Intermediate Russian Exercises

Version 2.0, by Slava Paperno, Alexander D. Nakhimovsky, Alice S. Nakhimovsky, Richard L. Leed.

These 80 exercises provide a very thorough grounding in the Russian verb system, usually covered at the intermediate and advanced levels. They are adapted from Intermediate Russian: The Twelve Chairs (Slavica Publishers, 1985), but can also be used by a learner studying alone or by anyone who needs a review of Russian verbs.

When you open an exercise, the program displays a short dialogue with blanks for one or two words. Type the Russian word(s), and the program evaluates the response. If part of the answer is incorrect, the program gives you up to four chances to correct it. You never retype the correct part of the answer. While working on the questions, you may request to see the correct answer at any time.

Various options can be customized, such as the number of tries allowed for each question before the computer "gives up," the order of the questions (random or sequential), the size of the screen font, the Russian keyboard layout, etc. Three keyboard layouts are included: AATSEEL Standard, AATSEEL Student, and Soviet. A keyboard layout may be displayed on the screen as you work on the exercise.

The program also allows you to keep an optional log of your work. This log is a database that can be sorted, edited, and printed using many Microsoft Windows database or spreadsheet programs. The records in the database contain users' names, the name of each exercise that was done, the time and date when the work was started, how long it took, and the average score. A student may also elect to work anonymously. This information can help either an instructor or an individual learner understand where additional help is needed.

The program is very easy to use: there are no keyboard commands to memorize, and the screen layout is functional and attractive.