Re: How to attain native fluency in Russian
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:01 am
I certainly don't have "native fluency" nor do I think such a thing is realistic, since it's a subjective definition, and mine would include an entire generation of cultural references - from commercials to trends to catchphrases. Unless you are a literal native who grew up in Russia, you will miss a reference here or there. Not really worth worrying about that, though.
At the same time, you're not going to always be a clumsy accented obvious foreigner. It takes a lot for people to realize I'm not Russian, and usually they assume I grew up speaking it in some capacity. That's not a brag, it honestly took way too long to get to that point. Therefore, instead of joining in the chorus of people telling you it's "never" gonna happen because of some vague "critical period" theories, I'm going to answer your question.
As answered in another thread yesterday that for some brute textbook stuff, you'll want
-Penguin Russian Course
-Colloquial Russian Course (I'd suggest the oldest one, easily found on ebay/Abe/wherever for a few bucks. You can also do the newer one by Fleming, try to get an older pressing of it I think there are 3 each subsequently reduced in content, and then also Colloquial 2, again the first edition. Either way these are the kinds of books with cute games instead of grammar exercises and will do more teaching you about the language as you mention in your first post.)
-Cortina Russian Course
-Terrence Wade Russian Grammar
Do all of these, all the exercises, fill up a forest worth of notebooks and get awful hand cramps.
At the same time you really want to shadow the old Assimil Russian Without Toil course. Also found easily by online sellers. It takes a few lessons to get up to a reasonable speed, a lot of the selections are more literary than colloquial, and you might find (gasp!) an outmoded phrase or two. But you also get 3+ hours of spoken Russian to get a hold on that intonation. Also listen to Russian radio/podcasts, watch Russian newscasts, watch Russian movies/serials.
Finally, you have to get to Russia once it's feasible to do so. But luckily you have some time right now to lay some groundwork so your trips there will be more fruitful.
At the same time, you're not going to always be a clumsy accented obvious foreigner. It takes a lot for people to realize I'm not Russian, and usually they assume I grew up speaking it in some capacity. That's not a brag, it honestly took way too long to get to that point. Therefore, instead of joining in the chorus of people telling you it's "never" gonna happen because of some vague "critical period" theories, I'm going to answer your question.
As answered in another thread yesterday that for some brute textbook stuff, you'll want
-Penguin Russian Course
-Colloquial Russian Course (I'd suggest the oldest one, easily found on ebay/Abe/wherever for a few bucks. You can also do the newer one by Fleming, try to get an older pressing of it I think there are 3 each subsequently reduced in content, and then also Colloquial 2, again the first edition. Either way these are the kinds of books with cute games instead of grammar exercises and will do more teaching you about the language as you mention in your first post.)
-Cortina Russian Course
-Terrence Wade Russian Grammar
Do all of these, all the exercises, fill up a forest worth of notebooks and get awful hand cramps.
At the same time you really want to shadow the old Assimil Russian Without Toil course. Also found easily by online sellers. It takes a few lessons to get up to a reasonable speed, a lot of the selections are more literary than colloquial, and you might find (gasp!) an outmoded phrase or two. But you also get 3+ hours of spoken Russian to get a hold on that intonation. Also listen to Russian radio/podcasts, watch Russian newscasts, watch Russian movies/serials.
Finally, you have to get to Russia once it's feasible to do so. But luckily you have some time right now to lay some groundwork so your trips there will be more fruitful.