Get Started

1. To begin, choose from among the music videos available by clicking on the thumbnails.
2. On the video page: By clicking the three dots on the right hand side of the video player control bar and on captions you have the choice of watching the video with …
   1. Russian captions that show you exactly what is being sung in the video [click the three dots in the video player control bar, then on captions and finally on RUSSIAN];
   2. English subtitles that give a good idea of what the song is saying in English [click the three dots in the video player control bar, then on captions and finally on ENGLISH COLLOQUIAL]; and
   3. English subtitles that give a literal translation of the Russian lyrics – using original word order, vocabulary, and grammar [click the three dots in the video player control bar, then on captions and finally on ENGLISH LITERAL];
   4. you can turn off the subtitles at anytime and watch the video as is by clicking the three dots on the right hand side of the video player control bar.
3. You can also watch the video in full screen format by clicking on the fullscreen button.
4. To go back to the video player mode, press “esc” on your computer or click again on the fullscreen button.
5. You might also want to have copy of the lyrics of the songs, in Russian and English, to keep with you. Just click on the Lyrics link above the activities and print them out.
6. You can see all activities for that video next to the player.
7. Use whichever format fits your level (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior) and your comfort zone as you work with the video.
8. There are three types of activities…
   1. If it’s your first time through a particular video, you will want to start with some “Before You Watch” preview activities. These materials will help you get more out of the clip on the very first time.
   2. There are also “While You Watch” activities to help guide your viewing of the video, to make sure you understand both the lyrics and the images that are presented in the clip. Use the “Show video” and “Show activity” buttons to go back and forth between the video and the activity.
   3. Finally, there are “After You Watch” activities to expand the information from the video into other uses in Russian speech.

Overall, the materials are designed to encourage you to go through them repeatedly, ideally, until you have mastered the song and can sing along! Most importantly, have fun with these clips! They are but a small part of the greater Russian contemporary culture, but are full of rich linguistic and cultural information to help you better understand Russia, Russians, and the Russian language!