10 Ways To Learn Russian The Easy Way

Russian is considered one of the hardest languages to learn for foreign learners. This article will show you how to learn the language in a more straightforward, more manageable manner. 

Language difficulty is not as straightforward as black-and-white. Some languages are just destined to be more difficult than others, depending on your native tongue.  But if there’s a language that seems to be consistently popping on every list of challenging languages to learn, that would be Russian. There’s no doubt that a lot of language learners are aware of this language’s difficultly. But this doesn’t mean you can’t make the learning experience more manageable. 

Like any other language in the world, learning a new one is always rough from the start. It’s especially more challenging in languages like Russian. Some learners don’t have the patience to persist and leaves after a few months. Others would be happy just to know basic phrases and curse words to get on. Although learning basic words is an easy way to kickstart your Russian study, it might not be enough to reach the mastery level you want. 

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t speed up your learning experience and cut the time. Most people ask about how to learn Russian fast. But the right question to ask is actually, “how to learn Russian the easy way. Here are ten easy ways to get your Russian proficiency on top. 

Should You Learn Russian? 

The Russian language has more than 150 million speakers all around the world. It is one of the widely-spoken languages in the world today. But because of its intimidating nature as a difficult language to learn, some people choose easier languages like Spanish or Portuguese. Learning Russian is a good idea if the following reasons apply to you. 

If You’re Working Or Living In Russian Countries

Just like in the US, Russians rarely have other languages used except their native tongue. Minority languages (such as Chechen, Ukrainian, or Tatar) are only spoken by 3% of the population.  If you plan on building a career or start a new life in a Russian country, learning their language is almost a requirement.

If You’re A Scholar In A Russian School

Russia’s top schools belong to the QS Brics Top Schools ranking as of 2019. Some of these schools are Lomonosov Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, and Novosibirsk State University. Students who are planning to get an education in these academic institutions are recommended to learn Russian. 

If You Want To Be An Astronaut

When it comes to space facilities, NASA, ESA, JAXA, CSA, and the Russian Space Agency share tons of resources and training grounds. If you want to train in Russian space facilities, you are expected to operate their machines and talk to ground supervisors. Additionally, you will always have a Russian astronaut companion in the International Space Station.

If You Want To Learn A New Language

Are you getting bored or feeling stagnant in learning a new language? Maybe you want to have that same passion you once had in becoming a polyglot? Or perhaps, you just want a significant challenge to exercise your noggins. If you answer any of these questions with “yes,” then you might want to take up the challenge of learning the Russian language. 

If You Love The Russian Culture

Nothing can make you appreciate Russian culture more than learning their language. It’s one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the culture and all that it has to offer. Another appealing thing about it is the access to numerous Russian texts, videos, or music that you cannot enjoy if you don’t know how to speak the language. 

Self-Learning Russian: Is It Doable? 

Whether you’re learning online or via offline materials, self-learning a language is quite hard. It can also take a few weeks, depending on what kind of language you already know. You need the right focus and dedication to be able to learn on your own. For those who will learn the Russian language basics on their own, here are things that might trip you unexpectedly while learning. 

The Cyrillic Alphabet

Getting expertise in the Russian language means knowing how to read and write in Cyrillic. At first glance, the alphabet is quite confusing, indeed. But here’s something that might motivate you: almost half of the Cyrillic alphabet is actually similar or close to Latin (a.k.a. The alphabet that most languages use). 

Grammar Rules

It’s true that Russian nouns have three genders, three tenses, two verb aspects, and six cases, among other grammatical rules. However, unlike the English language (which can have many exceptions), Russian sentences are always structured similarly. If you know the grammar rules, creating sentences is a piece of cake. 

Pronunciation

Did you know that Russian pronunciation is actually easier than English? This is because the vowels in use will always sound the same, whatever the word is. There is no read-read and lead-lead situation. What you should be aware of, however, is the existence of palatalization in Russian. 

To reach higher-level Russian language proficiency, skipping conversations with a tutor or a native speaker is not recommended. But if you really want to learn the language on your own, you can start with the basics and polish your skills before moving on to another level. Here are ten easy ways to learn Russian (which also applies to self-taught polyglots). 

10 Easy Ways To Learn Russian (For Beginners)

1. Get To Know The Cyrillic Alphabet

The Cyrillic is not the most exciting thing to learn in your first weeks of learning Russian. But upon learning these early on, you can speed up your learning process. If you know how the Cyrillic alphabet works, you can incorporate Russian sounds and phonology easier and faster. Not to mention that letters like A, M, O, E, and K do look and sound the same as their Latin counterparts. 

2. Learn The Basic Phrases First

Have you ever wonder why we learn English by reading children’s stories rather than Shakespearian literature? That’s because basic phrases help a lot in grasping grammatical rules and vocabulary. You need to have a somehow good understanding of simple expressions to be able to dissect more complex ones. Learning starts in simpler, smaller things. This is also true for languages. 

3. Focus On The Case System Early On

Let’s admit it, not a lot of people in the world know what a “case” is. In its simplest definition, a case is how certain words change depending on their place and use in a sentence. There are six cases in Russian that are used in daily conversations. These cases will vary depending on the gender of the noun (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Cases are one of the things in which practice makes perfect, but knowing what to practice makes things easier over time. 

4. Don’t Stress Too Much On Vocabulary

The thing about Russian words is that it can change based on their cases and genders. It’s okay to pick up essential words and things that can make you express yourself a lot better. In reality, the cases will do the job of shaping up your vocabulary game. In fact, you might want to polish your knowledge in the Nominative Case (one of the cases in Russian) so that you can learn the words in their basic form. 

5. Try To Work With Online Tutor

An online tutor will help in pointing out bad habits that you do while practicing Russian. You can grasp what cases you should be focusing on and what words are being misused in each case. Another benefit of having an online tutor is that you can ask him or her to practice with you in a realistic day-to-day setting. Not like examples given by app-learning sites nowadays. 

6. Get Immersed Into Russian Media

For a more entertaining way to learn, another option is to get immersed in Russian media. Whether it’s the highest-grossing movies, most awaited series, and even Russian YouTube channels. Language learning is not all about pronouncing words and learning how to construct a proper sentence. You would also need to listen and learn how to pronounce words properly. And there’s nothing more entertaining and fun way to do so but by immersing yourself with Russian media. 

7. Use Resources That Fits Your Learning Style

Another pitfall that some Russian language learners encounter is using bad or mediocre resources. There are popular apps and websites that offer standardized learning, which might not be very effective for everyone. Additionally, not all learners appreciate long-text or extremely short text explanations of a topic. 

Apps are good for learning new words and alphabets. But for cases, sentence structure, and using gendered nouns, a native tutor is a preferable option. Use the best resources that had worked for you before for a more efficient and easier learning experience. 

8. Listen To Local Pronunciations

Input learning is not the only thing needed for proficiency. Even if you read the whole “War and Peace” book, it cannot improve other areas of the Russian language, like pronunciations. Similarly, using videos and audio to learn pronunciation will not improve your spelling.

Input and output learning is more effective when you want to reach the conversational Russian level. There’s nothing wrong with talking with locals and making mistakes. Remember: in language, the more mistakes you make, the faster you learn.  

9. Use Russian If You Have The Chance

Whether it’s just making a simple comment on social media, saying little greetings, or just catching up with the news. Don’t pass out opportunities that allow you to use Russian in real life. With this method, you can improve all the aspects of Russian learning: from writing to listening, pronouncing words, and expressing yourself. 

If you lack resources or practice partners, you can use a technique called Speech Shadowing. It’s a method in which the learner will repeat saying a word, phrase, or sentence after hearing it. Take note: Speech Shadowing is usually a hit or miss because it is still experimental. But if it does work for you, it does work great. 

10. Language Exchange

In a language exchange, you will teach lessons about your native language to someone. In return, this person will also teach you everything about his or her native language. If you found a native Russian that wants to learn your language, grab the opportunity for a language exchange. Learning with someone is preferably more efficient and fun. 

Do You Want to Learn Russian With Native Speakers? Join Us Now!

Do you want a Russian study partner but you can’t find one? You can book our native Russian tutors and start learning today. If you’re unsure whether online learning is a good fit for you, try Justlearn’s free session.