Working professionals can brush up on their Russian by taking an online evening course.
The deadline to enroll in Professional Language Training course for Fall 2025 is August 25th, 2025.
The Center for Language Studies offers a Russian class designed for professionals who want to continue working while strengthening their Russian fluency.
Students enrolled in this course complete the equivalent of a full college semester. The course is designed to develop five core language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural awareness. The class meets online three times per week for one-hour sessions, with homework assignments tailored to prepare students for active, meaningful participation.
In this advanced class, students read books across various genres and participate in engaging, thought-provoking discussions conducted primarily in Russian. This immersive approach deepens both their language proficiency and their understanding of Russian culture.
Students will earn one unit (4 semester hours). The course is graded CR/NC.
2025 Fall Course
15 week course: August 25th - December 5th, 2025
Weekly schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Central Time (adjustable to needs of students)
RUSS 360E Advanced Russian (1). This advanced-level course offers intensive textual analysis in Russian of selected works from 19th- and 20th-century Russian literature. Readings and discussions are conducted entirely in Russian, with an emphasis on developing fluency, expanding literary vocabulary, and deepening cultural and historical understanding. Each iteration of the course centers on a specific author, work, or thematic focus—such as women in Russian literature, literature and revolution, Russian romanticism, or the evolution of the Russian short story or play. Students engage closely with the original texts through analytical essays, in-class discussion, and oral presentations, while refining their interpretive and linguistic skills in a Russian-speaking academic environment. Prerequisite: Russian 315 or equivalent.
Eligibility
Participants must:
hold an undergraduate degree or be 25 years of age or older
not currently be enrolled in an undergraduate program
Cost
$1,600
Credit
Four U.S. undergraduate semester credits. Participants will receive a transcript upon completion.
I am so thrilled CLS is offering this [Professional Language Training] course. I was nervous to enroll because I hadn’t spoken Russian in years, but it has come back with Olga’s guidance and emphasis on speaking in Russian.
After two semesters, I feel a lot more confident in my Russian comprehension, speaking, and writing ability. I often refer to class as “Russian book club,” as it is more than simply a language course. We have read two completely engrossing Russian novellas, which serve as gateways to Russian history, culture, social nuances, and more.
This couldn’t happen without Olga’s deep understanding of both cultures - she astutely knows when her American students require cultural context, and facilitates discourse on these topics, and many more. I am already looking forward to next semester.
Many of us fell in love with language learning during our time at Beloit and beyond. The evening professional programs offered by CLS have allowed me to fulfill the desire to practice and continue learning years later for both personal pleasure and professional opportunities.
The classes this year reflected the level where the students in the group were at the outset, which for some of us was quite rusty, and then blended cultural history, current events, and language lessons to clear away the cobwebs. Our culture and literature class was conducted almost entirely in Russian, but it only took a few sessions to get up to speed and to begin feeling comfortable interacting in the virtual classroom.
If you want a refresher course that not only reviews crucial grammar and usage, but also provides you a comfortable space in which to use the language in a natural way, these classes are a great option.
