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Pygmalion Academy
Course for adults
Ages 12–14

Russian: From Word to Meaning

An online Russian language and writing course for teenagers from Russian-speaking families living abroad.

  • Learning to express thoughts in Russian precisely - from the word to a text of your own
  • We read classics and contemporary prose, and work with media and everyday messaging
  • We write in every lesson and learn to edit our own texts and give feedback on each other’s
  • 3–6 students
  • 60 minutes
  • 2 lessons a week
  • Zoom, online
  • Certificate on completion
  • 23 yearsof teaching experience
  • 4.9Google rating
  • 268Google reviews

Behind the Pygmalion Academy programme is Pygmalion Language Centre, a language centre founded in Latvia in 2003. About the centre

This course is a good fit if your teenager…

  • Is 12–14 years old and growing up in a Russian-speaking family

  • Talks about everyday topics and reads simple texts, but is still unsure in writing

  • Speaks Russian confidently, but makes mistakes and wants to write more precisely

Does your teenager not speak Russian yet?Choose a suitable A1–C1 level course.

About the programme

In our lessons a teenager travels from the single word to a text of their own: reading classics and contemporary prose, working with media and everyday messaging, discussing, writing, and learning to edit their own texts. Each lesson lasts 60 minutes.

  1. The word and the sentence

    How words and sentences work, and how to phrase thoughts naturally.

  2. The text as one thought

    Learning to build a text, hold the topic and choose the right style.

  3. Editing

    Learning to spot imprecision and make our texts clearer and more exact.

  4. The final project

    We choose our own topic, build the structure and write a coherent text of 10–12 sentences. At the end - a certificate for completing the course.

What we read in class

  • Classics

    Short stories from the 20th-century Russian classics - stories worth talking about.

    • Paustovsky
    • Dragunsky
    • Zoshchenko
    • Kuprin
    • Prishvin
    • And others

  • Contemporary

    Contemporary prose about children their own age and about the present day.

    • “Manyunya” by Abgaryan

  • Media texts

    The living language around them.

    • Popular science for teenagers
    • Blogs and social posts
    • Messenger conversations
    • Instructions
    • Podcast scripts

What a lesson consists of

  1. We read a short text aloud, taking turns, on a shared screen

  2. We discuss what we read and work through the words, sentences and structure of the text

  3. We do a language warm-up or a mini-game in pairs and small groups

  4. We write and edit texts - on our own or in pairs

  5. We make a mini-project, sum up, and get a short piece of homework

How lesson time is divided

  • Discussion30%
  • Reading15%
  • Writing30%
  • Grammar and structure25%

Skills your teenager will develop during the course

  • Builds vocabulary and learns to choose precise words
  • Notices spelling difficulties and knows how to check a spelling
  • Understands how words and parts of speech work, and uses that when writing
  • Builds logical sentences with natural word order
  • Writes clear, correct and expressive texts of different genres
  • Edits their own texts: improves the logic, style and precision
  • Tells registers of speech apart and picks the one that fits the situation
  • Reads and analyses fiction, media, instructions and blogs

Teachers

Diana

Teaches the teen courses and club, ages 12–17

Education
BA in Philology (University of Latvia), teacher training (Liepāja University)
Experience
20 years of teaching
Languages
Russian (native), English, Spanish
  • Her students have won prizes at national Russian language olympiads
The more languages a person knows, the brighter and fuller their life becomes.

Raisa A.

Teaches the teen courses and the discussion club - ages 12–17

Education
MA in Philology
Languages
Russian (native), English (B2)
  • Methodology consultant and textbook reviewer
  • Takes part in national and international projects
  • Also teaches drama and public speaking
I teach because dialogue makes a person free.

Timetable and price

Group3–6 students
TimetableTwice a week, 60 minutes
Format2 lessons a week
112 €/month

Why it’s worth keeping Russian

  • Bilingualism is an advantage

    Children growing up with two languages learn to see the world from a broader perspective and easily switch between different ways of thinking.

  • Russian develops thinking skills

    By learning the language more deeply, children learn to express their thoughts more precisely, understand complex ideas, and formulate their own ideas - building intellectual maturity.

  • A link to culture and family

    A language is stories, traditions and the people closest to you. It helps a child feel part of the family and keep their roots.

Frequently asked questions

Lessons take place on Zoom in a small group: your teenager can see the teacher and the other students, discusses texts, works through them on a shared whiteboard, and writes together with the group. A computer or tablet with a camera is required for the lessons.

Enroll your child in the course

An online Russian language and writing course for teenagers from Russian-speaking families living abroad.

Next course: Ages 15–17