Russian learning strategies

For Learners: The Top 10 Russian Learning Strategies

RussianNEW42Hey Junkies!

Let’s talk about Russian learning strategies. There is one great strategy that you’ll see here again and again. It’s reviewing. And it comes in many forms. So, today, you’re going to learn the top 10 Russian learning strategies (be sure to add your own in the comments so we can make this a top 20 list!).

These will help you speak, read, and understand Russian better.

Now, reading advice is one thing. Any dummy can do that. Putting it to use is another. So let’s get to it.

  • You’ll learn Russian learning strategies.
  • You’ll learn how to read & say them in Russian (which means you learn even more Russian). Cyrillic, Romanization, Translations.
  • Feel free to print this out for your own review.

1. Listen and read along to understand Russian better.

  • Слушайте и читайте вместе, чтобы понять русский язык лучше.
  • Slushaite i chitaite vmeste, chtoby ponyat’ russkiy lutshe.

This my favorite Russian learning strategy.

Russian learning strategies

It’s one of the fastest ways to improve your reading, understand and speaking skills. And boosting grammar and vocab. All at the same damn time.

Sounds too good to be true… but it’s not so easy. Why? To make it possible – you absolutely need the text of the audio that you can read along with while you listen to an audio lesson. Most resources won’t give that to you. That’s why it’s not so easy to do.

Here’s an example from my favorite Russian learning site – RussianPod101 – where you can listen and read along.

russianpod101 lesson

Why does it work so well?

  • For Reading
    • Simply put, reading is a lot easier when you can follow along with audio. You can also read faster if you practice again and again.
  • Comprehension and Understanding.
    • You understand which word is which with the audio.
    • You get instant translations and instantly know what you’re reading.
    • Grammar comes a lot easier as you see it in action.
  • For Speaking & Pronunciation

    • If you read out loud – and do it again and again, you can speak faster.
    • Hearing the pronunciation helps yours.

2. Record your voice and compare your pronunciation with native Russian speakers.

  • Запишите свой голос и сравнитe своё произношение с носителей русского языка.
  • Zapishite svoi golos i sravnite svoyo proiznosheniye s nositelyami russkogo yazyka.

Russian learning strategies

Highly uncommon advice. However, if you record your Russian speaking… and compare it with a native speaker… you will INSTANTLY hear the difference. The result? You adjust yourself and you speak better Russian.

Screen Shot 2015-08-24 at 12.48.16 AM

If you do this… this strategy that will make you sound BETTER than any self-learner. How would you know how bad you sound… if you’ve never heard and compared yourself, huh?

Great for perfecting your Russian pronunciation.

3. Download dialog tracks and listen to the Russian conversations.

  • Скачайте аудио-диалоги и слушайте русскую речь.
  • Skachaite audio-dialogi i slushaite russkuyu rech’.

Russian learning strategies

Imagine cycling through flashcards. You learn words or phrases.

That’s nice…. but empty. Words are just words.

Now Imagine having a playlist of Russian conversations & lessons on your iPhone. Just Russian. No English. You can listen and re-listen and listen until real Russian conversations are stuck in your head.

playlist

The magic here to is to re-listen many times over. I always add new lessons to my iPhone music playlist. Then, I’ll re-listen (and try to repeat) several times a day. Sometimes I pay attention and check every word, other times, I just listen to refresh myself.

4. Repeat the phrases that you hear out loud again and again.

  • Повторяйте фразы, которые вы услышите снова и снова вслух.
  • Povtoryajte frazy, kotorye vy uslyshite snova i snova vsluh.

Russian learning strategies

Why repeat? Well, in order to speak Russian…. you must open your mouth, push some air out of your throat, emit sounds and… SPEAK Russian.

Repetition is the mother of all learning for a reason. It’s how brainwashing is done. It’s how marketing works on you. And it’s how people master a language. If you repeat a phrase once, or twice, you’re kidding yourself.

5. Review old lessons to master them completely.

  • Просмотрите старые уроки чтобы освоить их полностью.
  • Prosmotrite starye uroki chtoby osvoit’ ih polnost’yu.

Russian learning strategies

As soon as people are done with something… they move on. Finished an App? Move on. Finished a video lesson or work book? Move on.

The magic to fluency is in reviewing (again, repetition). Noone remembers things on their first try. Or second. But with enough reviews – you’ll be mastering Russian.

6. Stay motivated by tracking your learning progress

  • Не теряй мотивицию отслеживания прогресс в обучении.
  • Ne teryai motivatsiyu otslezhivaya progress v obuchenii.

Russian learning strategies

How many Russian words do you know? How long can you speak Russian for… – 5 minutes, 10 minutes? You should know the answers to these questions.

russianpod101 dashboard

By tracking your progress and knowing how much you know… you become invested in the language. Imagine, what if you knew 500 Russian words and phrases. That’s a lot. That tells you that you can get to 520, 550, 600. And soon enough, 800. It goes on.

This is great for motivation.

If you sign up at RussianPod101, you can track your progress (lessons, hours, flashcards, % of series completed) with the Dashboard as shown above.

7. Read lines slowly at first. Then re-read and increase your speed.

  • Сначала читайте строки медленно. Затем, перечитывая, увеличивайте скорость.
  • Snachala chitaite stroki medlenno. Zatem, perechityvaya, uvelichivaite skotost’.

Russian learning strategies

This is reviewing as well. However, THIS is what helped me read FAST and speak FAST. Any new sentence I started – I started reading slow. Then, I’d read it a little faster.

Then a little faster.

Then, I could read it with a single glance. At the same time, you familiarize yourself with more words and phrases. This makes future reading easier.

This is great with any reading material you choose. Textbooks. Audiobooks. Audio Lessons with scripts.

8. Set small and measurable learning goals with a deadline.

  • Поставьте перед собой небольшие и выполняемые цели обучения с крайними сроками.
  • Postav’te pered soboi nebol’shie i vypolnimye tseli obucheniya s krainimi srokami.

Russian learning strategies

Why?

  • Small: It’s realistic enough to do it. Most people fail at Russian because they SET hard, vague goals. Easy goals are easy (duh), very reachable and give you confidence to keep going when you reach one. Here are some examples:
    • learn 100 words in 1 week
    • learn the Russian alphabet in 1 week
    • finish 1 chapter of your textbook this week
  • Measurable: So you know if you reached it our not. If your goal is to learn 100 words – either you know 100 words or not. Either you finished 1 chapter this week or not. Done. No arguments.
  • Deadline: Believe me – nothing in school or in the working world gets done WITHOUT a deadline. If there was no deadline, nobody would do anything. Set your deadlines – by when do you plan to accomplish your small goal?

When will you learn Russian?

Set a deadline!

9. Try harder lessons to challenge yourself and improve faster.

  • Пытайтесь выполнять сложные уроки, чтобы бросить вызов самому себе и совершенствоваться быстрее.
  • Pytaites’ vypolnyat’ slozhnye uroki, chtoby brosit’ vyzov samomu sebe i sovershenstvovat’sya bystree.

Russian learning strategies

Do you know what people do at the gym to get stronger?

They lift heavier weights.

Know how you can improve your Russian? Try lessons that are too hard for you. Yes, you will struggle. You will feel discomfort.

However, struggling is a sign that you’re improving. See, most people don’t get this because its uncomfortable. It feels bad. But if you can understand that – when it “feels bad,” that’s when you’re learning – you’ll be much more open to struggle.

10. Improve your listening skills by reviewing each line of the conversation with the Line-by-Line Audio tool.

  • Совершенствуйте свои навыки аудирования, прослушивая каждую строку диалога вместе с подстрочным аудио помощником.
  • Sovershenstvujte svoi navyki audirovaniya, proslushivaya kazhduyu stroku dialoga vmeste s podstrochnym audio pomoshchnikom.

Russian learning strategies

What’s the line by line?

It’s an interesting tool (that really should be it’s own app & learning method) over at RussianPod101.com. Basically, it breaks down the entire Russian conversation … line by line.. so you can read each line – in Russian or with English translations. And you can listen to each line, again and again as you read.

voice recorder

Very effective for understanding a Russian conversation 100%.

So, what are your thoughts?

What are your favorite Russian learning strategies? Let’s make a HUGE master list of strategies for new learners.

Add yours in the comments and I will add it to this list.

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for Russian learners. If you REALLY want to learn to Russian with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at RussianPod101 (click here) and start learning!RussianNEW42

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Oscar

FIVE times you mention RussianPod101 in your text. I mean, c’mon. Please let us make up our own mind. Don’t force feed us.