Russian - Beginners

The course will lead to a Beginners C course. Oxfordshire Adult Learning offer a wide range of similar workshops and courses, please check our website for further information.

There are no formal entry requirements. This is a course for those who have already studied the language for about 20 hours or have picked up a little on holidays or business trips. However this is not for an absolute beginner.

Courses can fill fast, so please enrol early to avoid disappointment. Decisions on whether a course is to run are made two weeks prior to the start date - an email will be sent to you should there be changes to your course or if it is cancelled. Please check your inbox leading up to your course, including the junk folders. For anyone without an email account, our Admissions team will phone you instead.

For the first week of the course you will need to bring a valid form of identification; this includes passport, driving licence, debit/credit card, Birth Certificate or National Insurance card.

Please note - you should be 19 years old or over at 31st August 2024 prior to starting the course.

A text book is used to accompany the course but it is optional to buy this (average cost £20 - £25). The text book will support your learning for at least 1 year. You may also like to buy a small dictionary. Your tutor will be able to advise you at the first session.

Courses offered by the college are fully or partly funded by the Government and the published fee takes account of this funding.

Before starting a course, the College is required to check you meet conditions relating to that funding, e.g. age, residency status within the UK/EEA, prior qualification level and employment status. In some circumstances (such as with online enrolments), these checks can only be completed after you have enrolled and paid.

If you are unable to pay in full for this course at the time of enrolment, and the course tuition fee is £300 or more, an instalment plan is available. If this is your preference, please do not enrol online but rather call the Admissions Team on 01235 216400 to enrol.

Once enrolled, Admissions will take the first instalment payment from you and pass on your details to the Finance team who will email you to set-up your payment plan. Please return a fully completed instalment plan to Finance as failure to do so could result in being withdrawn from your course.

The rules on fee reduction are complicated, we would encourage you to talk to our Admissions Team on 01235 216400 to discuss these options. You can find more information on our Fees and Bursaries page - search "Fees and Bursaries" at the top of the page.

As this is a non-accredited course, there is no formal qualification. However, you will be asked to complete activities that demonstrate how you are progressing on your course.

You will continue to practise all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with the emphasis on the spoken language. Learning activities will include individual, pair, small group and whole class work. You will listen to the spoken word, watch videos, practise speaking, play games, read simple texts and write short phrases. This is not an accredited course, so there will be no formal examination. However, your tutor will ask you to complete informal assessment exercises and will give you feedback.
If you are to gain maximum benefit and enjoyment from your language class, it will be useful to spend some time working between sessions. There will usually be a small amount of homework set each week (up to an hour’s work). When homework is not set, it is still a good idea to spend about that amount of time going over what has been done in class. To track your progress and achievement you will be required to complete a short document.