Russian learning tools?

[l8on.livejournal.com]

Hi all, from a new guy. I'm a 22 y.o. Grad Student in school in Orlando, FL. I joined this community a week or two back after making a decision that I hate being mono-lingual and that I don't want this to continue. :) I've had years of Spanish and none of it ever really "stuck with me" so I decided I'd like to learn Russian. The reason being? Well, a) it's an official language of the U.N., and on the same level, b) it's spoken by the citizens of the biggest country in the world. 140 million people, or somewhere in that range I think?

Anyway, after browsing this community a little, I've seen multiple suggestions for learning tools for newbies to the Russian language, except one I think. Have I overlooked any of you all's input on The Rosetta Stone lanugage software? I've read good things (reviewing their website which looks quite though and very detailed-- always a good thing) but I'd love to hear some input from anyone else in this community if they have any experience with it. :)

Also... I don't think I saw something on this either: (forgive me if I overlooked this too but) could anyone suggest any audio-based Russian learning programs? For instance, on CD, so I could listen/study at the same time in my car?

Thank you very much to anyone for any assistance you can offer.

Comments

[oleposya.livejournal.com]

b) it's spoken by the citizens of the biggest country in the world. 140 million people, or somewhere in that range I think

hey - if this is a case - you better learn chinese...
http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Population/population-total.html
With a population exceeding already 1 300 000 000 hearts, the priority of the government is to limit that one to 1 400 000 000 inhabitants about the year 2020

Okay, now I feel stupid...

[l8on.livejournal.com]

I meant in Eurasia. Sorry about that. I feel really silly now. :)

But actually...

[l8on.livejournal.com]

Now that I think about it, it is the biggest country in the world, in land area, that is. :) Maybe not as many people as China though.

Audio programs

[bhv.livejournal.com]

I chose to learn Russian for many of the same reasons.

The Pimsleur cassettes or CD's are almost entirely audio. I find my time with them in the car to be worthwhile and a very good use of drive time, but not as effective as my study time when I'm not driving.

I've also looked at Rosetta Stone software, and even tried their demo. Hopefully someone who bought it and is using it will post a comment.

[squodge.livejournal.com]

1. Check out Pimsleur Russian. This is an audio course which concentrates on speaking and understanding. It will not teach you to read much Russian, and even less writing. But I would definitely recommend you use this first. You do one lesson a day, each lesson being 30 minutes long. And there are 30 lessons to each level, there being 3 levels. So altogether, there are 90 lessons (45 hours), which should take a dedicated learner 3 months to master. By the end of the course, you should be able to speak and understand at roughly the same fluency as someone who's spent 7 years learning Russian thoroughly (i.e. speaking, understanding, reading, and writing). I would say it's worth ditching literacy in favour of speech. Think about it: "How often do you actually write English formally?"

2. Use The Rosetta Stone Russian (there are 2 levels) to build on what you've learned through Pimsleur. I'd recommend starting on The Rosetta Stone once you've completed Pimsleur Russian 1 (and of course carry on with Levels 2 & 3 of Pimsleur Russian).

3. Once you complete both the Pimsleur and The Rosetta Stone, I'd recommend a more traditional course like Linguaphone or equivalent - these courses are designed to get you to almost native-level fluency.

4. GOOD LUCK ^__^

~ squodge ~

Making this stick...

[bhv.livejournal.com]

I usually will listen to a Pimsleur 30 minute lesson three to four times before I feel that I have gotten at least 80% of the material and am ready for the next lesson. If you have any suggestions on making the lessons stick with fewer repetitions I would appreciate it.

[squodge.livejournal.com]

P.S. Congratulations on choosing Russian... once you gain good literacy, there's a wealth of literature out there waiting for you to exploit it! Although any of the Chinese languages would also open a whole new world of literature to you - there are classics going back more than 2000 years!

~ squodge ~

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Having taken many a course on the aquisition of Russian as a foreign language, I just can't comprehend how tapes alone can get a person to native like fluency.

I'd be interested to see how the lessons on tape are divided up, and just how much emphasis is based on grammar. The grammar structure in Russian is damned complicated for English speakers. There are so many rules, and so many exceptions to those rules, that I have trouble seeing how that can all be covered by listening to a tape. Learning Russian to the point of relative fluency is a pretty big time commitment. Hell, I've taken intensive Russian courses for the last four years and lived in the country for a year, but my grammar is still far from stellar (Not that my English grammar is all that much to speak of). My Russian is still nowhere close to native proficciency. This is not to say that the tapes are useless, or that you should give up on Russian. Keep at it, but you're probably going to need more than an audio course to get you to the level you want to be at.


Feel free to correct me on this point. I have never used a taped course myself, and therefore cannot speak for its actual results.

[wretched-girl.livejournal.com]

I use Rosetta Stone. I rather like it, but it doesn't do much for grammar...I guess that part comes later.