Rus': a Comprehensive Course is intended for people starting Russian from scratch. To date it has predominantly been used in university departments, but it could equally well be used with senior school students or on evening courses.

The design of the course draws on recent developments in language teaching methodology and applied linguistics. There are four main areas in which this influence is particularly marked:

• Though the designers have attempted to leave a good deal of scope to allow for varying teaching and learning styles, the course favours a communicative approach, one that focuses on using Russian in meaningful interaction.

• This has informed the decision to select textual material which is illustrative of trends in Russian culture during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The informative and imaginative texts selected are intended to foster an interest in the cultural context which the language represents and expresses.

• The communicative objectives are complemented by an aim to develop in learners an awareness of how the Russian language works as a system and to encourage students to enquire into the functioning of language in general.

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