Focus on TUSD - March 2008

Foreign Becomes Familiar
Visitors Help Santa Rita Students Learn Russian Language
Struggling to learn Russian where they live in the desert Southwest may seem like a stretch to Santa Rita High School students. But when a native Russian and a college student who spent a year in Russia come to visit, it doesn't seem so far-fetched.

The visitors came from the University of Arizona through a partnership with the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and Tucson Unified School District. The stories they told and the Russian language they spoke so fluently brought the country and its cultures to life for students just starting to wrap their tongues around what most people consider a difficult language.

"I am pleasantly surprised that so many people are interested in learning Russian when Tucson is so far from Russia," said Nina Koloyartseva, a visiting professor from St. Petersburg. "If a person understands at least two languages, the person leads two lives."

Students hung on every Russian word she spoke, but could understand very little. Their teacher, Irina Kamenkovich, a Russian immigrant who also teaches at Sabino High School, interpreted the talk. Kamenkovich had been a university level teacher in Russia.

The next speaker, Kenda MacIntosh, a UA senior, was easier to follow. She spoke in English, telling her audience that she decided to major in Russian at the end of her sophomore year and wanted to "do it the right way. I wanted to study in Russia. It was a really amazing year. Russians are amazing, wonderful people."

Even though she has fond memories of that year, she admitted that Russian is still difficult to learn and speak. With a double major in Russian and political science, she plans to earn a law degree and then practice international law with an eye to working all over the world.

"Not many Americans speak Russian, so knowing Russian has opened up doors for me," she said. "That can happen for you, too."

After hearing those speakers, the class, which has mostly freshmen students, turned back to their efforts to learn Russian. In small groups in front of the class, they presented telephone conversations they created, with one student reading in Russian, and another interpreting. "Some of you want to read fast," Kamenkovich said. "But I want to understand what you say. Read distinctly and don't rush."

Marjorie Evans, one of the presenters, confessed later that the presentation was difficult for her. "I was red the whole time," she admitted.

But Kamenkovich complimented their work, saying she had a class of very intelligent, hardworking students. She told them, "I love you all." One student responded, "We love you, too," bringing a smile to Kamenkovich's face.

It's that collegial relationship between students and teacher that helps support the effort to learn a foreign language, said Teresa Polowy, the UA department head of Russian and Slavic Studies and associate professor, who was visiting Santa Rita for the third time. "It's a difficult language and to offer it, we need to have administrators support it, and to not expect quick progress," she said after the students left. "The classes can move at a slower pace."

Polowy said students who have two years of Russian would satisfy Arizona's requirement of needing two years of a foreign language to enter the university. Arizona does not require a foreign language, however, for high school graduation.

Having MacIntosh speak to students, said Polowy, shows high schoolers that Russian can be used in a career and that university students are still learning the language. "Personally, I don't care what language students learn," she said. "It's enriching to learn any language and to understand its culture."

Polowy grew up speaking Russian, and spent a year in Russia in 1980 when the country was still known as the Soviet Union. "People have stayed the same even as the government has changed," she observed.

In a sign that the language classes partnership between TUSD and UA has been successful, Santa Rita plans to offer second-year Russian next year. That's good news for Evans, who said that she signed up for Russian, thinking "it would be really cool because it's new this year." Now, she'd like to visit Russia, just as MacIntosh did, and hear people speak the language, just as Koloyartseva did.

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations

Photos in the March issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations, unless otherwise noted.

The deadline to submit material for the April Focus is Friday, April 11. The Focus will be published Monday, April 21. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the online Tip Sheet.