Inna Sysevich
MODERN LANGUAGES
A Russian émigré who shares laughter, Russian movies, and home cooking with her students.
B.S. and M.S. University of Agriculture (Kiev, Ukraine). Appointed 1995.
On rapport with her students: "I feel a special connection not only with the international students who make up 9 percent of the student body, but also with American students who are getting used to Exeter's culture. I try to teach my students to compare cultures but not judge. I tell them to approach everything with a sense of humor and an open mind."
Favorite lesson: "I love to teach the Cyrillic alphabet. I give the students a bucket of street chalk and send them out to write the letters huge on the sidewalk. Then they run back up to my fourth-floor classroom and name all 33 letters from the window. It only takes one class for them to learn the whole alphabet."
A taste of Russia: She often invites students to her room to watch Russian movies and enjoy authentic Russian food. “I usually invite each of my classes to my house once every month for a Russian movie and they always request blini,” said Sysevich. “You have to eat it lying down—you can fit in much more this way.” A favorite movie is Sibirskiy Tsiryulnik (The Barber of Siberia)—her students love it.
Word on the street: "After my students came back from the St. Petersburg program, they told me 'We thought you were eccentric, but you're just Russian!'"
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