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What is the best way to learn Russian language?
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Posted by: RWLoverfromCali

Hello everyone and this is my first post.

I have a relationship with a beautiful Russian women named Anna for some months now who I met through a mutual contact. She is absolutely adorable and we appear to be a great match, etc. We e-mail each other daily, and have spoken on the phone several times. She has begun learning English, in preparation for her trip here once able to get her visa, etc., and is remarkable at picking up the language.

I am planning a trip to see her for the first time in a few weeks, and am in the process of getting the necessary visa, etc.

I want to learn the Russian language (gulp) as best I can on an immediate basis so that we can converse easier and also because she plans on introducing me to her parents (bigger gulp.) And of course to get around in Russia easier while I am there.

My questions are these: What is the best way to learn the Russian language? What other tools should I bring with me to Russia to help me converse? Is it worth the trouble to bring my laptop computer or will this be unneccesary baggage?

Thanks!

John

Posted by: Jason

Hi and welcome to the forum. There are a number of us from California here.

Be forewarned, Russian is a difficult language. I found that the best way to learn the language is to get a private tutor. I did this and within a few months I could have little conversations. I also supplemented my lessons with the Pimsleur CD set, which is expensive if bought new (I burned a set). At the very least, try to learn the alphabet well so that you can use a dictionary and at least make an attempt to pronounce words.

You could try using an electronic translator, although quality and prices varies. I'm sure others here will have more experience with them than I do.

I'm not sure what you're planning to use your laptop for. If you need it for your work, of course, bring it. If you just want to check email once in a while, there are internet cafes in most cities in Russia.

I've got to ask, though....you say that you have not yet met this lady in person, and you've only spoken on the phone several times....yet you are already planning to get a fiance visa and bring her to the U.S.? It sounds like you might be jumping the gun a little bit, no?

Last year I went to meet a girl that I thought was perfect. We emailed every day, chatted on ICQ for hours, spoke on the phone often, exchanged many photos, talked about what kind of dogs we liked, etc... Despite all of our prior communication, within five seconds of seeing her I knew in my heart she was not the right girl for me. We spent only a few hours together and that was that--I never saw her again.

Be careful, it is easy to fall in love with photos of an adorable girl and some sweet emails. It might work out and be the love of your life, but if it doesn't, it is easy to be disappointed, scammed, or both. I might suggest that it would be prudent to have a backup plan in place in case you have an experience similar to mine.

Posted by: RWLoverfromCali

Thank you for the information. I hadn't thought of a tutor - is that expensive?

I'll be checking on those cds and will possibly pick those up.

I mentioned the laptop as I thought there might be some software to help with the translation, etc. while in Russia. It seems rather cumbersome to be carrying that everywhere so I'm probably not gonna bring it, unless someone has further input/advice on that.

Regarding her trip here, naturally if things bomb out on my trip that trip here isn't happenning. From all indications - and being 34 and through two marraiges, numerous relationships and many dates I've got some experience behind me - this has definite possibilities and I'm quite thrilled about it. But at the same time, I appreciate the advice, and have thought through priorly how if things "crash and burn" I could still possilby meet other women while in Moscow. But I have such a good feeling about this, it is unmistakable in intensity. It surpasses anything I've had priorly, so I've gone ahead and mapped the whole future plan out with her. She feels the same way.

But again, I certainly don't want to get head over heels and so appreciate your input, and similar input I've read elsewhere on the site. I actually had what happened to you happen to me a while back with a girl in L.A. Luckily I didn't have to travel too far to find out it wasn't a match. With this lovely Russian girl, I have a very optimistic feeling about it. She is not like any woman I've met before. And so I'm willing to roll the dice, fly over there, and hopefully meet my mate for life.

I am 100 % certain it's not a scam, because we have mutual friends and contacts. So it's nice to be able to rule that out.

There is of course still the risk of disappointment. But the reward if this works out will make all this trouble and expense well worth it; in fact, it doesn't compare. But I'm sure you and the rest on this site have grasped that also.

John

Posted by: Jerico

When i knew i was going to Russia , i bought a Learn Russian CD set at Frys Electronics for 30 bucks.
It was pretty good to learn from.
I would read the stuff and forget it but the next day I would be walking around and i could remember phrases i learned.
I also listen to Russian radio stations when i drive around town.
Now that i am married to a Russian woman , it seems that all we listen to in the jeep is Russian music and thats it

Actually I like it so much now that Russian music is pretty much all I listen to when i am driving alone ,hehe.

My friends think I am crazy but hey, what are you gunna do

Listen to the music, it helps. Just my opinion.
Jerry

Posted by: RWLoverfromCali

Thanks. This is particularly good because I'm in Sacramento too. What station is the Russian music on?

BTW, it's nice to know there are others who have succeeded at my adventure into the unknown.

Posted by: Ade

Hi,

A private tutor is definitely he best option - if a little expensive - because you can always ask them specific questions about what you're learning, which helps your understanding of what/why you're using the language/words in a particular way, and lets you apply that knowledge.

Supplementing/combining this with a good cd and books is working well for me. The stuff I use is from www.ruslan.co.uk which I have found very easy to work with.

Good luck,

Ade

Posted by: Minsk1109

Hi -

(Well, I'm California born and raised and I used to be live in California does that count??)

I have used the Pimsleur CDs but bought them from www.cheappimsleur.com (they buy back each CD set for $100) and at least my lady has stopped "laughing at me". So I think I'm making "some" progress...

I would also add that watching the Russian channels on Dish network has really helped...

Just My 2 BYRs (= Belarus Rubles)

Bill

Posted by: Khashyar

Welcome, Russianlover...

I have found that the best way to learn Russian is just to go to Russia and throw yourself in the water and just pull out your Russian phrase book and dictionary, and just begin speaking phrases and words.

There are some good audio tapes that can help you learn some basic Russian... as well as computer software....

I suggest absorbing yourself in Russian as much as possible... rent Russian movies, listen to Russian language audio tapes...

Have a fun and rewarding trip...

Khashyar

Posted by: Jason

It also kind of depends on what your goals are for learning Russian. If you just want to say "hello, my name is John" to her parents and "you are beautiul" to your lady, then some CD's are fine.

If you really want to learn the language, you need a class or a tutor. Russian is difficult because of the cases, like in German or Latin. For example, the word "road" will have different endings depending on how you are using it; i.e. "I live on xyz road," or "Where is xyz road?" Personally, I am finding it extremely difficult.

My tutor is $40/hr. I found her through the local language school, but I imagine you could find a teacher at the local Russian church, community center, or bookstore too. My teacher happens to be a lady from Moscow who married an American guy. She also taught me a lot about Russian culture in general, which was helpful on my trips.

While it's on my mind, just a couple of other things to keep in mind about the fiance visa process. My lawyer told me to save our emails, phone bills that show when I called my lady, my plane tickets, any tickets that we used together in Russia for the ballet or museums, and my hotel and bank receipts from Russia. He also wanted to me to give him 10 photos of us together showing that we had a close relationship and that we were in Russia together. He is going to pick four to send in with the application.

Moscow is a great city, although it is very expensive, so be prepared to drop some cash if you plan on going out at all. I hope things work out well!

Posted by: Chrismc

My lady is Ukrainian by birth, worked as an interpreter in English & German and now teaches English to Ukrainian students and Bussinessmen and she speaks fluently: Ukrainian, Russian, English and German - she has told me many times English was by far the easiest to learn, I told her I wanted to learn some Russian as that is what they speak in day to day life and she told me she would teach me but be prepared as it is far harder to learn than English etc due to accents, meanings, the way sentences are constructed etc etc.

Luckily I don't really need to learn apart from speaking to other Ukrainians or her family, but as she can always interpret for me she advises me not to bother, she regularly tells me why would I want to speak Russian when I don;t need it.

However, I still think it would be of use even if only to read road signs, shop signs, menu's etc.

Just my 2cents worth

Chris

Posted by: Jerico

RWLoverfromCali,
Another Sacramento guy , great.
If you live here you should know that there are a ton of Ukrainians living in this area.I believe the numbers are 30000.
Russian radio stations are on AM radio 1120 am( I believe) in the morning and 1430 in the morning till 9:00am. Then they come back later in the day.
Also on cable channel 19 at night there is russian programing on many nights.
I find it very boring though, hehe.
Jerry

Posted by: Mr.H

Yeah just go and throw yourself into it. Myself, I have the Pimsleur CD set and put a couple weeks lessons onto a mp3 player to practice with when I have the time.

A friend gave me a couple of russian phrasebooks so I brought them along with me to russia. Handy when I was sitting beside a nice young lady that knew zero english. Just point and ask through the book and go with it. Was entertaining for the 3 hours of fly time.

Laptop....well..unless you are made of money I would not take one. Not that there is anything speial about them. But all the flights I had to deal with had a 20kg restriction (interpreted freely by whoever is working at the desk that day). Plus even some airlines are charging substantial fees for any overweights due to the fuel price spike from the Katrina disaster. My opinion is travel light (but sensible).

I lost my luggage somewhere in russia but I still had a change of clothes and a toothbrush. So I was set and pretty much forced to look like a local =) It took only 2 days of being lost and under some stress to learn how to read the russian langauge. I found I may not know the word but could sound it out. (remember."O" on a store sign means "Open" and "3" means "Closed"...hehe)...and learn how to ask where the bathroom is....only airports had a sign (i think).

Anyways...if you smile and just go be yourself you will do fine. I even got ripped off by a maniac 'taxi driver' (he had no permit I later learned), met Shumacher's Mother (had to be her...who else can drive a bus like that?) and got chased off a sidewalk by a delivery van (Milk Truck even...). Also discovered the car I own can be purchased for 12,000 rubles ($504 Cdn). You know what?

I'd do it all again =)

Oh yeah...language...smile and keep practicing, someone will have fun teaching you over there.

Posted by: Zippo

Trying to be practical, the best way to learn Russian is immersion in the Russian culture, and you may be able to learn survival Russian in a few months. A foreigner could spend a large fortune learning Russian from a paid tutor. The fact is that some American and English speaking students entering the University of Moscow and graduating with the equivilant of a Masters Degree in Russian language comparably will speak on a level lower than a native 7 year old Russian. I speculate that if you want to effectively communicate in Russian it will take a lifetime or more to learn and it would help a lot if you were a mental giant. Most any educated Russian will honestly tell you, that unless you are a gifted linguistic genius a foreign person is looking at a daunting, nerely impossible mental task. There are Russian people who after a lifetime can not speak gramatically correct Russian. English and Russian are completely unrelated languages.
Also, it is always prudent to be careful to find a companion with a good heart and kind soul that will be a true lifelong friend.

Хорошее Везение

Posted by: Ade

Zippo,

Was there a point to your post? He didn't ask what anyone thought about him trying to learn Russian, he was asking the best way to learn.

Ade

Posted by: Jerico

I agree with ADE,
I always here this - (You will never learn proper Russian,you should try some other language.)
Even from my Russian wife a little bit of this talk.
I think it is ridiculous to say that.
Since when do any of us want to learn Russian to a science?
I mean come on

.All I care about is if I can talk to people and can carry a conversation with them.

Of course I dont speak for everyone here.

I always get a laugh from people that think English is so easy of a language to learn.
I am guessing it is like an American guy learning Russian, the same or close to it.
My wife has a masters degree in English as a second language and learned it in Russia years ago.
She is very fluent in the English language but still makes mistakes all the time.( I still love her though

)
She could carry a great conversation in person or on the phone but when watching TV she sometimes has a hard time with the words. I dont fault her for this.
I am just saying that English must be as hard to learn for someone thats does not know the language.This does not mean dont try to learn.
Jerry

Posted by: Skinman569

Well from my experience, 3 visits to Russia for a month each, I found that carrying a english-Russian dictionary is very helpful. I also had some books and cd's that helped with the basic phrases, where is the bathroom etc. But by far the best way to learn is to immerse in the language when you are there. I found I was learning much faster every day, 1st visit I knew no Russian at all, now I can hold short conversations with my wife's parents, but of course she helps me with some words that I have difficulty with. I also found that most every Russian person is rather helpful, and actually enjoys, aiding someone that cant speak the language. You will also find that most of the younger Russians will know some english and want to practice with you. The best thing I learned was the cyrillic alphabet, once you can pronounce the symbols, you can figure out the words pretty easy. Like I say, I am lucky because my wife can speak good english now, of course I had to teach the proper grammar sometimes, they are sometimes taught incorrectly. So in conclusion, finally, there is no quick and easy way, just experience. Hope this helps.

Posted by: RusLessons

Hello, John, and the rest of you

Of course, the best way to learn a foreign language is by having a professional instructor who supervises and guides you in the right direction. However, you shouldn't undermine your own time that you are willing to dedicate to learning the language.

I am a native speaker and a professional instructor. I have eight years of experience teaching foreign languages. For myself, I found that CDs and books are nice to have, but when it comes to actual conversation, nothing can replace a professional instructor who speaks the language and knows the structure of the language.

Several months ago, I started my own company "Russian Online Lessons and Translations" where I offer individualized online lessons for those who are serious about learning Russian language. If you are interested, you are welcome to contact me

Posted by: CuriousGeorge

I have used Rossetta Stone software to teach myself Spanish. It is expensive, but worth it. Amazon.com sells the first volume for Russian at a discounted price of around $165. For more on the software, see www.rosettastone.com. I am currently usingi Pimsleur on Russian from my local library, but I think Rosetta is much better. The software will flash four pictures, pronouce a word, and you click the picture that matches the word. It will test your voice pronouciation, your writing and your reading skills.

Also, I would get a phrasebook, dictionary, grammar book and a self study book like "Russian Course, The New Penguin : A Complete Course for Beginners" (Penguin Handbooks) (Paperback). There are also several listmania guides from readers who have studied Russian on Amazon.com that are very helpful on resources. Just do a search on "Russian Language"

Posted by: Farrel

Totally agree with Khashyar. You've got to be here to start speaking.

I've been here for some months now, only started speaking and understanding when dealing with Russians. First months here i was more often among English-speaking friends and colleagues. Now that I have friends among Russians too - it's much much easier for me to learn the language.

You need to watch news in Russian and films would be good too. Music is hardly very helpful but it will definitely add a dozen words too. Russian radio is very very good to listen to start understanding what people say and how they say it.

Good luck, it is hard but it'll pay off i'm sure.

Posted by: disclaswsu

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuriousGeorge

Also, I would get a phrasebook, dictionary, grammar book and a self study book like "Russian Course, The New Penguin : A Complete Course for Beginners" (Penguin Handbooks) (Paperback). There are also several listmania guides from readers who have studied Russian on Amazon.com that are very helpful on resources. Just do a search on "Russian Language"

While my goal for learning Russian is different from other folks on this website (I am only interested in being able translate documents and perhaps write in Russian), I found A Complete Course for Beginners good for learning vocabulary. However, I found the grammar part a little confusing. Teach Your Self Russian by Daphne West is good for the grammar because she is direct and gives you formulas to help you remember the rules.
I have noticed the materials I have looked for learning Russian seem to be produced by British firms. Is this perception well founded or is it just my imagination?

Posted by: GreenBarb

I use the Oxford University Press "Take off in Russian". They slowly introduce the grammer through out the programme. You get your book and 4 CDs to practice with. But you cannot beat the hands on approach af a Russian Teacher and I have been blessed as my local school has a Language course in Russian with a Russian teacher from ST. Petersburg.

Posted by: RusLessons

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