Languages and Cultures   

This course features four presentations about interesting travel experiences in Asia and Latin America. Four different presenters will share their journeys to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Costa Rica and Argentina. Each presentation will be about 90 minutes via Zoom, with opportunities for questions and discussion.

This is a previously taught course with new content that aims to broaden a student’s vocabulary and understanding of today’s spoken German. The class reads, checks for understanding and comments on selected readings. This term we will read and discuss the instructor’s memoirs from 1992 and later. The etymology of certain words will be discussed as well, and the rules of grammar will be explained on request. Occasionally, we will read and analyze German poetry or other culturally appropriate material. 

NOTE: There is no class on Nov. 11.

This course is all about singing Christmas Carols in French, with most selections having the exact same melodies familiar in many languages. “Silent Night” becomes “Douce Nuit,” “O Holy Night” becomes “Minuit Chretiens,” “Little Drummer Boy” becomes “Enfant au Tambour,” “Winter Wonderland” becomes “Bonhomme Hiver,” “Little Toy Trains” becomes “Petit Garcon/Petite Fille,” “Bring a Torch” becomes “Un Flambeau.” Usually, we end up with eight or 10, including some very simple rounds, which are good warm-ups to help get beginners started. Strong interest and willingness to practice are more important than French background. There are no requirements beyond the joy of singing in a group with familiar tunes in a group setting.

Anyone who knows the Cyrillic alphabet can enjoy Russian poetry. Join in reading aloud from poets such as Aleksander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov and Aleksander Blok. All poems will be online as text and audio. In each class, we will translate a poem, touching on the vocabulary and grammar necessary for understanding how it means what it means. We will then read he poems aloud together and discuss them. We will sing some of the poems that have been set to music or were written as songs, including favorites from earlier OLLI classes. This is not a deep literature class. The point is to enjoy making the sounds of Russian and appreciate how they interact with its meaning. Students who enjoyed “The Cyrillic Alphabet” or “Russian: Focus on Pronunciation” in the Spring 2026 Term are encouraged to enroll.

NOTE: Students at all levels are welcome. “The Poetry Reader for Russian Learners,” free at russianpoetry.yale.edu, will provide many of the poems. The free online “Introduction to the Russian Language” at Mezhdunami.org will help with grammar.