Listening and understanding When you talk about speaking, you mean conversation, right? You say something, and another person says something. You listen to the person and viceyou respond, and vice versa. To be able to understand, you need practice listening. Listening corresponds to speaking, I already told you when we were talking about speaking that … Continue reading Listening, Speaking, and Understanding →

Study in class You can find classes, private lessons in person, lessons online (via Skype and other programs). It is not so easy to find group lessons. Check your local Orthodox churches and see if they offer something that you can attend. Also check the local newspapers or website where people advertise their services. The … Continue reading Study in Class and Online →

As I mentioned above, learning a language is a self-teaching process. You might need a teacher to help you, to give you an idea or direction, a little bit of explanation or correction. You don’t need to have a native speaker as a teacher. It is not always good. Some non-native speakers are even better … Continue reading Self-Studies vs. Learning with a Teacher →

Set your goal. Ask yourself why are you learning? It is not enough just to say, “I want to learn the language.” Any language is a big and complicated subject. It is too big and scary even to look at. Please determine what you want: Do you want read books by Leo Tolstoy in their … Continue reading Before You Start →

Like any other language-studies learning, Russian is a self-study. Like riding a bicycle or swimming, you must do it yourself. You can have the best swimming instructor, but it won’t help till you jump into the water and swim. The same applies here: You need to practice and memorize by yourself. Like any other language-studies … Continue reading What to Expect →