Russian tools, tips and advice

[bbond314]

Hello fellow languages learners,
I am just beginning my studying of the russian language, I have the alphabet down and cursive as well as a knowledge of some basic phrases and words. Overall I am trying to achieve a level equal to B2 (upper intermediate) in Russian before I take my trip over there (and eventually get my masters there).
Currently I have purchased the Teach Yourself Complete Russian, but have found it to be a little fast so I am also purchasing the Living Language complete for Russian. I try to use Duolingo often. What are a list of resources, books, apps, radio etc. that can help me with my goal of B2. And what are some of your own tips for learning Russian. Thanks!

[blaurebell]

As someone who has failed with Russian before and is now on the second attempt, let me tell you that front loading grammar and vocabulary is a bad idea with this language. There are infinite amounts of that in Russian and you will feel like you're in never-ending grammar torture. I burned myself out in no time with that strategy and I made virtually no progress on native content. Even after 3 months of grammar torture I couldn't read simple children's stories, because I was stuck in that perfectionist grammar hamster wheel. It's what made me give up. I think to prevent burn out it's more important to make quick progress at being able to have fun with the language, reading, watching movies rather than focus on being able to produce correct Russian, which is super difficult. I'm therefore pushing the grammar to the back this time round and only allowing myself Duolingo for grammar study. For me the best method is to start reading quickly and then progress happens while I'm having fun.

That said, When I started for the first time I was still quite lost with the alphabet - makes reading difficult to impossible -, so I watched this video course on youtube called Russian World and that was super helpful (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 4YfNqsOv-r). It's a highschool course from the 90s and it goes nice and slow, explains all the basics nicely. It's based on a rather old traditional grammar heavy teaching text though, which is mind-numbingly boring. After watching Russian World 1 - 70 lessons of 30min - I just couldn't go on with the second part because using more of that book was not enticing at all. It is very good for the basics, but it's probably not a good idea to force yourself to finish this one, that was my mistake. The first one + duolingo should get you up to a point where you can start reading graded readers with a dictionary though. 2 lessons a day are fairly doable, so you can finish it in about a month.

This time round I'm just reactivating my hidden grammar knowledge with Duolingo and Assimil - the latter has worked wonders for my French - and I'm starting on a reading progression with graded readers at the end of which I will hit some native short stories and a Russian translation of an American fantasy saga that I know quite well. Only when I'm through with Assimil and the whole fantasy saga / some 5000 pages of intensive reading will I get to proper grammar study. By then all the reading will have carved a lot of the structures into my brain already. It should be much easier and less torture then. With Russian skipping the grammar entirely isn't possible, it's such a tricky language and some things are pretty much impossible to get right as a non-native speaker - the aspects of the verbs are what they used to catch spies! And since we're back to grammar: According to a lot of opinions the Penguin Russian course is supposedly the best one for grammar. No audio, but I have used it a little and it's very thorough and well explained. It's what I plan to be using after I finish with Assimil.

[Arnaud]

It takes 2 or 3 years minimum if you had no previous contact with a slavic/inflected language to reach a B2 level in russian.
A progressive course is the lastest edition of Assimil Russian, that's what I used when I started, it's more progressive than TY. If you finish Assimil you'll have a weak B1 as a starting point for the long road to B2: at that point graded readers and easy native contents like cartoons and series are a good way to move on.
And you need grammar, it's unavoidable: don't try to skip it because your native language is not inflected: you need to wire your brain to get used to the declensions and reach a level where you automatically use them, so the penguin russian course is a good start (or an exercise book like "Russian in exercises" by Khavronina to drill)
Take a look at that thread, it's full of good ressources.

[Ogrim]

Welcome to the forum bbond314. There is a Russian study group here, and all Russian learners are welcome to join.

As for resources, there is quite a lot out there. When I was a beginner I combined Colloquial Russian by Routledge with the latest edition of Assimil Russe (the French version, I don't know if the English one is identical). I found the Assimil course very good for listening training and for learning everyday vocabulary, (although the first 10-15 lessons are spoken painfully slow) and Colloquial I think is better for grammar, the approach is more structured.

I agree with Arnaud, you need to get into grammar, it is not something you can skip in a language like Russian. I still do grammar drills from time to time and I find it helps a lot when it comes to speaking correctly.

[bbond314]

Ok so Assimil is definitely on my list...what are your opinions about Living Language. Is that a good course?

[asterion]

Personally, I would recommend vk( Russian facebook). I' m taking a break from textbooks, and vk groups are my new favorite source( Я рифмую как кретин and Угарная политика among them). There is something for everyone there. And I have noticed that my vocabulary is building effortlessly, and grammar is sinking in too( then again, I had some prior knowledge, and I already speak one Slavic language, so I would recommend it as a supplementary source, once you are past the beginner stage).