Veta Chitnev
Thematic Research Area
Department Program
Education
Ph.D., University of Victoria
Certified Tester of Russian as a Foreign Language, Moscow State University
M.A., Simon Fraser University
M.Ed., Moscow State Regional University
About
Dr. Veta Chitnev has been teaching with CENES since 2008.
She teaches Russian language and culture courses and coordinates all sections of Russian language courses. Veta is also responsible for student placement tests and Russian proficiency examinations.
Her areas of specialization are teaching Russian as a second language, pedagogy, and curriculum development and design. Her other interests include intercultural studies and educational psychology.
Teaching
Research
Research Interests:
- Assessment in higher education
- Feminist pedagogy
- Russian language
- Intercultural studies
- Leaning and instructional theories
- Motivation and social-emotional adjustment in educational settings
Publications
“Feminist Assessment in Elementary World Language Courses.” In Enhancing Beginner-Level Foreign Language Education for Adult Learners. Ed. Ekaterina Nemtchinova. New York, Routledge: 2023. pp. 235-53.
Parker, Natalia: Russian in Plain English: A Very Basic Russian Starter for Complete Beginners (Book Review). Russian Language Journal, vol. 71, no. 3, 2022, pp. 237-39.
The review of the English language national testing system in Canada. The Russian Test, Theory and Practice, no. 7, 2019, pp. 48-52.
Awards
2019-2020 UBC Killam Teaching Prize
Invited Talks and Presentations
Papers Presented:
2023 “Teaching Russian through Short Film” at the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 16-19.
2022 “Assessment for Learning in the Virtual Russian Language Classroom,” the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 20-28.
2021 “Group Activities in a Russian Language Room for Second-Year Students,”American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 20-28.
2021 “Russian School Graduates in Canadian Universities: Case Study of the Russian Program in the University of British Columbia,” at the International Conference, “Teaching the Russian Language in the Multilingual World. Russian Schools Abroad,” October 28-30.
2020 “Aligning Russian Language Curriculum in Canada with the International Language Standards” at the 10th world congress of the International Council for Central and East European Studies (ICCEES), August 4-9.
2019 “Intensive Russian language courses for beginners: some pros and cons,” American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 7-10.
2018 “Leveraging technology to form deeper and more meaningful connections with students.” Learning Technology Innovation Summit, UBC, April 30.
2018 “Mastering Language Skills through Play in the Classroom,” the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 1-4.
2018 “Feminist pedagogy in the elementary Russian Language Classroom,” the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 1-4.
2018 “Feminist assessment in the first-year Russian language courses” at the First-Year-Educators’ Symposium at UBC, January 20.
2017 “Hybrid Russian language courses for beginners,” the Canadian Association of Slavists (CAS), May 27-29.
2017 “Assessment for Learning in the Elementary Russian Language Courses,” American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), February 2-5.
2016 “Presentations in the Elementary Russian Language Courses” at Teaching Russian conference at the University of Victoria (UVic), August 25-26.
2016 “Online Assessments in the Elementary Russian Language Courses,” Symposium on Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning, April 28.
2016 “Assessment in the Russian Language Classroom, Theory and Practice,”
American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), January 7-10.
2015 “Best Practices in Assessment in Russian language courses,” at CENES Colloquium
“Strategies and Challenges for Assessment in Various CENES Courses,” February 26.
Invited Talks:
2022 “Assessment for Learning in the Virtual Russian Language Classroom with focus on the second-
year Russian,” UBC, CENES Department, January 19.
2020 “Russian Etiquette” at UVic, SLST 100, Introduction to Russian Society and Culture, September, 18.
2018 “Leo Tolstoy and Existentialism,” Guest Lecture, PHIL 385, Department of Philosophy, UBC, September 27.
2018 “The Philosophy of Fyodor Dostoevsky,” PHIL 385, Department of Philosophy, UBC, July 12.
2017 “Dostoevsky and Existentialism,” PHIL 385A, Department of Philosophy, UBC, January 19.
2017 “The Philosophy and Theology of Fyodor Dostoevsky” UBC, CENES, RUSS 206, October 27.