Campus hosts Mid-Atlantic Olympiada of spoken Russian
Langley High School perform Russian folk songs in St. Mary's Hall. They are under the direction of Valentin "Kapitan" Cukierman.
Over 250 area middle and high school students came to the Language House April 25th to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Olympiada of Spoken Russian. Co-sponsored by the University's School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and the American Council of Teachers of Russian, the Olympiada program is the oldest of all American Councils secondary school activities, dating to the 1960s and 1970s. The University of Maryland has served as a host for the event since 1993.
Heritage Speaker category judges Irina Van Dusen and Svetlana Nutwell. Irina is the manager of the Curriculum Development and Multimedia department at the American Councils for International Education. Svetlana is a graduate student in the Russian program at the University of Maryland.
Drawing on the long-established practice of oral speaking competitions within the Russian educational system, Olympiada contests in the United States have provided a major forum for successive generations of U.S. high school students of Russian to demonstrate excellence in the language and to test their knowledge of spoken Russian in open competitions which are judged by regional teachers and other Russian experts.
Across the United States, successes in American Councils regional Olympiadas are acknowledged by the national organization in several ways: medalists are recognized in awards assemblies in their respective schools, teachers are commended by their school districts.
Bronze, silver and gold medals were awarded in seven categories: middle school, level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, level 5, and heritage speaker. Those winners in level 4, level 5, and the heritage speaker category will now compete for a chance to participate in a summer immersion program in Russia, sponsored by the American Councils for International Education. This years' top winners include Neil Flanagan, Rebecca Gifford, Dan Pomerleano, Samantha Swisher, Max Brazhnikov and Katja Andoura.
Last year Olympiada participant and winner, Jessica Geist, awards a medal to one of this years' winners.
Organized by the faculty and graduate students of the Russian Program in the Department of Asian and East European Languages and Cultures, the event this year was a great success. For additional information, contact Maria Lekic at the Russian Program in the Department of Asian and East European Languages and Cultures.
