SACE Stage 2 Russian (continuers) key terms

Spoken language produced in real time, assessed in an oral interview where fluency, pronunciation and the ability to keep a conversation going are judged alongside accuracy.

The quality of speaking smoothly at a natural pace with few long pauses, showing that the speaker can link ideas without constantly stopping to search for words.

The rise and fall of the voice across a phrase, which in Russian signals whether a sentence is a statement, a question or an exclamation and can change the speaker's implied attitude.

The stressed syllable of a Russian word, pronounced more strongly and often longer; stress is unpredictable, can move between forms, and affects vowel quality in unstressed positions.

How clearly and correctly a speaker produces Russian sounds, including consonant softening, vowel reduction and clusters, as judged by a listener during oral assessment.

A spoken exchange between two or more people in which each turn responds to the previous one, requiring the learner to listen, react and sustain the interaction rather than deliver a monologue.

A speaking task in which the candidate acts out a realistic situation, such as booking a room or resolving a complaint, using appropriate register and functional phrases.

An extended spoken contribution by one person, such as a short talk or personal account, organised with an introduction, main points and a conclusion.

Reproducing the content of a text or recording in one's own words, showing comprehension by selecting key information rather than memorising the original wording.

The skill of extracting meaning from spoken Russian, including gist, specific details, numbers and the speaker's purpose, often tested with recordings played a limited number of times.

The central point a text or recording is making, distinct from supporting details; identifying it is often the first step in comprehension and summary tasks.

Reading quickly to get the general idea or locate whether a text is relevant, without attending to every word; useful for matching headings or choosing between options.

Reading with a specific target in mind, such as a date, name or figure, scanning the page until that information is found and ignoring the rest.

Careful reading for full comprehension of a text, including inference, attitude and the relationship between ideas, not just surface facts.

The surrounding words, situation or cultural background that helps a reader or listener work out the meaning of an unfamiliar item without consulting a dictionary.

Inferring the meaning of an unknown word from word formation, cognates, grammar or surrounding clues, a strategy rewarded in reading and listening tasks.

Producing written Russian for a defined purpose and reader, assessed on task achievement, organisation, range of language and accuracy of grammar and spelling.

The way a piece of writing is organised, typically with an opening, logically ordered paragraphs each carrying one idea, linking devices and a closing.

Words and phrases such as поэтому, однако, кроме того and с одной стороны that connect sentences and paragraphs and make the argument easy to follow.

The level of formality suited to a situation, for example informal language with friends versus polite, formal language in a letter of application or complaint.

Formal written or spoken Russian used in letters, notices and dealings with institutions, marked by set phrases, full forms and avoidance of slang.

The way a speaker or writer names the person addressed, such as using a first name with ты or a name and patronymic with вы; choosing wrongly can cause offence.

The two Russian pronouns for 'you': ты for one familiar person and вы for a group or for polite address to one person, with matching verb forms throughout.

One of six Russian grammatical cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, prepositional) that changes the ending of nouns, adjectives and pronouns according to their role.

The pattern by which nouns, adjectives and pronouns change endings across cases and numbers; Russian has three main noun declensions plus irregular forms.

Agreement between words in gender, number and case, for example an adjective matching its noun, or a past-tense verb matching its subject.

The Russian distinction between imperfective verbs, which present an action as ongoing or repeated, and perfective verbs, which present it as completed or viewed as a single whole.

A verb describing motion, such as идти and ходить or ехать and ездить, where the choice depends on whether the movement is in one direction now or habitual and return.

A prefix added to a verb or noun that changes its meaning, for example по- in поехать or вы- in выйти, and a common way Russian builds new vocabulary.

How new Russian words are formed from roots using prefixes and suffixes, knowledge that helps learners guess meanings and expand vocabulary systematically.

The tense of a verb. Russian has past, present and future, but the future is formed differently for imperfective and perfective verbs, which affects meaning.

A concise summary of a text or recording giving only the main points in the candidate's own words, usually within a set word limit.

The subject a text, recording or task is about, often stated in a title or opening sentence and used to match headings or choose the right response.

A person's view or opinion, which candidates must express, justify and respond to, distinguishing their own position from that reported in a text.

A reason or piece of evidence offered to support a viewpoint, expected in extended writing and speaking tasks where opinions must be justified rather than merely stated.

Knowledge of Russian customs, history and everyday realities that allows a learner to understand references and behave appropriately in written and spoken tasks.