To become proficient in Russian, you either have to have an outstanding memory or, at the very least, be willing to bury your head in the books for years. Right? Well, not quite. You don't have to be the next Leo Tolstoy. All you need is a specific set of learning
methods.
I’d like to share a few strategies that helped me in learning English. They’ll be just as useful for any learner of Russian.
Make your study meaningful and learn in context
No matter what specific motivations for learning Russian you have: be it family roots, a desire to travel to Russia or an interest in Russian literature, history, music, film or art, not only will you be proud of your achievements but also much more driven to take initiative and persevere.
Say you’re travelling to Russia in 3 months, that’s enough time to learn the alphabet and some conversational Russian to be able to read a menu and order food in the restaurant where the locals go. A good idea here is to pick up travel books. Such books offer key phrases and words along with some grammatical overviews that are great when you have very little time to study.
Immerse yourself in the language and make things visual
When it comes to Russian culture, we’re truly spoilt for choice, and its influence is felt throughout the world. You don't have to live in Russia, to enjoy music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, reflect on thought-provoking books by Fyodor Dostoevsky (best read in the original language), appreciate films by Andrey Zvyagintsev or eat borscht in a Russian restaurant. Living in London, I’m lucky to be able to do all of these things. In fact, this is how I like to teach my students - taking our lessons out of the classroom and into the real world for a bit of fun.
A further technique you can use is to visualise with your mind’s eye. This is all about connecting a visual image to the word you're trying to learn. Say you want to learn the word ‘’МОРЕ’’ (mórye), which is the Russian word for ‘’sea’’. You can repeat it 20 times to remember, but if you do it for every word, it will take you weeks before you can manage a single sentence. A better way to remember ‘’МОРЕ’’, is to think of an evocative image that you will never forget. Since ‘’МОРЕ’’ sounds like amore, a universally recognised Italian word for love, you might imagine a couple sitting by the sea watching the sunset. Such an image will help the word quickly stick in your mind.
Set small specific goals
Unless you’re Dmitri Mendeleev who in his dream organised chemical elements into a logical way, today known as the Periodic Table, you can’t rely on such eureka moments in real life. Learning breakthroughs come from breaking up larger goals into smaller achievable targets over time, instead of trying to learn everything in one sitting. Your brain needs these breaks to store new information more efficiently.
When you’re just starting out with Russian, your first target will be to learn the alphabet. This Russian Alphabet online course will be helpful for absolute beginners. You will start reading your first Russian words within minutes of beginning this course. Your second target can be putting words into sentences to kick off your conversational Russian so you can order a coffee and a honey cake next time you’re in a coffee shop in St. Petersburg. You would then need to continue building up your vocabulary, saving grammar for when you’re ready.
Learning Russian doesn't have to take years of hard work and dull grammar lessons. It can be pretty easy if you know how. Follow these strategies and gain direct access to a new culture, a new way of seeing the world and yourself in it.
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Clean design of the website. Easy to understand instructions.