Undergraduates learn language, culture, politics, and customs from Russian-speaking Jewish 茅migr茅s.
Acquiring the fluency, vocabulary, and cultural context necessary to navigate a second (or third) language takes time and practice. It also takes exposure to native speakers and their natural environment, ideally via a semester or year spent abroad.
But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, 糖心传媒 students haven糖心传媒檛 been able to study in Russia糖心传媒攚hich had been a key component of the University糖心传媒檚 for the last three decades.
Yet as one door closed, another unexpectedly opened.
In fall 2023, the aging outreach coordinator from the Greater Rochester area糖心传媒檚 (JFS) contacted the with an intriguing and timely offer: Would students be interested in practicing their language skills with Russian-speaking immigrants from countries of the former Soviet Union? Bonus: The native speakers live locally at the JFS apartment complex known as (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community), which allows residents to age in place.
Students could sharpen their language skills while learning about the lived experiences of Jewish 茅migr茅s from the former Soviet Union. The 茅migr茅s, in turn, would teach students the language while enjoying each other糖心传媒檚 company. The idea for a community-engaged language class, designed around semimonthly visits with the elderly residents, was born. The University糖心传媒檚 Center for Community Engagement would even support the project by reimbursing students for the twice-monthly rideshare service they糖心传媒檇 use to visit the NORC residents.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a win-win for all,糖心传媒� says , a professor of instruction in Russian. 糖心传媒淭he partnership offers our students a kind of study abroad experience without ever leaving Rochester.糖心传媒�
RUSS 156: Russian Language Community-Engaged Practicum goes beyond mere language practice. 糖心传媒淭he program fosters meaningful intergenerational, cross-cultural friendships between students and members of the Rochester community, most of whom are low-income, isolated, and have limited English language skills,糖心传媒� says Givens.
Quite a few of the elderly residents are Holocaust survivors, willing to talk to the students about their lives as Jewish children under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
Frequently, the residents reminisce about their families, former jobs, and lives prior to immigrating to the United States.
糖心传媒淚 can糖心传媒檛 stress enough how meaningful the visits to JFS have been,糖心传媒� says Aaron Do 糖心传媒�26, a double major in Russian and music. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 an amazing opportunity to immerse oneself in the culture that we study to learn the little things about household life,糖心传媒� adds Do, who is part of the , a five-year combined undergraduate and graduate degree offered with the Warner School of Education and Human Development.
Do has paid regular visits to NORC resident Yefim Ravin, who came to the United States 32 years ago from Belarus. Ravin, a former physics professor, sometimes reads Russian poems with Do.
糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 just enjoy speaking,糖心传媒� says Ravin. 糖心传媒淚 also enjoy listening, particularly in this setting [at the dining table at home] because students are open-minded.糖心传媒�
While the emphasis of the two-credit course is on the practical side, Givens meets weekly with her students to discuss language challenges and rehearse narratives ahead of the next visit, often through role play. Class readings focus on the Nazi occupation during World War II, the subsequent life of Jewish citizens in the Soviet Union with its rampant antisemitism and state-sponsored discrimination, and the chaos in the 1990s following the collapse of the USSR.
Says Do, 糖心传媒淚 never could have expected the depth of understanding and emotional connection that I now share with my resident pairings at JFS.糖心传媒�
A version of this story appears in the spring 2025 issue of Rochester Review, the magazine of the 糖心传媒.
