How to Learn Russian Philadelphia PA

Steps

1. Learn the Cyrillic alphabet quickly by: Learning vowels, which are similar to Spanish vowels in sound, and listening to and repeating a recorded tape of all the possible syllables while reading them.
2. Practice reading small then larger words, syllable by syllable. Break the words into syllables, then repeat them all together.
3. Get a good book that explains grammar simply and study it.
4. Find a quick reference fold-out chart for Russian grammar and consult it frequently.
5. Learn nouns first. This will give you a base on which to learn more. Learn the rules in determining which gender it is: male, female, neuter.
6. Always find where the emphasis is put in a word, as this will change the pronunciation, and often the meaning, of the word.
7. Learn adjectives next, to describe the nouns.
8. Start learning verbs, in the original, infinitive, case:
   • Ex: to run, to see
9. Learn the 6 cases for nouns and adjectives. Memorize the patterns for changing words. There IS in general an order to it. You may learn the cases in this order to make it easier:
   • nominative (the original case)
   • accusative (mostly direct objects)
   • dative (from the Russian word "dat" meaning "to give," mainly carries the meaning "to": "to him it is cold," "give the book to me")
   • genitive (often "of" as in "the book of Petr," and in other instances)
   • prepositional (used with one of several prepositions, mainly to show location, ex: "in the house," "on the floor")
   • instrumental (mainly the instrument, or method, by which something is done)
10. Learn the present tense forms for verbs: 1st - 3rd person, singular and plural, 6 forms.
11. Learn the past tense of verbs, which change according to gender.
12. Practice verbs with nouns and adjectives.
13. Try adverbs, which describe verbs. These are mostly adjectives with an "o" ending.
14. Continue to learn vocabulary.
15. Learn the future tense of verbs.
16. Practice simple sentences when you are visiting the CIS or in a Russian store.
17. Continue to speak and especially study the complex grammar. There is a pattern and it IS possible to learn.
18. Continue to study the many other sentence parts. This how-to has covered the first steps.

Tips

• Live or visit Russia, or any other Russian-speaking country.
• Learn Cyrillic first, do not use the inaccurate transliterations.
• Speak with natives.
• Get a Russian channel on your TV from a satellite dish network. Or find a Russian radio station on your radio or via the internet.
• Get a book with recordings, not a listen-only CD.
• Check iTunes for a podcast on learning Russian.
• Practice writing in Russian - notes to yourself, minutes in a meeting - anything!
• If your conversation partner switches to English, continue speaking in Russian, eventually he or she will take the hint.

Warnings

• Some letters are spoken differently when spoken unemphasised. For example, 'o' becomes 'a' without an accent over the o (Note: accents are not usually written in common usage), 'v' becomes 'f'.
• You will not learn Russian well by just listening to CDs without anything written.
• Major commercial products generally teach only a small fraction of the vocabulary and provide only a small amount of the practice you will need to be conversationally fluent in Russian. Writing, chatting, and speaking on a regular basis, are necessary to build fluency.
• About advertisements that state a product is used by employees of the State Department or CIA. Like you, these employees are free to purchase any product they wish, and in some cases they may be eligible for reimbursement for purchased educational products. Do not read into these advertisements that the CIA or State Department endorses these products, or expects fluency to result from using these products.
• Relationships generally are built around a single language. A married couple, for example, that speaks English in the home, does not switch later to Russian. Adoptive parents, that want to preserve their childs native language, which they themselves don't speak in the home, do not preserve that language. Languages are not co-equal, one usually forms a dominance. Because of the popularity of 'language exchange' websites, its important to understand the implications of this phenomena. If you and your language partner become true friends, you will eventually settle upon a preferred language, which you will use exclusively. If your language partner is learning English, his goal, and expectation, is that the language will become English. Your goal, should be to make that language Russian.

Things You'll Need

• Russian-English Dictionary
• A book that simplifies grammar
• A fold-out reference chart
• Patience with the grammar
• A sympathetic person with whom to speak

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