Russian Crash Course for Adults
Parents, your child would LOVE to practice speaking Russian with you! Here is a recommended course of study to follow:
1) Start with learning to say "hello" здравствуйте (zdrastvooeetye)! This is one of the hardest words to say in Russian but, as we tell our students, just do your best. There is a second way to greet someone in Russian, and it is less formal, more of a "hi": привет (preevyet). Click HERE to hear examples of how to say these words and more, like politeness expressions, saying "yes" and "no", introducing yourself, and saying goodbye.
2) Learn to count! Counting in Russian follows a pattern, and once you know how to count to 20, you can keep going easily! Click HERE to hear the numbers in Russian.
3) Start learning the Russian Alphabet! Reading Russian is tricky, because Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet; however, it is still fairly simple to learn and then test yourself with Russian-English cognates - words that sound the same in Russian as they do in English. Give it a try by clicking HERE.
4) If you have a smartphone, you can download free a Russian flashcard app (one is called Declan Flashcards) that provides audio clips as well to help you with pronunciation. This will help you build your vocabulary. You can customize your flashcards so that you are learning the same words as your child!
**Note about Rosetta Stone, the language learning software: Rosetta Stone is an excellent computer-based software that you can buy or download onto your computer and is available in many different languages, including Russian. Rosetta Stone attempts to mimic how native speakers first learn how to speak their languages in infancy by simulating an immersion-type situation. The program is effective, however it is expensive. The links below will provide a good foundation for your studies, and they are all Free!
Links to Excellent Free Russian Language Sites:
Russian Language Lessons
Russian for Everyone
Free Russian Courset
1) Start with learning to say "hello" здравствуйте (zdrastvooeetye)! This is one of the hardest words to say in Russian but, as we tell our students, just do your best. There is a second way to greet someone in Russian, and it is less formal, more of a "hi": привет (preevyet). Click HERE to hear examples of how to say these words and more, like politeness expressions, saying "yes" and "no", introducing yourself, and saying goodbye.
2) Learn to count! Counting in Russian follows a pattern, and once you know how to count to 20, you can keep going easily! Click HERE to hear the numbers in Russian.
3) Start learning the Russian Alphabet! Reading Russian is tricky, because Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet; however, it is still fairly simple to learn and then test yourself with Russian-English cognates - words that sound the same in Russian as they do in English. Give it a try by clicking HERE.
4) If you have a smartphone, you can download free a Russian flashcard app (one is called Declan Flashcards) that provides audio clips as well to help you with pronunciation. This will help you build your vocabulary. You can customize your flashcards so that you are learning the same words as your child!
**Note about Rosetta Stone, the language learning software: Rosetta Stone is an excellent computer-based software that you can buy or download onto your computer and is available in many different languages, including Russian. Rosetta Stone attempts to mimic how native speakers first learn how to speak their languages in infancy by simulating an immersion-type situation. The program is effective, however it is expensive. The links below will provide a good foundation for your studies, and they are all Free!
Links to Excellent Free Russian Language Sites:
Russian Language Lessons
Russian for Everyone
Free Russian Courset