MURAVIJOVA Natary, Russian Language Class

MURAVIJOVA Natary
Russian Language Class

TANAKA Akio
                                     

I met with her in 1969 at her Russian language class.
On the day, I had received the lecture on general semantics at the her neighbouring room. The teacher was difficulty in writing the letters on the blackboard for the chalks all too short or chipped. So I went to get the right ones to use to her class.

The room was narrow and a few students attended the lesson from her.  At that time I suddenly decided that the next year I absolutely would receive her Russian language because the scenery to teach the lesson  was fantastically fine for me.
Next year, 1970, I got her Russian lesson at the same little room.
At the same room I also received Korean language from KAJIMURA Hideki and Russian grammar from CHINO Eiichi. How dear the room was!

The lesson of her style was always natural and familiar for the students.
AT first few lessons were the pronunciation of Russian. The accent and diphthong was especially  important. She taught us many times using the blackboard writing the words and phrases.
Russian vowels have the two, Light and dark. The river Volga sound the Russian people always dark. She repeatedly said so.

The Russian class had the the language festival in every Autumn. At where I was urged to enter the Russian poem’s recitation. Her choice for me was Lermontov. She gave me the note paper in that the poem was written in green colour pen.

She was the daughter of Russian army’s high class official. She ad her family came to Japan to escape from the Revolution. In Japan she kept teaching the Russian at the Japan-Russo Institute. Also taught at several universities.

She gave me the Russian name, Mikhail.  She called me Misha in a sense of closeness.
I bought the Russian textbook of “Teach yourself” series. I used the phrases from  the book in her classroom. She astonished my colloquial speaking un likely in my real ability to the language. I apologized her that All was in the book I bought at the Kinokuniya, Shinjuku.” She understood the situation smiling.

Her pronunciation  was excellent fine. I now remember her voice with her small build. Her class was now shining entering the Autumn light through the windows of the university.

Tokyo
17 July 2010
Sekinan Research Field of Language