ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian
Launched in the late 1960s, the ACTR
Olympiada of Spoken Russian is the oldest of ACTR’s secondary school
activities. Drawing on the long-established practice of oral exams and
competitions, the Olympiada has provided successive generations of
American high school and middle school students of Russian with a forum
in which to demonstrate their achievement in Russian language study,
while conversing with other speakers of Russian and meeting with
students of Russian from schools other than their own.
The founder: Claire Walker (Friends School of Baltimore)
State/Regional Olympiada competitions take place throughout the United States from February through April. Participants may earn gold, silver, or bronze medals in recognition of their proficiency in Russian conversation, poetry recitation, and Russian civilization at various levels of study.
The ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian is a unique and enjoyable event. There is no other language contest like it in the United States. The ACTR Olympiada will give your students the opportunity to
- gain confidence in their ability to speak Russian, - demonstrate some familiarity with Russian civilization, - acquire a sense of achievement, - be recognized for their efforts to master a very challenging language, - interact with students of Russian from other schools. The ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian fosters teamwork and collegiality among Russian teachers in states and regions throughout the United States. It is an ideal way to promote the study of Russian in your school as well as at the district, state, and national levels. Working with one or more colleagues, Olympiada coordinators plan, organize, and administer regional or state contests. To share the burden of organizing this event and to ensure continuity from year to year, it is strongly recommended that states/regions, especially those with a large number of schools and participants, be represented by at least two coordinators. Coordinators will report the results of their Olympiada contests immediately following the competition. Coordinators are invited to take part in an internet-mediated meeting in late fall to review the Olympiada contests of the previous year, to discuss issues facing the Olympiada, and to suggest modification of Olympiada rules and regulations as necessary. Each regional contest should follow the format of the International Olympiada: Part I Speaking about yourself, everyday conversation Part II Civilization Part III Reading and discussion; recitation of a poem Olympiada Coordinators may also wish to consider combining the Olympiada Contest with a:
Olympiada coordinators are asked to encourage participation by all eligible schools in their state or region, including community-based programs (e.g. programs for speakers of Russian as a heritage language or second language). The Membership Secretary of ACTR will provide a list of potential participating schools and their contact information. Chairs can also consult the Directory of Members for possible participants and judges in their regions/states. | For questions, contact Olympiada National Co-chairs: Julia Denne, Olga Klimova olympiadaactr@gmail.com Eligibility
Cost
$6 per student. All students must be registered by a current member of the ACTR. Some states or regions require a school registration fee. ACTR covers other program expenses.
Olympiada Preparation Materials (All levels)
Individual states and regions may adjust the instructions or competition procedures as needed. Follow the links below for additional information and instructions. |
Regional Olympiadas
| Region | Chair | Contact Information | Format | |
| California | Anna Asadov-Ossowska | annaossow at gmail.com | Hybrid | |
| Carolinas | Yana Lowry | yana.lowry at duke.edu | ||
| Colorado | Tatiana Derugo | td at ulitka.com | Hybrid | |
| Delaware Valley (Eastern PA, DE, Southern NJ) | Olia Prokopenko | oprokop at temple.edu | Hybrid | |
| Illinois | Erik Richard Houle | erhoule at uchicago.edu | In person | |
| Indiana | Lindsey Grutchfield, Mark Trotter | lwgrutch@iu.edu, martrott at iu.edu | In person | |
| Maryland | Elisa Frost, Lee Roby | froste at rpcs.org, eroby at friendsbalt.org | Online | |
| Minnesota | Oksana Cox | ocox5698 at gmail.com | Online | |
| New England | Cris Martin | clmartin at fas.harvard.edu | In person | |
| New Jersey | Cori Anderson | cori.anderson at rutgers.edu | Hybrid | |
| New York City | Kateryna Ratushnyuk | katya.r at gmail.com | Online | |
| Ohio | Larysa Stepanova | stepanova.1 at osu.edu | In person | |
| Tennessee/Mississippi | Alexandra Kostina | kostina at rhodes.edu | Hybrid | |
| Texas | Heather R Rice | hrrice at utexas.edu | ||
| Virginia | Steve Barnes, Elena Guglielmi | sbarnes3 at gmu.edu, hgugliel at gmu.edu | ||
| Western Pennsylvania | Anna Karpusheva, David Parker | ank490 at pitt.edu, dparker2 at andrew.cmu.edu | Hybrid | |
| Wisconsin | Sara Lomasz Flesch, Jacob Aehl | lomaszflesch at wisc.edu, aehl at wisc.edu | ||
| Heritage North | Alla Markova | alla.markova at gmail.com | Hybrid | |
| Heritage South | Natalia Kolodina | actrohs at gmail.com |