Ramopakhyana: The Story of Rama in the Mahabharata. An Electronic Book for the Sequential Unfoldment of Knowledge

Grant Details

Amount: 16950.00

Project Start Date: 06/09/06

Status: Completed (Currently Active)

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Sanskrit

Project Level:

Project Skills:

Institutions Involved:
Brown University

Primary Contact:
Peter Scharf (scharf@brown.edu)

Classics, Box 1856
Brown University
Providence , RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-2720

The project will create a web-based annotated Sanskrit reader of the story of Rama in the Ramopakhyana of the Mahabharata. A fully annotated edition of this classic tale from ancient India will include all 727 verses in the Devanagari script as established in the critical edition of the work. Linked to the text will be a series of resources for the learner, including a Roman transliteration, separation of sandhi, prose renditions of the verses, syntactic and cultural notes, an English translation, word by word grammatical analysis including identification of inflection and stem or verbal root, lexical categorization, translation, derivation and compound analysis. The information will be presented on the World Wide Web in the format of an electronic book which allows the reader to unfold the information sequentially as needed. The resulting product will be suitable for adoption in a Sanskrit curriculum at the second year level and beyond, appropriate for either group or individual work.

Common Errors in Learning Korean with Supplement to Original Grant

Grant Details

Amount: 600.00 + 1500.00

Project Start Date: 07/07/06

Status: Completed (Currently Active)

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Korean

Project Level:

Project Skills:
Speaking
Writing

Institutions Involved:
Brown University

Primary Contact:
Hye-Sook Wang (Hye-Sook_Wang@Brown.edu)

Department of East Asian Studies, Box 1850
Brown University
Providence , RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-3869

On the basis of data collected for several years, the project director will compile a handbook for elementary and intermediate learners of Korean which will address common errors which English-speakers make. Sections will be devoted to common errors in 1) Lexicon; 2) Grammar; 3) Sociolinguistics and 4) discourse/pragmatics. Explanations of proper usage will be followed by several exercises. The handbook will be useful for both heritage and non-heritage learners of Korean and should prove appropriate for Korean programs at post-secondary institutions regardless of which textbook is currently being used.

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Supplement to original grant will allow for incorporating additional data in production of a handbook for learners of Korean.

The Brown Czech On-Line Anthology

Grant Details

Amount: 17444.00

Project Start Date: 01/01/01

Status: Completed (Currently Active)

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Czech

Project Level:

Project Skills:
Cultural Awareness
Listening
Reading

Institutions Involved:
Brown University

Primary Contact:
Masako Ueda Fidler (Masako_Fidler@Brown.edu)

Department of Slavic Languages, Box E
Brown University
Providence , RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-3933

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Secondary Contact:
David Kanig

David_Kanig@Brown.edu

The Brown Czech On-line Anthology is a response to a growing population of students interested in studying Czech language and culture... The Anthology consists of literary texts, cultural annotations, glosses (grammar information, Czech and English), exercises and model syllabi. The texts have been carefully selected as samples of the 19th and 20th century texts that primarily deal with Czech national character, Czech cultural icons). The texts, glosses, and exercises are accompanied by sound files. Prereading questions and exercises are created for learners of various proficiency levels and are made to mimic the process of reading. Their goal is to help learners to develop reading strategies and active acquisition of salient discourse strategies featured in the text.

Materials for Independent Study of the Least-Commonly Taught Languages

Grant Details

Amount: 2500.00

Project Start Date: 11/15/01

Status: Completed (Currently Active)

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Applies to some languages

Project Level:

Project Skills:

Institutions Involved:
Brown University

Primary Contact:
Merle Krueger (Merle_Krueger@Brown.edu)

Box E
Brown University
Providence , RI 02912

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Secondary Contact:
(401) 863 - 2589
David_Kanig@Brown.edu

The project will establish a core collection of materials in various media for the independent study of 10 languages not taught at Brown University. The choice of languages is based upon demand from students preparing for or returning from study abroad, as well as from individuals and groups of students who have studied such languages for credit independently.

Creating a Web-Based Tutorial for Reading Comprehension of Journalistic Chinese.

Grant Details

Amount: 5320.00

Project Start Date: 07/01/00

Status:

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Chinese

Project Level:
Advanced

Project Skills:

Institutions Involved:
Brown University

Primary Contact:
Hsiu-Huei Lin Domizio ()

Box 1850
Brown University
Providence , RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-1296

One of the greatest challenges for fourth-year Chinese students is comprehending specialized genres. One such genre is expository discourse. In college courses, this is usually taught under the rubric of journalistic Chinese or Media Chinese. In studying expository discourse, students encounter three peculiar challenges: (1) specialized vocabulary—great number of characters of the higher register, (2) complex structure—sentences of many phrases, compound connectors, and literary expressions, and (3) sequence of presentation—pattern of presenting issues in four stages, typical in expository writing in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. We propose to address the need to master these challenges by creating a web-based tutorial to help students to identify and understand (1) the logical connectors that function at the level of the sentence and (2) the stages of the typical sequential flow of information at the level of the discourse. The tutorial initially will be developed for use in fourth year Chinese at Brown University, in a new course to be taught by Ms. Domizio every spring.