There are a few tools that can help you to read the words correctly. Most of the time the problem is not reading. It is actually much easier to read Russian than English, for example, but what about the emphasis? Where should it be in the word бабушка, for example? Is the first A stressed? Or the letter У? Maybe the last A? The correct answer is that the first letter A is stressed — бАбушка.
When you hear the word, it is easier to remember where to put the emphasis. You hear and you repeat.
Listening and repeating is an easier way to memorize the words. It is very natural. We are born to be able to speak and to listen. To tell the truth, reading and writing skills are less natural. A person must be trained to read or write. One hundred years ago, most of the people were just illiterate.
Because listening and repeating are more natural, if you can, try to listen to the words first and then repeat them. You should only go and read the word after that. I understand that most of time this method is not possible. Most of the time we receive new words from the written sources: textbooks, books, letters, articles, you name it.
