This 2-year course is designed to provide students who have no background in Thai with the opportunities to develop sufficient competence in the Thai language to achieve numerous communicative objectives. The course aims at systematically building the students’ abilities in the four skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Thai, while also providing them with a deeper understanding of Thai culture and essential translation and interpretation skills. It is expected that by the end of the course students will reach B1 level according to CEFR. Pre-requisitesTo attend the course a student should have near-native command of the Russian language since one of the goals is to train fluent interpretation and translation from Russian to Thai and vice versa.
Learning Objectives
Reading competence: Read articles and reports about common topics; recognize rhetorical patterns, determine the author’s purpose; summarize and paraphrase information in the text
Speaking competence: Discuss familiar topics in detail; describe experiences, events, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans; plan and deliver short oral presentations; show the improved pronunciation skills, including tones, stress, intonation, and reductions.
Writing competence: Write clearly and in detail about a wide range of subjects; write an essay or report, which are clearly focused, fully developed, and logically organized; write letters about events and personal experiences.
• Listening competence: Listen and comprehend coherent conversations in everyday situations, spoken at near-natural speed; understand long speech and lectures and follow complex arguments if the topic is reasonably familiar; make inference and predictions about spoken discourse.
Socio-cultural competence: Know general information about the history, culture and traditions of Thailand; present their country and its culture when communicating with foreigners.
Expected Learning Outcomes
• identify the topic and main idea; make inferences and predictions about spoken discourse; understand and hold real-life conversation on topics covered in class.
• use grammatical structure accurately; compose both simple and complex sentences and texts; write well-developed and logical essays on topics covered within the course
• skim for a main idea; scan for details; summarize and paraphrase information in the text; deduce meaning from the context.
• translate texts from Thai and to Thai both in writing and orally.
• to conduct basic business and academic communication in oral and written forms.
• choose a communicatively acceptable style of communication in oral and written forms.
• demonstrate general knowledge in Thailand’s geography, history, culture, social life within topics covered during course.
Course Contents
1st year: Introductory Phonetic Course I
Introductory Phonetic Course II
Introductory Phonetic Course III
Introductory Phonetic Course IV
Introductory Phonetic Course V
Introductory Phonetic Course VI
Introductory Phonetic Course VII
Introductory Phonetic Course VIII
Basic I
Basic I: Listening
2nd year: Basic II
Basic II: Thai Studies
Basic II: Listening
Basic II: Reading
Assessment Elements
Attendance
Unit test
The test consists of lexico-grammatical test, vocabulary test, sentences or texts for translation from Russian to Thai / from Thai to Russian. Unit test (10-12 tests in a year) is held offline during the semester.
The format of the test and the topics are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
In-class assignment
In-class assignment include quizzes, dialogue practice, conversations, group discussions, translations etc.
In order to get full marks for the assignments students need to actively participate in the class discussions, to demonstrate familiarity with assigned readings and lecture material, including being prepared to answer the questions that the class teacher may pose.
The format of the assignment and the topics are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
Homework
After every class, you will receive a homework assignment to practice new grammar and vocabulary. It can include the following:
1 Grammar exercises;
2 Online activities for vocabulary practice;
3 Dialogue: You are required to listen to the dialogue and learn it by heart or repeat after audio not looking in the text or listen and fill in the blanks.
4 Text: You are required to read or retell a text using the phrases from the text, and answer questions.
5 Writing text using given vocabulary and grammar.
6 Translation from Thai to Russian/ from Russian to Thai
Final exam
Year 1 exam consists of the writing test (consists of two parts: test on phonetics and lexical-grammar test) and the oral part (Reading and interpreting sentences from Thai to Russian, interpreting sentences from Russian to Thai). Students are expected to use words, expressions & grammar learned in the class during the conversation..
Participation
Participation in class consists of two parts: in-class assignment and discipline.
In-class assignment include quizzes, dialogue practice, conversations, group discussions, translations etc.
Grade for discipline is to be awarded after every class or two classes combined if they are held on one day. It will depend on the number of reprimands received by a student for disturbing the class, talking without permission, fidgeting with the phone and not paying attention etc. It is calculated as follows: Grade 9 – no remarks; Grade 7 – 1 remark; Grade 5 – 2 remarks; Grade 3 - 3 remarks; Grade 1–more than 3 remarks.
In order to get full marks for the participation students also need to actively participate in the class discussions, to demonstrate familiarity with assigned readings and lecture material, including being prepared to answer the questions that the class teacher may pose.
Interim Assessment
2026/2027 2nd module
0.2 * Homework + 0.2 * Unit test + 0.2 * In-class assignment + 0.4 * Final exam
2026/2027 4th module
0.2 * In-class assignment + 0.2 * Homework + 0.4 * Final exam + 0.2 * Unit test
2027/2028 2nd module
0.2 * Homework + 0.4 * Final exam + 0.2 * In-class assignment + 0.2 * Unit test
2027/2028 4th module
0.2 * Unit test + 0.2 * In-class assignment + 0.2 * Homework + 0.4 * Final exam
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
Тайско-русский и русско-тайский словарь географических названий, Зогин, В. В., 2025
Recommended Additional Bibliography
Разрешение финансовых споров в странах АТР (Австралия, Гонконг, Индия, Индонезия, Китай, Малайзия, Новая Зеландия, Сингапур, США, Таиланд, Япония) : монография / под общей редакцией Е. Е. Фроловой и Е. П. Ермаковой. — Москва : Infotropic Media, 2019. — 416 с. — ISBN 978-5-9998-0311-5. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/234212 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Преподаватель
Балакшина Полина Владимировна
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Learning Objectives
Expected Learning Outcomes
Course Contents
Assessment Elements
Interim Assessment
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
Recommended Additional Bibliography
Authors