Russian Language Community Engagement Practicum

2.0 credits

This 2-credit hour community-engaged class is designed to give students the opportunity to speak Russian with a native speaker in an authentic setting on a regular basis here in the city of Rochester. Students will visit elderly Russian-speaking immigrants from countries of the former Soviet Union at the Jewish Family Services NORC housing complex. In addition to bi-monthly meetings with their Russian-language conversation partners, students will attend class once a week to discuss visits, challenges, language issues. Class readings will shed light on the life of Jewish citizens in the Soviet Union and the chaos experienced in the 1990s after the collapse of the USSR. Students must submit an online volunteer application to the Jewish Family Services and pass a background check. Instructor permission required. May be taken twice for credit.