Russian lessons near you: at home, at work, or online
Did you know that there are around 156 million people in the world that speak Russian? This makes it one of the most widespread languages in the world, and as you can imagine, if you become a proficient Russian speaker, you’ll be able to access amazing opportunities in the UK and abroad. These include better-paid job positions in important companies, the chance to live and get by in Russia, and the ability to connect with the large community of Russian speakers who live in the UK. What’s more, learning Russian will help you get closer to the fascinating Russian culture, and immerse in its fascinating art, history and traditions. If you happen to be a complete beginner and don’t know how to start learning Russian, take a look at this short guide and find everything you need to know to take the first step to becoming a fluent speaker.
Tips to Master Russian
Want to become bilingual fast? Then take a look at the following learning tips and recommendations and start working on your skills!
Learn the Cyrillic Alphabet Early On
One of the first things you need to do in your journey to fluency is to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Doing this can seem intimidating at first, but you’ll soon discover that mastering this alphabet is not as hard as it sounds, since some of its letters are pretty similar to the ones we’re used to in English. The main reasons why it’s so important for you to learn this alphabet early on is that some of the sounds in Russian are difficult to convey only by using transliterations, as they don’t exist in the English language, like the sound in the letter Ы. On top of helping you understand Russian sounds, learning the alphabet is essential to read most learning resources that are intermediate or higher, so make sure you memorise it as quickly as you can using flashcards, mnemonics or any memorising tool you prefer.
Find Language Partners
In order to become a proficient speaker, you need to practise your conversational skills as much as you can from day one. To do this, the smartest thing you can do is to find a teacher with whom you can speak every week, but if you haven’t found one yet, you should look for native speakers that are willing to help you boost your skills in exchange for you helping them with their English. To do this, you can go on free websites like Meetup and Interpals, or look for local language exchange events that are held in the town or city where you live.
Immerse in Russian Culture
One of the most interesting parts of learning this captivating language is to immerse in Russian culture. There are plenty of ways you can do this, like watching Russian shows on Netflix, listening to podcasts that have native hosts, or reading interesting authors like Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. Whatever you choose, just make sure you do it often, and this will ensure you become familiarised with the way the Russians see the world, and help you understand most cultural references you might hear when talking to natives.
Resources to Learn Russian Online for Free
Nowadays, there are plenty of free resources you can find online to learn your first words in Russian and start to understand the logic behind this beautiful language. In case you don’t know any, here’s a list of some useful apps and websites you can start using right now.
• Learning a language doesn’t need to be time-consuming, in fact, even if you only have fifteen minutes or half an hour every day to devote to studying Russian, you can still make progress by using language apps. There are plenty you can try, but some of our top picks include Memrise, Duolingo, Drops and Mondly, as they all have plenty of free content you can enjoy, and are excellent tools you can use to learn the Russian alphabet and understand basic Russian grammar.
• If you’re interested in improving your listening skills and expanding your vocabulary, you should start listening to podcasts in Russian. If you’re an absolute beginner, you should start with a show that’s not too overwhelming, like Russian Word of the Day with Kira, which focuses on teaching listeners only one word per episode. On the other hand, if you already speak some Russian and want to listen to native speakers discussing various topics, you should check out podcasts like Paketa: Simple Russian and Arzamas.
• Another way you can learn Russian is to read in the language as much as you can in your free time. To do this, you can check out websites like Learn Russian for Free, where you’ll find plenty of texts with audio and translations for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. If you’re fluent enough to read the newspaper in Russian, you show take a look at websites like Главная - BBC News Русская служба and the independently-minded The Moscow Times (Russian version).
Survival Russian Phrases
Are you getting a visit from a Russian relative or friend anytime soon? If so, you should memorise this list of useful words and phrases that will allow you to have simple conversations with them in their language and make them feel at home in your country.
| English Version | Russian Version | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Hi | Привет | Privet |
| Good morning | Доброе утро | Dobraye utro |
| Good day | Добрый день | Dobriy den’ |
| Good evening | Добрый вечер | Dobriy vecher |
| Thank you | Спасибо | Spasiba |
| You’re welcome | Пожалуйста | Pazhalusta |
| You’re welcome (informal) | Не за что | Ne za shto |
| Sorry/Excuse me | Извините | Izvinite |
| Do you understand English? | Ты понимаешь английский? | Ty ponimayesh’ angliyskiy? |
| I’m delighted to meet you | Я очень рад познакомиться с вами | Ya ochen’ rad poznakomit’sya s vami |
| I’ve heard so much about you | Я очень много слышал о Вас | Ya ochen’ mnogo slyshal o Vas |
| Excuse my poor Russian | Извините за мой плохой русский | Izvinite za moy plokhoy russkiy |
| Goodbye | До свидания | Do svidaniya |
| Bye | Пока | Paka |
With these survival Russian phrases, you’ll be able to have simple conversations with native speakers everywhere in the world, but if your goal is to actually master the language and become a proficient speaker, the smartest thing you can do is to sign up for a Russian course at Listen & Learn. We offer fun, engaging lessons that are completely personalised to our student’s language goals and interests, so whether you want a course that focuses on Business Russian because you want to take your career to the next level, or you want to develop language skills that allow you to get by in Russia, send us an enquiry today, and we’ll help you find something that fits all of your requirements.