A Good Russian Accent?

[bhv.livejournal.com]

One well known way to memorize things is to make a picture in your mind that associates the new material with something familiar using action and illogic. The more preposterous, colorful and racy the picture is, the easier it will be to remember.

For learning a language some words lend themselves to this approach better than others. For example the Russian word for cow is karova. The Unforgettable Languages web site points out that if you make a vivid picture of a car running over a cow, that suddenly it's very easy to remember the right word.

My question for readers here is this. Does this guy have an good educated Russian accent? Also does anyone know of any other Russian programs that use this approach? I got the CD in the mail today and while I think it will be worth what I paid for it, many of the suggested pictures aren't as good as they should be.

Complete beginner!

[naamah-dust.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I have decided to learn Russian after years of enjoying C19th Russian literature and music, as well as a fantastic trip to Moscow and St Petersberg a few years back.

But! Although I am generally a quick learner in other aspects I have never been very proficient at languages!

I have a self-teach course to start with and I have enrolled on an intensive course in Russia itself in September - in the meantine I wonder if anyone could offer some advice :-

1) As a linguistic dumbo, should I start with written or spoken Russian?

2) Are there any UK resident here? I live in central London and have seen newsagents nearby that sell Russian magazines and papers - does anyone know of any Russian communities in London that would welcome a learner?

3) To complicate things further, at the moment I actually live in Belgium (a town called Hasselt) where I will be for another 3 months - I don't suppose anyone knows of any Russian communities there (a long shot I know!)

Many thanks!

Nim