Hi, we are Palme School, an online Russian language school in Canada and the USA. We decided to collect for you the answers to 18 popular questions about learning Russian. Imagine that we asked these questions to a Russian language teacher and got comprehensive answers. By the way, if you are interested in how to organize the teaching of Russian to your child, we have told you about here.
Okay, here we go.
How long does it take to really learn Russian?
Naturally, each student moves at his or her own speed. For example, a child of 4-5 years of age will find it much easier to learn Russian at a native level than an adult. It is also important to consider the format of learning - attending courses or school or online classes. In addition, how many hours a week the student devotes to learning the language.
Also important are: the initial level of the student, how much the native language influences the learning of Russian and the student's mental abilities.
The time it takes to master one program depends on these factors: two months will be enough for one, while another will need a whole year. Therefore, it is not surprising that each student has his or her own way of learning Russian.
Is it easy to learn Russian?
According to the Defense Language Institute's Diplomatic Service, Russian belongs to group III in terms of difficulty of learning.
Consider the difficulties students face:
- A different alphabet. Although the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets have similar letters, many characters will still have to be learned from scratch.
- Complex grammar and many exceptions to the rules. You will have to memorize a lot of things - irregular verbs, noun declensions, separating consonants and so on.
- In the Russian language there is a division into soft and hard consonants, as well as hard and soft hisses (sh, ch, shch, ts), and we will have to figure it out.
- 6 cases of nouns and adjectives with their endings and exceptions. The student will need some effort to memorize them.
Taken together, all of this makes learning Russian an interesting challenge, or challenge.
How many native speakers speak Russian?
Language guide Ethnologue notes that a year ago there were 255 million Russian speakers in the world.
Meanwhile, just 40 years ago, during the Soviet era, about 286 million people spoke Russian. Thus, over the past period, the position of the Russian language has moved downward. Despite the decline, Russian remains in the top 10 most widely spoken languages in the world. It should also be noted that interest in learning Russian is shifting from the CIS countries to the East, namely to China.
This increase in Chinese interest in Russian is due to economic and political reasons, as well as a common border in the Far East.
Is it still worth learning Russian?
If you're pondering whether you should start learning Russian, here are 5 arguments why you should:
- The Russian language has many similar "brothers". For example, Bulgarian and Serbian in the Balkans. And also other Slavic languages, such as Belarusian and Ukrainian. Besides, there are countries in Europe where knowing Russian makes it easier to understand the local language - Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland. And you will be understood too, because in these countries many people still do not all know English.
- Traveling around Russia (but what if), you will not feel the difference in dialects, as, for example, in France or Italy. After all, spoken Russian does not differ from what is taught at language courses.
- As cliché as it sounds, to understand Russian culture. After all, it is great to read books, watch movies and listen to music in the original language.
- Another interesting point is that foreign languages are still poorly and poorly studied in Russia. At the same time, the country remains at the top of the most widely read in the world. Surprisingly, but the fact is that you can find a lot of translated literature in Russian, even from the rarest languages. For example, if you are looking for unique articles on a narrow topic, knowing Russian will make it easier for you to study them in translation.
- And lastly, of course, Russian literature. To understand Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, or Turgenev or Pushkin, you need to know the Russian language. Preferably, all the subtleties and shades of meaning. Otherwise, what is it all for?
How difficult is it to learn Russian as a native language for a native English speaker?
Let's not hide the fact that Russian is quite difficult for native English speakers to learn.
Why? The point is that English and Russian belong to different language groups, so they have their own peculiarities. For example, in English there are no cases for nouns and adjectives, which often leaves students stumped. But don't despair - everything is solvable, and with motivation and practice, these difficulties can be overcome in a year.
Here are some tips for learning Russian:
- Start by learning the Cyrillic alphabet. Yes, the symbols and their sound meanings are different in many ways, but there are also many similar letters to the Latin alphabet. To calm you down a bit, let us remind you that 100 years ago there were more letters in the Russian alphabet.
- Turn to online resources - it is much easier to learn something nowadays, as you can find resources for any purpose. Look for Youtube blogs with Russian-speaking teachers, download mobile apps, use online dictionaries and other learning materials.
- Once you know the basics, start translating from English to Russian. Compose your own phrases and sentences and constantly practice translating.
- Find native speakers to socialize with to practice speaking skills and break down language barriers.
- Read poetry and prose: start with simple and short stories and poems in Russian, use a dictionary and complicate the program as your vocabulary expands.
That said, it's important to remember that each person is unique, and what is difficult for one may be simple for another.
How do you pronounce basic Russian words?
In fact, to pronounce Russian words correctly, you need to know a few rules:
- Master the sound of each Cyrillic letter, including those that differ significantly from their Latin counterparts in articulation. For example, Russian [t] sounds different from English [t].
- Peculiarities of vowels. Vowels in Russian are not stretched and are pronounced briefly. For example, there are no long sounds like [i:] or [a:] in Russian. Depending on the stress, the character of the sound changes: the stressless [O] is often heard as a short [a], and the stressless [E] as a fast, almost compressed [I].
- Consonant rules. Ringing consonants (b, c, d, e, etc.) become deaf at the ends of words or before other deaf sounds. For example, the letter "G" in the word "leg" is pronounced "Sh".
- Special attention to the letter "p". Russian speakers themselves often cannot learn to pronounce it correctly. To practice correct articulation, it is recommended to practice words beginning with the combination "dr" (for example: friend, other, friendship, drill).
How long does it usually take to learn Russian?
As we mentioned above, the duration of Russian language acquisition depends on many individual factors.
Of course, before you start learning a new language, you want to understand in figures how much time it will take. For example, to master Russian at level A1, you will need an average of 100 hours. But you can study every day for 4 hours, or 2 times a week for an hour. The duration will depend on this.
And to speak fluent Russian, according to the some sourcesit would take about 1,100 hours of training. Let's do the math: if you study an hour a day, it will take about three years. The main thing is motivation!
Of course, with a great desire, it is possible to master the school program in Russian in 2-2.5 years. However, the speed of language learning is also influenced by other factors, such as the purpose of learning, the chosen strategy (independently or with a teacher), the teaching materials used, and other factors.
In other words, if you want to learn Russian quickly, you need to practise every day for 3 hours a day. And in about a year you will be able to speak Russian fluently.
Which is more difficult, Russian or Chinese?
It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally: every language has unique features.
Here are some of them.
As for Russian language, many foreigners are confused by its deep grammatical structure. For example, Russian has 6 cases, various declensions and complicated conjugations of verbs. In addition, the system of punctuation marks plays an essential role in it.
But, unlike Chinese, Russian has only three dozen sounds. While in Chinese there are about 400 of them!
In addition, the Chinese There are more than 80 thousand complex graphic hieroglyphs in the language. In this case. each has its own spelling rules and tone pronunciation. In Russian, intonation plays no role in pronouncing sounds.
In the end, it is up to the students or their parents to decide. Personal abilities and ways of learning both languages should also be taken into account.
Which is more difficult, Russian or Arabic?
Now let's compare another language pair - Russian and Arabic. In this case, it will again be impossible to give a one-syllable answer, as each language is unique.
For example, reasons why it can be difficult for foreigners to learn Russian language :
- the variety of case forms, about which we have already written above;
- the abundance of multiple meanings of words. For example, a simple word "pen" can have more than 4 meanings.
- inconsistency in the spelling and pronunciation of many words. For example, Russian speakers themselves are often confused about the spelling of the words "what" and "kakovo". The words differ in just one letter, but have different meanings.
- subtleties in accent - lots of words with alternating vowels O/A, E/I, etc.
- the complexity of punctuation. Changing the place of a comma in a sentence can radically change the meaning. "Execution is not pardoned."
Nevertheless, in Arabic language has its own specificity:
- unique script - Arabic is written from right to left;
- only consonants are written, vowels are omitted;
- changing the spelling of letters depending on their position (beginning/middle/end) in a word;
- guttural pronunciation of some sounds that is unusual for English speakers.
As a result, the choice between Russian and Arabic is determined by personal preferences and specific language learning objectives.
Is it possible to learn Russian in 3 months?
You won't believe it, but the experience of many polyglots proves that nothing is impossible!
The main thing is to set a goal, don't be lazy and choose the right strategy.
First, find the right resources. These are online programs, simulators, tutorials, movies, books and apps for memorizing words.
Second, hire a teacher. At least for the first month. Plus, if you set yourself a short-term goal, try to exercise 3-4 hours a day.
Third, try to speak and think in the language you are learning whenever possible. Practice speaking with vocabulary every day.
Finally, find friends who speak the language. In this tech age, there are no unsolvable tasks - hobby forums, social media, posts about looking for friends to practice a language - anything will do.
Of course, you are unlikely to speak fluently in 90 days, but you will be able to understand oral speech and communicate on a general level with native speakers.
What makes it hard to learn Russian?
These are the main factors that make it difficult to learn Russian:
- Complex grammar;
- Phonetics and pronunciation;
- Emphasis in words;
- Cyrillic;
- Cultural Differences.
To overcome the difficulties, try to communicate more with native Russian speakers and connect different learning resources.
5 reasons why Russian is NOT so difficult to learn
There is a saying in the Russian language: "The devil is not as bad as they make him out to be". This means that you can master any business, the main thing is not to be afraid to figure it out.
So, above we talked about the reasons why Russian is difficult to learn. Now let's take a look atand here are 5 examples of why you can still master it:
First, it is the word order of the words in the sentence. In Russian, you can swap any members of a sentence without changing the meaning.
Secondly, intelligible in Russian root system. By them you can guess the meaning of new unfamiliar words.
Third, hardness/softness of consonants. For example, seemingly similar words have different meanings just because of one sound. For example, "six" and "pole", "be" and "beat", "fir" and "fir".
And, after all, words of exception. Every rule has these words in it, and this makes learning much easierIt is easier to learn something by heart than to remember the rule that spells a word. Sometimes it is easier to learn something by heart than to remember the rule for spelling a word.
How fast can you learn Russian?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to give an exact answer to this question. But it is possible to follow some tips that will definitely help you learn the language:
- Create a schedule and exercise at least half an hour a day.
- Purchase or find online and print out word and phrase cards. This will help with memorization.
- Include watching Russian movies and TV series in your list. This will greatly expand your vocabulary and help you understand spoken language.
- Find native Russian speakers to communicate with.
- Use mobile apps to practice Russian online.
- Read books in Russian. This way you will visually memorize how words are spelled and used in sentence construction.
- Do not be lazy to repeat the material you have learned. In this way, new information will be better consolidated in your long-term memory.
How many hours do I need to study Russian at A1 level?
To master the Russian language at A1 level, it is enough to learn elementary vocabulary and grammar. This is enough for everyday communication and understanding of spoken speech.
If you are studying Russian for an exam, you will need 100-120 study hours for level A1.
Again, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the student and the degree of his or her motivation to learn Russian.
How can I speak Russian easily?
.Although we have already talked enough above about the need for regular practice to master the Russian language, we will give some more sound advice:
- Make a notebook and write down all new words and expressions
- learn small poems, texts, proverbs and aphorisms by heart
- constantly expand your vocabulary. Moreover, almost everything can be found online. The main thing is to aim for it.
How can I learn Russian on my own?
First, answer yourself an honest question: what do you need Russian for? For work, for traveling, for moving to Russia, or for communicating with your family?
Based on the answer, make a training plan for yourself. This will be half of the success.
Following are a few practical tips that we missed:
- to practice speaking by ear - listen to audio podcasts regularly. Find topics that really interest you and listen to speakers in Russian;
- to practice speaking - communication, communication and more communication. Look for friends of interest from Russia or who speak Russian. If you have no common ground, communication will come to naught. So think about what topics you would be interested in communicating on, and go to these forums to make acquaintances;
- for grammar practice - exercises. Lots of exercises. You don't have to break your head - go to mobile apps and look for simulators according to your level.
Put these three factors together and you will see progress in just a few weeks of learning Russian on your own.
How to speak Russian?
Start small:
- learn the Russian alphabet;
- master basic phrases for communicating in everyday life to build simple dialogues;
- try to read in Russian, first syllables, then individual words and phrases;
- find native speakers and try out your first acquired knowledge in conversation.
The main thing is not to be afraid of mistakes in speech. After all, cultured people are always sympathetic to foreigners who are trying to learn their native language.
How to speak Russian: 10 steps
To summarize, let's briefly describe 10 steps that will help you speak Russian:
- Start with the simplest of things - learn the alphabet. Children's stories with pictures are good for learning to read.
- Repeat the words. Alternatively, glue leaves with Russian names on furniture, appliances, dishes, in all places where you spend a lot of time.
- Take notes, don't rely on your memory.
- Listen to radio, watch movies, comedy shows and video lessons in Russian.
- Learn phrases by heart, not individual words. This way you can understand how to use a word in context and in real-life situations.
- Read in Russian. For example, news sites, Russian-speaking bloggers, subscribe to major social media groups.
- Attend Russian-speaking events. This will help you gain speaking experience and overcome the language barrier.
- Make the lessons regular - devote at least 10 minutes a day to them.
- Motivate yourself - it is important to understand why you want to learn Russian.
- Find a new hobby and look for a Russian-speaking company of interest.
We hope that we have provided comprehensive answers to all your questions about learning Russian. And if you want to teach your child Russian, we offer a FREE trial lesson at our school. Leave a request in the form below and our manager will contact you to choose a convenient time.
