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Russian Language Journal

Keywords

syntagmas, word compatibility, markers of speech intentions, anticipatory reading, Russian as a foreign language

Abstract

The article The Use of Syntagmas in a Russian as a Foreign Language Reading Course presents an analysis of the role played by syntagmas in the anticipatory reading skills of English speakers learning Russian at the threshold of B2 to C1. We consider predictable compatibility units, phraseological combinations, clichéd constructions, indirect and conventional forms of speech intentions which occur in studied texts as syntagmas. We define syntagma grouping methods, describe methods of activating these phrases in the students’ active and passive speech, and analyze the effectiveness of relying on syntagmas. The research demonstrates the feasibility of identifying syntagma groups in pretext work, and using them in content prediction exercises. The article proposes tasks which allow learners to activate target vocabulary in speech as they predict the content of texts. Monitoring the effectiveness of pretext and text tasks using the targeted syntagmas demonstrates a gradual increase in the speed of predicting the content of texts. This leads to an increased accuracy in understanding factual, subtextual, and conceptual information.

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