Hunter-Gathering in Russian, French, and German u.a...
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:36 pm
[Old log here]
Having dabbled in Russian over the last few years without getting very far, and with time ever-ticking away, I've decided that I need to pull myself together and get certified. I'm also eagerly impatient, so I've had the crazy idea of sitting the TRKI in July rather than waiting until next year.
I have 20 weeks left and can spend most of my time studying (I'll try for a minimum of 4 hours per day). I'm currently aiming for the Basic (A2), but after 10 weeks I'll evaluate and see if maybe I can scrape a 1st Certificate (B1). I think I'd rather ace the former than fail the latter. I'm aiming for the 2nd Certificate (B2) next year.
Also, I have two hurdles to get over that are much bigger than learning Russian: actually getting to London for the exam; and I am a chronic procrastinator (if it was an Olympic sport, I'd be a medal-contender). Hopefully my bullet journal and copy of 'The Now Habit' will help me get there this time!
I have a bit of a headstart: I can read and write Cyrillic; my pronunciation and listening skills are pretty good for my level; and I previously did about 49 lessons of Assimil's Russian without Toil and 27 of Russian.
Study Resources
I have all the generations of Assimil, and will start with Russian intensively and continuing work on pronunciation (I'm determined to get those Rs!). The rest of my resources include Modern Russian, the New Penguin Russian Course and the Pushkin Institute online courses (if I'm correct in thinking that they're free). I'll decide exactly what to use as I go along. I'll look at tutoring/language exchanges for speaking practice further down the line, when I've got a solid base. There doesn't seem to be much available in the way of past papers.
Fun/Native materials
Yay for Youtube! I can watch 'Мухтар. Новый след', Mosfilm classics, Final Fantasy playthroughs, and listen to 80s music for free. For reading I have Anna Karenina, the Дозоры series (and films) and some Darya Dontsova. I think I'll also get some Agatha Christie translations as I've the read the originals a lot over the years, so that will make L-R/LWT a lot easier. I'll prioritise studying to begin with though, and I'll save news-type stuff for when I'm at a higher level.
I think that's about all for now. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot about others' experiences of the TRKI on the English-language internet. I'll try and log my progress at least once a week. I'm also aware that the exams will probably be harder than those I've taken in the British education system. I just have to keep telling myself: don't panic, and take it one lesson at a time!
Having dabbled in Russian over the last few years without getting very far, and with time ever-ticking away, I've decided that I need to pull myself together and get certified. I'm also eagerly impatient, so I've had the crazy idea of sitting the TRKI in July rather than waiting until next year.
I have 20 weeks left and can spend most of my time studying (I'll try for a minimum of 4 hours per day). I'm currently aiming for the Basic (A2), but after 10 weeks I'll evaluate and see if maybe I can scrape a 1st Certificate (B1). I think I'd rather ace the former than fail the latter. I'm aiming for the 2nd Certificate (B2) next year.
Also, I have two hurdles to get over that are much bigger than learning Russian: actually getting to London for the exam; and I am a chronic procrastinator (if it was an Olympic sport, I'd be a medal-contender). Hopefully my bullet journal and copy of 'The Now Habit' will help me get there this time!
I have a bit of a headstart: I can read and write Cyrillic; my pronunciation and listening skills are pretty good for my level; and I previously did about 49 lessons of Assimil's Russian without Toil and 27 of Russian.
Study Resources
I have all the generations of Assimil, and will start with Russian intensively and continuing work on pronunciation (I'm determined to get those Rs!). The rest of my resources include Modern Russian, the New Penguin Russian Course and the Pushkin Institute online courses (if I'm correct in thinking that they're free). I'll decide exactly what to use as I go along. I'll look at tutoring/language exchanges for speaking practice further down the line, when I've got a solid base. There doesn't seem to be much available in the way of past papers.
Fun/Native materials
Yay for Youtube! I can watch 'Мухтар. Новый след', Mosfilm classics, Final Fantasy playthroughs, and listen to 80s music for free. For reading I have Anna Karenina, the Дозоры series (and films) and some Darya Dontsova. I think I'll also get some Agatha Christie translations as I've the read the originals a lot over the years, so that will make L-R/LWT a lot easier. I'll prioritise studying to begin with though, and I'll save news-type stuff for when I'm at a higher level.
I think that's about all for now. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot about others' experiences of the TRKI on the English-language internet. I'll try and log my progress at least once a week. I'm also aware that the exams will probably be harder than those I've taken in the British education system. I just have to keep telling myself: don't panic, and take it one lesson at a time!