[The Fantasist]

Nice. If I was you I would use the few weeks before commencement to learn how to recognise the masculine neuter and feminine nouns. It should only take you a couple of days to nail it but will make class much easier if you have the rule down in your head before you begin. It's going to be interesting seeing how far you can get in 20 lessons from a zero understanding starting point. I think you will be surprised at just how conversational you can get.

Good luck.

[jimukr104]

"Pimsleur is good for explaining certain topics, such as possession which is handled in a completely different manner in Russian."

Actually, Pimsleur is the best I have found for conversation. Rosetta stone is the best software program but not worth the price tag. pimsleur wil lactually teach you the basics of conversing then afterwards you can use a dictionary,textbook, etc to add more vocabulary. Going to school will not teach you anything about talking. I had a 6 credit class back in college. Thats level 1 and 2, most schools only go to level 3. In NYC Hunter college has a Slavic language dept. I learned no more than I learned in my mandatory 6 years of Spanish study. I can say 2 lines in Spanish.
I of course picked up more vocabulary and slang from family and local friends in America.I have Michael Thomas. Heard good things about it, but i heard the Russian might be a little different.
Unless you attend a local FSU university program or have intensive tutoring , I would stick with Pimsleur.
I do not know about Russia, but it seems from reports that showing you know some Russian does not win many points in Ukraine BUT if you are in the Western part, even 2-3 sentences in Ukrainian looks good. I believe Roosh found this out. The reason I think is that unless you are fluent its not easy to really have complex conversation. They seem to have little patience and get TIRED. Another point Roosh brings up , and he is on the money here ,is that even women who know basic English are often reluctant to speak it. They will rather walk away than be embarrassed.That use to happen 10 years ago also.
If you get into one of the FSU program of intensive language I think you might learn a lot. This is how the Turks, Nigerians learn.I think a year of study use to cost like 1k. Maybe you can enroll for shorter time?

[presidentcarter]

A Ukrainian girl (from Odessa) told me that Ukrainian language is usually associated with peasant type people and that everyone young that are in cities speak Russian and English...for what that's worth.

[jimukr104]

(12-19-2012 02:40 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  

A Ukrainian girl (from Odessa) told me that Ukrainian language is usually associated with peasant type people and that everyone young that are in cities speak Russian and English...for what that's worth.

Yes that is TRUE, but not in Western Ukraine. Russian is spoken in the eastern part, plus Odessa. In Kiev they speak a mix since the patriotic movement. In non industrial villages in Eastern Ukraine you might hear Ukrainian mixed in.
English?
Very few people speak English. I would say in Kiev it is 30%, lviv it is 25% .
Eastern large cities 10%-15%. Kharkov probably has a higher % in the over 30 age group due to medical research ,engineering, and scientific community there.These percentages mostly include girls who speak a few words here and there. Russians tend to have a higher level of English.Moscow might be 40%.
As for Odessa. No one really knows, it might be as high as Kiev. problem is girls there are more likely to respond to your "do you speak english?", with a NO, so you will not know.i have heard them tell guys to FUCK OFF! Except for odessans who you meet in the tourist fields, majority seem to avoid talking to foreigners regardless if they know English or not, unless its for their personal gain. The city has been hit by the sex tourists for over 10 years and the pollution of the marriage agencies so hard that we are a source for scamming and extraction.. Add the fact that Odessans actually think they are the center of the FSU, back in Soviet times it was the PLACE to be. My sister in law, an Odessan visits Cape Cod and all she can say is how ugly it is compared to the beaches of Odessa. Not that i hate confident positive women but she is either blind or dumb. I hear similar boasting by them all the time.
lol I know I always talk down about Odessa... its because my flat was worth 120k in 2007 and now is only worth 60k and I hate that city and want to sell. But seriously when I lived in Ukraine, I felt like a God in Kiev and provinces. Odessa was the only city where I felt no different than walking the snobby upper east side of Manhattan.So of course they think everyone is a peasant other than themselves.

[Volk]

I have almost 2GB in Russian learning material, in case anybody is interested. I hate Pimsleur, but I've done better by myself before without it. Good luck with this great language!

[presidentcarter]

(12-19-2012 03:07 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

(12-19-2012 02:40 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  

A Ukrainian girl (from Odessa) told me that Ukrainian language is usually associated with peasant type people and that everyone young that are in cities speak Russian and English...for what that's worth.

Yes that is TRUE, but not in Western Ukraine. Russian is spoken in the eastern part, plus Odessa. In Kiev they speak a mix since the patriotic movement. In non industrial villages in Eastern Ukraine you might hear Ukrainian mixed in.
English?
Very few people speak English. I would say in Kiev it is 30%, lviv it is 25% .
Eastern large cities 10%-15%. Kharkov probably has a higher % in the over 30 age group due to medical research ,engineering, and scientific community there.These percentages mostly include girls who speak a few words here and there. Russians tend to have a higher level of English.Moscow might be 40%.
As for Odessa. No one really knows, it might be as high as Kiev. problem is girls there are more likely to respond to your "do you speak english?", with a NO, so you will not know.i have heard them tell guys to FUCK OFF! Except for odessans who you meet in the tourist fields, majority seem to avoid talking to foreigners regardless if they know English or not, unless its for their personal gain. The city has been hit by the sex tourists for over 10 years and the pollution of the marriage agencies so hard that we are a source for scamming and extraction.. Add the fact that Odessans actually think they are the center of the FSU, back in Soviet times it was the PLACE to be. My sister in law, an Odessan visits Cape Cod and all she can say is how ugly it is compared to the beaches of Odessa. Not that i hate confident positive women but she is either blind or dumb. I hear similar boasting by them all the time.
lol I know I always talk down about Odessa... its because my flat was worth 120k in 2007 and now is only worth 60k and I hate that city and want to sell. But seriously when I lived in Ukraine, I felt like a God in Kiev and provinces. Odessa was the only city where I felt no different than walking the snobby upper east side of Manhattan.So of course they think everyone is a peasant other than themselves.

I've heard mixed reviews about Odessa. On one hand I hear it's a fun beach city where the girls are easy (coming from a girl that is from there) and I've also heard it's a shit town that other Ukrainians refer to as "fool's city" (from a girl from Kiev).

[jimukr104]

(12-19-2012 05:10 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  

(12-19-2012 03:07 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

(12-19-2012 02:40 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  

A Ukrainian girl (from Odessa) told me that Ukrainian language is usually associated with peasant type people and that everyone young that are in cities speak Russian and English...for what that's worth.

Yes that is TRUE, but not in Western Ukraine. Russian is spoken in the eastern part, plus Odessa. In Kiev they speak a mix since the patriotic movement. In non industrial villages in Eastern Ukraine you might hear Ukrainian mixed in.
English?
Very few people speak English. I would say in Kiev it is 30%, lviv it is 25% .
Eastern large cities 10%-15%. Kharkov probably has a higher % in the over 30 age group due to medical research ,engineering, and scientific community there.These percentages mostly include girls who speak a few words here and there. Russians tend to have a higher level of English.Moscow might be 40%.
As for Odessa. No one really knows, it might be as high as Kiev. problem is girls there are more likely to respond to your "do you speak english?", with a NO, so you will not know.i have heard them tell guys to FUCK OFF! Except for odessans who you meet in the tourist fields, majority seem to avoid talking to foreigners regardless if they know English or not, unless its for their personal gain. The city has been hit by the sex tourists for over 10 years and the pollution of the marriage agencies so hard that we are a source for scamming and extraction.. Add the fact that Odessans actually think they are the center of the FSU, back in Soviet times it was the PLACE to be. My sister in law, an Odessan visits Cape Cod and all she can say is how ugly it is compared to the beaches of Odessa. Not that i hate confident positive women but she is either blind or dumb. I hear similar boasting by them all the time.
lol I know I always talk down about Odessa... its because my flat was worth 120k in 2007 and now is only worth 60k and I hate that city and want to sell. But seriously when I lived in Ukraine, I felt like a God in Kiev and provinces. Odessa was the only city where I felt no different than walking the snobby upper east side of Manhattan.So of course they think everyone is a peasant other than themselves.

I've heard mixed reviews about Odessa. On one hand I hear it's a fun beach city where the girls are easy (coming from a girl that is from there) and I've also heard it's a shit town that other Ukrainians refer to as "fool's city" (from a girl from Kiev).

In summer it s a fun beach city ,but realize that most native Odessans leave and go to dachas and outside city limit beaches. The majority of Odessans who stay around during the summer are either pro's or waiting around to scam foreigners and run game on us.
I can not say they easy.If you are like rich and totally handsome ,etc I am sure you can bag one.They are certainly less prudish than most FSU girls outside of Moscow. But think of them like the chicks from SEX AND THE CITY. You have to really qualify yourself. Its not so easy anymore and being a foreigner is not a status thing there at all. They have had foreigners even before downfall of Soviet Union. A lot of rich guys there , but more detrimental is a lot of the women have good incomes. Therefore they do not need your money but of course like girls anywhere in the country they want a guy who has more. They have a lot of the shallow demands that western chicks have plus the cold calculating materialism viewed in industrial shitholes, but multiplied by the reputation of being a port city of scamers. Basically they show more traits of feminist women than I have seen in that part of the world , except they still will make you pay 100% in expensive restaurants and expensive nightclubs. Its easy to get a date there who will make you take her to a very expensive entertainment option. Its a city loaded with options and they want to experience it ALL .
I sadly admit I have been scammed there and I WAS MARRIED AT THE TIME AND NOT EVEN LOOKING lol. They smile like western women and will even converse like one to captivate you and aggressively will run game on you. I think my wife gamed me . They have learned game from birth. They even have wing girls to help them. The small town feeling of the center makes it logistically easy for them to use friends to help them game you. Seriously , friends pop up in clubs, restaurants ,etc while you are on a date.
In the summer best is all the Ukrainians and other FSU girls visiting. They might be more DTF. Of course you gotta filter them out from the wealthy chicks, girls with family,BF'S or sponsors, and the hordes of foreign hookers that come. personally I think Crimea is easier, more cheaper for sure.

[slubu]

So I enrolled in a CC class for Russian 1. 90 hours of instruction over 5 months. Maybe do Pimsleur too?

[jimukr104]

(12-19-2012 09:10 PM)slubu Wrote:  

So I enrolled in a CC class for Russian 1. 90 hours of instruction over 5 months. Maybe do Pimsleur too?

DO IT! 90 hours is a lot.

[Blunt]

I saw that some people are planning a trip in Summer 2013. If you intend to learn the Russian language...you should start studying yesterday. Don't get me wrong, people will appreciate that you're even attempting to learn it so you will be getting points but living outside of Moscow/St.Pete can be frustrating while you're still learning.

Some type of formal instruction whether it is a class or a tutor is definitely a good idea, it will help motivate you more since you're spending money. Just stick with it and do the homework.

Temper your expectations language-wise. Do Pimsleur and try to learn as many of the most common words and phrases that you can before you go and just skip the grammar unless you are unemployed/student and can spend several hours a day. I wouldn't spend much time with Russian media until after you've spent some time there and consider your self at least conversational. I say that because upon arrival you will quickly realize that the Russian you learned is missing a ton of colloquialisms that are constantly evolving, and your speaking style will adjust to that.

This isn't meant to be discouraging. You can learn any language if the motivation behind learning it is strong. Just go into this with the mindset that you will continue to learn and use it beyond your travels, to prevent you from quitting when it gets tough.

[The Fantasist]

(12-19-2012 02:38 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

Going to school will not teach you anything about talking.


If you get into one of the FSU program of intensive language I think you might learn a lot. This is how the Turks, Nigerians learn.I think a year of study use to cost like 1k. Maybe you can enroll for shorter time?

It's really surprising how poor some university students speak Russian. When I was in Bishkek I met two Oxford graduates who had Russian degrees from the university. Their Russian was incredibly average considering they had studied for four years including a semester in Russia. It was obviously far better then mine but you'd have expected them to be fluent which was not the case at all,they were quite open about the fact. No doubt they had concentrated so much on nailing the grammar that they had neglected learning how to do the important things like haggling with cabbies,scoring drugs and hunting for sex in rough micro-regions. However a 20 lesson course such as I took way back and that Pacesetter is talking about will be an entirely different beast and will no doubt concentrate on spoken Russian.

I think your second point is a good one,I've considered enrolling in the preparatory course in a provincial uni many times. You pay a grand for a year's lessons and student dorms cost about $30 a month. I know people who have done it and they speak great Russian after a year,enough to go on to study in Russian universities on Russian courses. I just don't think I have the aptitude for the language though to make it worthwhile.

[Downunder]

(10-24-2011 11:21 AM)Fujiwara Wrote:  

Don't some older Polish people speak Russian, too?

I used to work in a kitchen with this Polish lady in her 50s (thin with tig ol' bitties, you could tell she was quite the piece when she was younger) and when she heard me speaking Russian with a waitress she mentioned that when she was in school a hundred years ago they were taught Polish and Russian. So when I didn't have Russian and Ukrainian waitresses to flirt with, I would practice my Russian with her.

Maybe you need to elderly chat up some elderly people?

My mum was from Poland and back in the good old communist days they had to learn russian as well as polish when at school. I`m talking 1960`s here. This was definitely the case.

[jimukr104]

(12-20-2012 04:45 AM)Vorkuta Wrote:  

(12-19-2012 02:38 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

Going to school will not teach you anything about talking.


If you get into one of the FSU program of intensive language I think you might learn a lot. This is how the Turks, Nigerians learn.I think a year of study use to cost like 1k. Maybe you can enroll for shorter time?

It's really surprising how poor some university students speak Russian. When I was in Bishkek I met two Oxford graduates who had Russian degrees from the university. Their Russian was incredibly average considering they had studied for four years including a semester in Russia. It was obviously far better then mine but you'd have expected them to be fluent which was not the case at all,they were quite open about the fact. No doubt they had concentrated so much on nailing the grammar that they had neglected learning how to do the important things like haggling with cabbies,scoring drugs and hunting for sex in rough micro-regions. However a 20 lesson course such as I took way back and that Pacesetter is talking about will be an entirely different beast and will no doubt concentrate on spoken Russian.

I think your second point is a good one,I've considered enrolling in the preparatory course in a provincial uni many times. You pay a grand for a year's lessons and student dorms cost about $30 a month. I know people who have done it and they speak great Russian after a year,enough to go on to study in Russian universities on Russian courses. I just don't think I have the aptitude for the language though to make it worthwhile.

good idea. If I lived long term the I would also.

[avantgarde]

Songs are a great ways to learn Russian, just type Russian songs with lyrics or the songs you want to listen to. Use language exchange websites like interpals and italki, there are people willing to learn English and in return they teach you Russian. I have grammar and language books I downloaded somewhere that help me with Russian. It is good to supplement speaking and listening with reading grammar and a basic Russian reading book.

[presidentcarter]

(12-26-2012 03:12 AM)avantgarde Wrote:  

Songs are a great ways to learn Russian, just type Russian songs with lyrics or the songs you want to listen to. Use language exchange websites like interpals and italki, there are people willing to learn English and in return they teach you Russian. I have grammar and language books I downloaded somewhere that help me with Russian. It is good to supplement speaking and listening with reading grammar and a basic Russian reading book.

Got a few Russian radio apps...mostly pop stuff...some of it isn't bad for not understanding it.

[Barron]

Just started Russian. Has anyone used this book?:
http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Beginners-...+beginners

I think its an excellent text (written in 1962) with great spelling & grammar breakdowns and introductory rules for the absolute beginniner

[signoria]

Memrise is pretty good for vocab learning. I also used masterrussian.com in this regard.

[ChrisGambi]

Carter: which app do you have? I use radio dacha, but there s only so many times you can listen to american boy

[RIslander]

Bump.

Duolingo is in the process of creating an English to Russian course. As of this posting its 43% complete. I use it for Spanish and it is excellent.

For those of you that are unfamiliar... Duolingo can either be accessed through their website or via smartphone apps. Its a game used for building vocabulary and basic grammar.

http://www.duolingo.com

They are also working on Ukranian, Hungarian, Polish and Romanian. Think they are marketing to RVFers?!?

[RexImperator]

I've been waiting for Duolingo Russian. I was having fun with their German course but then realized it's kind of a waste of time to learn.

[jc6586]

Try this:
http://ielanguages.com/russian.html

This website really helped me with French so hopefully it will do the same for you with Russian.

[Kissinger2014]

(12-05-2014 04:26 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I've been waiting for Duolingo Russian. I was having fun with their German course but then realized it's kind of a waste of time to learn.

You'll have to wait quite a while for Duolingo Russian. There are only in phase 1 of incubation:

http://incubator.duolingo.com

We'll be lucky if it comes out by 2016.