s spoken widely in some of the most intriguing and scenic places in the world, from Latin America to Spain to the Philippines. Adventure Ed student Brian Andersen wanted to improve on the informal Spanish he picked up  when he spent time traveling in South America prior to coming to Prescott College.

 “One of my goals of my education is to be able to lead international expeditions, and I feel like Spanish is a incredibly important language if I am going to do that,” Brian noted in his application to pursue an independent study course while in Montañita, Ecuador. He planned his spring ’11 semester carefully so that he could earn a full semester of PC credits while he was abroad.  He began his stay in South America in the International Mountain Expedition block course; enrolled in an intensive Spanish language school for eight weeks in Montañita where he lived with a local family; and ended his semester with a three-week climbing course, in Peru, offered by the School for International Expedition Training. 

The Learning Commons’ World Languages Initiative helped Brian pick a high-quality language school in Ecuador and write the IS learning contract so that he would receive PC credits for the time he spent focusing on learning Spanish. Learning Commons’ Coordinator Nancy Mattina served as Brian’s mentor for the four-credit course. 

Brian found the language school in Montañita through a web search that led him to Lingua Schools at www.linguaschools.com. Once at the school, he studied grammar and conversational skills for five hours a day, five days a week in a small group and often one-on-one with the instructor. He spent downtime learning to surf with the local beach crowd, which gave him ample opportunity to converse in Spanish while having a great outdoor experience. His homestay was arranged by the school and he became quite attached to his host family, especially the family's father (pictured above with Brian).

“Studying Spanish in Montañita was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life,” says Brian. “The day went something like this: wake up, go to school, go surf, go back to school, return to the ocean, eat dinner with my family, go dancing, go to sleep.  Then, wake up and do it all over again.” 

For more information on how to set up your IS in a Spanish-speaking country, email Nancy Mattina to make an appointment at least two months before you plan to travel.