LC Russian study plan

LC Russian · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Russian Reading Comprehension & Russian Legal Terminology and Court Procedures

Read 5 Russian legal news articles (600-800 words each) and mark every case name, procedural term, and Latin-derived borrowing you cannot render into English.
Build a 60-entry Russian legal glossary covering court structure (суд первой инстанции, апелляция, кассация), parties, and verdicts, with English equivalents you verify against two independent sources.
Summarize each article in Russian in 4 sentences, then in English in 4 sentences, and compare what shifted.
Recite the Russian hierarchy of courts (constitutional, general jurisdiction, arbitration/commercial) aloud from memory with no notes.

A 60-term Russian-to-English legal glossary plus 5 bilingual article summaries, self-scored for accuracy.

Week 2

Read 4 English-language judicial opinions or court rules excerpts and outline the procedural posture (claim, motion, holding).
Compile a 60-entry English legal glossary covering civil procedure, evidence, and appellate review, with Russian equivalents flagged where you are unsure.
Draft 10 short English procedural descriptions (e.g., 'the court granted summary judgment') and translate each into Russian, then back-translate to check fidelity.
Explain in English, without notes, the difference between a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment.

A 60-term English-to-Russian procedural glossary with 10 back-translated sentences and a fidelity log.

Week 3

Analyze 3 English source texts (contract clause, statute excerpt, press release) and annotate register, ambiguity, and term choices before translating.
Analyze 3 Russian source texts of matching genres and annotate the same features, noting aspect, case government, and participle chains that complicate English rendering.
Practice 6 timed paraphrases (3 per direction, 90 seconds each) to build reformulation speed without losing meaning.
Log 15 recurring translation traps (false friends, passive-to-active shifts, number and date formats) with your chosen fix for each.

A 15-item translation-trap log with worked examples in both directions.

Week 4

Sight-translate 8 English legal passages of 150-200 words into Russian at 100 words per minute, recording yourself each time.
Sight-translate 8 Russian legal passages of matching length into English at the same pace, recording each attempt.
Review every recording and mark hesitations, self-corrections, and dropped hedges; track the count per passage.
Drill a 30-term rapid-recall set so that core legal terms surface in under 2 seconds.

16 recorded sight translations with a hesitation log showing fewer than 5 hesitations per 150 words by week's end.

Week 5

Complete 6 consecutive-interpreting drills (3 per direction, 2-3 minutes each) using note-taking symbols you design and can read back.
Complete 6 simultaneous drills (3 per direction, 3-5 minutes each) with shadowing warm-ups before each.
Self-assess each drill against a rubric: accuracy, completeness, fluency, terminology, and delivery.
Identify your 3 weakest rubric dimensions and design one corrective drill for each.

12 recorded interpreting drills scored on a 5-point rubric, with a written remediation plan for the 3 weakest dimensions.

Week 6

Interpret 4 longer passages (5-6 minutes) per direction consecutively, without pausing the audio.
Interpret 4 longer passages (6-8 minutes) per direction simultaneously, maintaining pace within 3 seconds of the speaker.
Transcribe 2 of your recordings and count errors by type (omission, addition, distortion, terminology).
Re-interpret the same passages after feedback and compare error counts against the first attempt.

Error-count comparison table for 4 passages showing a measurable reduction between first and second attempts.

Week 7

Write 10 English procedural sentences and 10 Russian procedural sentences from memory, each using a different term from your glossaries.
Translate both sentence sets into the other language and verify terminology against your glossaries.
Run a 100-item mixed terminology quiz (50 English, 50 Russian) and score it.
Re-drill every term you missed until you reach 95 percent on a retake.

A scored 100-item bilingual terminology quiz with a retake score of at least 95 percent.

Week 8

Run 4 full mock sections combining sight translation, consecutive, and simultaneous tasks under exam timing.
Score each mock against the rubric and chart progress against weeks 4-6 baselines.
Re-drill the 20 weakest items from your error logs across all domains.
Finalize a one-page personal checklist of pre-task routines for each exam section.

4 timed mock sections with scored results and a one-page exam-day checklist.

Week 2: Both 60-term glossaries are complete and every entry has a verified equivalent or an explicit uncertainty flag.

Week 4: Sixteen recorded sight translations exist, and hesitation counts are trending down from the first to the last passage in each direction.

Week 6: Error counts on re-interpreted passages are lower than first attempts, and simultaneous pace stays within 3 seconds of the speaker.

Week 8: Mock-section scores meet or exceed your target on the rubric, and the exam-day checklist is written and rehearsed once.