Product Description
The most commonly used 510 Russian verbs are arranged alphabetically in a table format, one verb per page with English pronunciation and translation. Verbs are fully conjugated and presented in all forms. The bookÂ's additional features include common idioms with example sentences to demonstrate verb usage and a grammar review. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Better Verb Usage
I have been studying Russian for 10 years.Anyone from Beginner and up will find this book useful.It is very good in showing motion verbs - uni-directional & multi-directional.It can be used to find a pattern for any regular verb not already listed in the book.It is especially useful in finding the irregular forms.The 501 title is a misnomer.If you know the verbs in this book you will be able to confidently speak conversational Russian.The layout of the pages provides a clear and concise understanding of the relationship between the Perfective and Imperfective forms.Each entry provides the accents which are so important to clear speech.There is a dictionary in the back of the book which allows you to find words.Used in concert with 5,000 Russian Words (another publication) and Katzner's Russian/English dictionary you are well equipped to learn and translate from either English or Russian.

Book is not very well bound
This is a great resource.It's very helpful and well organized but unfortunately, the binding is poor.My copy has been used only a couple of months and it's literally falling apart.

good
The 501 Series is excellent for learners of all other foreign languages.I would highly recommend this book and other books in its series under different foreign languages.

Verb book with out examples......
I rented 501 French Verbs from the library.For each verb it had examples of usage.The French book also had idiom phrases, quizzes, etc... Liked it so much I bought it from Amazon.

So I rented 501 Russian Verbs from the library expecting similar content as the French version.What a difference.If you really need a book that shows you how to conjugate 501 Russian verbs without context and without examples, this book is for you.

Honestly how can you have a Russian verb book that covers verbs of motions with one or two word English translations.Completely worthless for learning how to use the verbs.

The differences between perfective and imperfective require examples to begin to make any sense of the usage.

The only reason I can think of for the positive reviews is that it must have been a classroom assignment for extra credit.

Very good
I got the "501 Russian verbs..." book for my sister who is learning Russian. She says that the book is helpful, detailed, and informative. It is a very good book. ... Read more

Product Description
BarronÂ's popular Fast and Fun Way foreign language learning programs are designed primarily for travelers to foreign countries but are also suitable for instruction in classrooms and language labs. Learn Russian the Fast and Fun Way is filled with cheerful illustrations, word lists, pull-out vocabulary flash cards, and language-learning exercises that take the form of games and puzzles. Emphasis is on the practical Russian that travelers will need when getting around in Moscow, St. Petersburg, or outlying villages. The book teaches appropriate words and phrases forgreetings and introductions, finding oneÂ's way in cities, dining, shopping, getting hotel accommodations, telephoning, seeking medical help, reading road signs, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

I speak Russian already...
I can speak Russian already (pretty well) but I left Ukraine at a young age (about 4ish). I was already reading and somewhat writing -- on my magnet board-- well when I left there to come to the US sad to say I lost the ability to read and write the language. I speak it at home but that doesn't really help.
My mom and I found this book at a bookstore and got it. I really like it because it has helped me a lot. I am reading sentences (slowly).
I really don't think this book is for someone just randomly wanting to learn the language. It is far more complex and advanced then this book lets it out to be. To conjugate the words alone is novels on their own. The language is EXTRELY intuitive to some degree and this book is really only for those who know the language and need to brush up on their skills.
A book will not really teach you Russian...and this one I promise you won't teach you anything that you can't get in a random guidebook.

Misleading
I've had this book for nearly a week and I STILL can't speak Russian fluently, so that disproves the "fast" bit. "Fast" is when I pour my wife a gin and tonic, and she's finished drinking hers before I've even made mine. Nothing about this book is "Fast". Also, there are no jokes, humorous anecdotes or suggestions for accelerated learning in enjoyable situations, so that pretty much knocks the "fun" thing on the head as well. Given a choice of struggling this book or watching England triumph over the Aussies at Edgbaston, I know which I'd choose to do for "fun"! This book should really have been called "Learn Russian: the not very rapid and only moderately pleasant way".

Not enough for conversation
The book is okay for a beginner.You do learn cyrillic pretty quickly.However transaltions are increasingly sparse, and the book spends almost no time on having a normal conversation.If you are only looking to be able to get around in Russia without actually talking to anyone there about things other than directions, this is your book.

Less than stellar.
The graphics used in the book are the same as the ones used in the awful "Russian in ten minutes a day" by Kristine Kershul.This is somewhat better, but not by much.Many of the words in the book don't have the stress, or accent displayed, so for those words it's sort of useless.You get the stress for the "spotlight" words which are phonetically transliterated (the stressed syllables are in capitals).

I purchased the book and cassette version used for cheap.In that context - it was worthwhile, but for not much more, the Oxford Press "Take off in Russian" by Nick Ukia was superior.If you're really serious about learning Russian, there is no substitute for the Penguin Russian course.It really is the benchmark by which all beginners texts are judged.

Not what it could be
My Russian tutor (I am in Tbilisi, Georgia) and I chose this book, sight unseen, for my first Russian course. I am only a few pages from finishing it. The first half fully lives up to its promise. The dialogs are decent, the lessons are a little different and interesting, there are amusing illustrations and the vocabulary is useful. So far, so good.

However, the book takes a real nosedive after the first half, or maybe 60%. It's almost as if the author had quit and left the rest of the work to someone else, or maybe just got tired of working on something that most people won't finish. The author uses a lot of words from that point on that suggest he is an American teaching what he learned from some other Americans. Some of the vocabulary he uses in the second half, in what should be routine dialogs, are obscure synonyms or colloquialisms not at all commonly used by Russians. My tutor too often says "Nobody says it that way."

The dialogs themselves become quirky, at best, after the first half. There are typos and brainos that simply should not have been left in after a decent proofreading. The use of some words or phrases in some of the dialogs, without prior introduction or further explanation (other than in the direct translation, which is often something other than what was written in Russian) sometimes leaves you wondering "What the heck does THAT mean?"

This book isn't bad, and I will finish it in a few days, it just falls short of its promise. If you buy it without tapes, as I did, you should have a tutor or friend who can at least coach you on pronunciation and clear up some of the confusion, especially in the second half. ... Read more

Product Description
BERLITZ EARWORMS MBT® RAPID RUSSIAN VOL. 1

Effortless, enjoyable, fast and effective language learning through music


The term earworms or catchy tunes refers to those songs which you hear a few times and then just can t get out of your head. Berlitz Earworms mbt® Rapid Languages puts the words and phrases you need not just on the tip of your tongue, it transports them deeply into your long-term memory, ready for instant recall.


Simply listen to the music CD filled with rhythmic repetitions a few times and listeners will subconsciously acquire a collection of verbs, nouns and connecting words, all the while picking up the correct accent. This is your survival kit of immediately useful words and phrases for your visit abroad. Listen a few times to be able to ask for a table in a restaurant, order food and drink, take a taxi, rent a car, buy tickets, deal with money, numbers, times and days, ask for directions, deal with typical problems, hold a simple conversation and more.


Volume 1 deals with the essentials for your visit abroad. It covers typical situations, polite phrases, finding your way, numbers, how to deal with problems, and so on.


What Makes It So Effective?

*Effortless, enjoyable and effective

*Essential phrases for your trip abroad

*Words anchored deeply into your memory by gentle repetition to music

*Stimulating and self-motivation through real rapid progress

*Developed by language teaching experts

*Target language spoken by native speakers

*Pronunciation acquired automatically

*Listen and learn, anytime anywhere

*Phrase book included

*Content can be uploaded to iPod® or other MP3 players for use on the go ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Buy it!
The music is not my particular favorite, but it really does help make the English to Russian translations more tolerable!I listen to it wherever I am and I have learned a lot of helpful words a phrases. I received another Russian audio disk from a friend and it was just speaking no music and I can't stand it. Many of the words were in the Earworms Russian disk anyway!

Delightful Introduction to Russian
You can't beat this package for a delightful and inexpensive introduction to Russian.It is charming, the background music makes it fun and yet it really teaches.If you are completely new to Russian (as I am) this is a great way to start.It helps you break into Russian and begin hearing the sounds and rhythms of the language and to start connecting words and phrases.If you find you like Russian, from here you can go on to more advanced (and expensive) courses.I recommend that beginners start with this introductory course to get an initial grip on hearing, pronouncing and understanding Russian phrases.And you will have fun!Be patient and listen over and over again and you will be surprised how Russian words start popping up in your head at unexpected times. I loaded mine onto my iPod and listen when I walk/jog.

A good supplementary Beginner course
I really enjoyed this product. That said, I want to note some of its downsides so you know what you're getting yourself into if you buy it:

- Only an hour long
- Not much Russian vocabulary
- Doesn't teach you how to form your own sentences
- Since it's set to music, you might not like some of the songs (I didn't like all of them, but none really irritated me)

Now that the downsides are out of the way, I'll let you know why I really liked this product. I'm using a variety of sources to learn Russian. This course is neat because since it's set to music, it feels like a different part of your brain is working. I can listen to this course while doing other things and still be taking it in, while with most other audio courses you really have to think and give answers (like Michel Thomas, which I really like) so you really can't multitask effectively while listening to them.

Although it doesn't teach you a great deal of vocabulary due to the fact it's only an hour long, what it does teach you, it teaches pretty effectively. For instance, Russian numbers have always been hard for me to remember. And I hate memorization, but this course really taught me numbers in a way that can't forget. It also teaches you how to order a meal, ask where the nearest bus station is, etc. I think the vocabulary in this course is a good start for beginners or those who just want to know a little Russian while on a trip.

I've listened to this course many times (and will continue to do so) because I feel it's fun and unobtrusive. Some other courses really make you think super hard, with this one you can just relax. I'd never use this course by itself and expect to learn a lot of Russian, but this is a good course for those who just want to know a little or those beginners who want something interesting and different to supplement their other courses.

I guess I should wrap up with the course's Advantages:

- Set to music so it feels like a different part of your brain is listening
- Not a tremendous amount of vocabulary, but what it covers is useful (for beginners and those just wanting to learn a little in preparation for a trip, etc)
- You can listen to this course and multitask (and retain new information from it)
- The course is interesting and didn't lose my interest even after listening to it a number of times
- Although it won't teach you how to form your own sentences (like Michel Thomas, etc), it does a good job explaining the words it introduces
- The course contains a conversation between a British man and a Russian woman. He learns along with us and sometimes asks questions, which are really helpful

good conversational russian
this cd wasnt quite what i was expecting. but i love it! im picking up an english accent AND russian!!

The most fun I've had with a language CD
First, to be realistic, it's a one-hour audio CD geared towards teaching some basic words and phrases. This program definitely wont take the place of actual language lessons, especially with a language such as Russian in which grammar is particularly important and tricky.

That said, I own several different Russian "listen while you drive" type programs, and this is the only one I have ever wanted to listen to over and over again. The background music is mellow and easy to get into. Also I really enjoy the somewhat flirty interaction between the two speakers! I've been taking private Russian lessons for a few months now, and listening to the Earworms CD is really helping to further solidify the language in my mind. I also think that a BIG part of learning a language (or anything, really) is to have fun with it, and the Earworms program is definitely FUN.

If you're going to buy a language CD, I highly recommend this one! ... Read more

Product Description
This edition of Pushkin's tragedy "Boris Godunov" is part of the Bristol Classical Press Russian Texts series. The series is designed to meet the needs of the growinghigh school and undergraduate market for texts in the Russian language. Each text comes with English notes and vocabulary, and with an introduction by an editor with an expert knowledge both of the work and of its literary and cultural context ... Read more

Product Description

Colloquial Russian is easy to use and completely up-to-date! Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Russian. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes this new edition of Colloquial Russian your best choice in personal language learning?

• interactive – lots of dialogues and exercises for regular practice
• clear – concise grammar notes
• practical – useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
• complete – including answer key and special reference section.

By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in a broad range of situations.

Product Description
Provides the student of Russian with an in-depth, structured approach to the learning of vocabulary. Containing over 5000 words, it can be used for intermediate and advanced undergraduate courses, or as a supplementary manual at all levels - including elementary level - to the study of Russian vocabulary. It is made up of eighteen units covering topics such as the physical world, the human body, leisure, and industry - each unit consisting of words and phrases that are organized thematically and according to levels. Each unit contains approximately sixty graded exercises, encouraging students to practise using the vocabulary in context, and providing a lively and engaging set of self-study tasks. Helping students to acquire a comprehensive control of both concrete and abstract vocabulary, this book will be welcomed by all learners of Russian wishing to improve their competence in essential communicative tasks, and will function as an invaluable teaching resource. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Decent vocabulary
This thematic vocabulary is an excellent way to learn the Russian language.There is another thematic vocabulary published by Hueber, a German publisher, called "Grundwortschatz Russisch", which can be purchased at Amazon.de.I recommend the German title as well because it is up-to-date.The person reviewing the book above states there is a lack of vocabulary relating to military and government.I think the author of "Using Russian Vocabulary" provided as much material as possible considering he was sick and has possibly passed away.However, if you need military vocabulary, try the Six Language Visual Dictionary by Perun, an Ukrainian publisher.The languages are Ukrainian, English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian.This can possibly be purchased as [...] per ISBN 978-966-569-249-2.But beware, there are other visual dictionaries the publisher publishes, and they do not contain Russian or Ukrainian.The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary, which contains the same exact visual pictures, only contains English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

Very useful but deficient in some areas
This book is very useful for expanding your Russian vocabulary, particularly for words that are necessary for daily life but aren't often taught in standard language-learning textbooks.In many areas it is quite comprehensive.However, there are at least two areas where it is deficient:government and the military.Perhaps this is in part an ideological choice on the part of the authors. But, like it or not, students of any language need to be equipped with the vocabulary for these areas of human activity, and this book falls short in not providing it.It's a shame because the book is very comprehensive in so many other areas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

If you didn't learn this in school...
This book was issued to us before we started learning Russian.I already know English grammar very well, but the majority of students in my class did not.It's really hard to understand why you're going to use the accusative case in Russian if you don't know what a direct object is in English.The best foreign language learners are already proficient in their native language.We spent a lot of time going over English grammar, and I spent a lot of time tutoring English grammar to my classmates.The book shows a side by side comparison of Russian and English structures which are helpful in illustrating what is really going on in sentences.Instead of just buying an English grammar workbook, get this too.

English Grammar for Students of Russian
This is one of the most useful books for the teaching and studying of elementary Russian language.So many students today have no grounding in English grammar and, because Russian is an inflected language (noun cases, little word order), it is crucial that the terms of grammar and the patterns of English be understood before and while a student learns the declensions and grammatical necessities of Russian.Great book!

Having trouble understanding Russian grammar?
Then this is the perfect study companion for native English speakers learning the Russian Language! I used this book while in college earning my BA in Russian and found this book to be invaluable during my studies.

This book covers basic English grammar in the simplest of terms in short concise lessons that we'll help students learn Russian easier. Lots of examples are given in both English and Russian on the grammar being discussed in each chapter. At the end of each lesson are exercises to test your knowledge on the grammar topic discussed with an answer key key at the end of the book to see how well you learned the particular grammar topic that was discussed.

Most people don't know the grammatical rules of their lang..
Great book. It will help you identify what parts of English grammar you've forgotten because you've never needed to discuss it.

Suddenly, in Russian class, you must identify parts of speech and tenses and so on. The understanding of our grammar is so very important in the successful learning of Russian. Russian uses its grammar to identify the function of words in a sentence. That is - the subject pronoun could appear anywhere in a sentence. The verb could, too. The adjectives could be thrown anywhere. (This happens mostly in poetry, but it's occurred in those terribly long sentences in periodicals and books.) It's the declension of the word that lets the reader/listener know if that word is the subject pronoun or the direct object pronoun, etc.

In order to keep up with the complexity of Russian, you must know English grammar first. That way when you are trying to identify parts of a sentence, you will not be slowed down by having to figure out what the instructor is talking about when she refers to grammar "you should know" since you've learned it in elementary/jr. high school.

BTW, I learned to speak, read and write Russian first on my own, then on an advanced level in college and grad school. I do not believe Russian is a difficult language. Teachers tend not to teach students how to learn it properly.

Also useful for ESL/EFL teachers
As a teacher of English as a foreign language, I have found this book to be invaluable when a Russian-speaking student is particularly stuck on a grammatical area.A small example: A student of mine was frustratingly unable to remember to include articles in her sentences.A glance at page 13 made this more understandable: there ARE no articles in Russian!

I haven't used this book enough to say whether it is great overall or not, but I *can* say that each time I have used it, the knowledge it has given me has been worth the price of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book for Russian students of English and for Russian travelers to English-speaking countries instructs in the basics of reading, writing, and speaking, and features cartoon illustrations, language games and puzzles, language flash cards, and more. The book can also be purchased alone with an optional set of six audio compact discs. See BarronÂ's ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-9300-2 for information on the book and CDs package. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great for Russian/Ukrainian Adoptees!
Santa Claus brought a copy of this book for each of my newly adopted sons, for their very first Christmas. It was such a relief! The boys were struggling to learn English, with the help of English speakers, and it wasn't very helpful. (Imagine trying to learn a new language as someone jabbers at you, in that langauge). I'm a firm believer in "Learn it right, the first time around, and you'll be better off in the long run!" We played the tapes in the car on the way to and from school, each day. The boys would high-five and laugh out loud, as bits of grammar were explained to them, which they couldn't ask about (with their limited English) and couldn't understand when people were trying to explain it (in English). For example: Russian has "gender" (male or female) attached to practically EVERY noun. It's a grammar thing, and doesn't really make sense apart from grammar. (What gender do YOU think a chair is???) As any rate, I remember the boys' HUGE relief over finding that English doesn't have grammatical gender! Within a year, both boys were accurately fluent in English. In the case of one son, his RUSSIAN improved, as well! I HIGHLY recommend this product for adopters.

Good book, left out some stuff
I was a tad disappointed that it didn't include much in the way of conjugation verb charts and word lists. ... Read more

Product Description
Colloquial Russian is easy to use and completely brilliant! Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Russian. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes Colloquial Russian your best choice in personal language learning?
* interactive - lots of dialogues and exercises for regular practice
* clear - concise grammar notes
* practical - useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
* complete - including answer key and special reference section

By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in a broad range of situations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent, excellent, excellent!
I absolutely LOVE this book by Routledge! I love how they pretty much just...throw you into the Russian language "pool" with no muss or fuss; so hold your breath! This ain't your mama's course! From Jump street, you are in it and up to the throat in the language which is fantastic and I think that a lot of these other courses can take a lesson from. It is alittle grammar intense, so if you are not into that, then you may not like it. I am not a big fan of grammar at ALL but this book didn't bother me as much, though it still might others.

One poster complained about the Russian man mispronouncing the English but come on, if you are a native English speaker or know English, what's the problem? If you know they are mistakes and you still understand, I really don't see that as an issue. It just lends more authenticity to the recordings!

This book is really intense Russian learning so it may frighten the beginner who has never learned a language before but if you hang in there, you will love it and learn a LOT. I am a little scared what book 2 is like; I haven't ordered it yet! lol! Buy this book, you will love it and learn volumes. Later in your learning, you will even come back to it for guidance. Unlike a lot of courses, this is indeed one I can truly say is worth the money!

good book, horrible pronunciation of English on tape
The book is fairly good, but I had studied Russian before and it's unclear what it would have been like without earlier knowledge.The cassettes ought to be very good.The vocabulary gets read before the text.That should help, but the Russian man reading the English pronounced most words incorrectly, usually creating difficulty in understanding. Cough was pronounced cotch, peasants, something like peasan. I use tapes while biking, and it was impossible much of the time to figure out which word he was saying.
Hopefully the newer edition has re-recorded the dialogs.Check this out before buying.

a friendly and quite comprehensive introduction
This is one of the better courses in the Routledge Colloquial Series, many of which are plaged by irritations ranging from typographical errors to incomplete grammatical explantions to simply not adequately glossing new vocabulary. This book avoids all of these problems and provides a very stimulating introduction to a language that most learners will find full of challenges. Since texts are not translated into English it will be necessary to 'over-learn' the vocabulary in each lesson, and maybe even the grammatical coverage before moving on to tackling the Russian. This material is so well prepared that the crutch of an English translation really isn't necessary, although even very independent students might need to consult with a teacher or native speaker from time to time. Those who prefer a slower pace have some nice alternatives- try "Teach Yourself Russian", "The Penguin Russian Course" or Duff's oldie-but-goodie "Russian for Beginners".The last two don't have any audio, though.

Good book, but the pace was a little fast
I have read and used a lot of language books and I didn't feel like this book really helped the students along well enough. The first few chapters, I was excited about learning Russian, but by chapter 5 I was lost.I have even taken Russian in college before.So I guess I just think the pace of this book is a bit fast or illogical.

It's really a good textbook!
When I first time found this book in the university library,I was attracted by this book so much,and again and again I reborrowed this book from the liberary.And when I travelled in Russia last year I bought the travel guide of lonely planet series,it also recommends this book as good russian textbook.Finally I decided to have one my own copy ,and I searched it at Amazon.com.

But when I saw the general review of this book I was surprised that this book has "only" three stars!And I can't help but write a review to counterbalance it.This is really a rather good one on the market with its relatively low price.The downstairs said that this book doesn't have English translation to accompany the Russian text.I don't see it as a drawback.If there's English translation beside the Russian text,you would probably rely on the English translation and would not spend time to read the Russian one, which I think will hinder the learning of a new language.

The content of this book is well organized and the materials are very authentic whihout losing fun.I really think it's one of the best text book for the beginners of this difficult language, and I truly recommend this to everyone who would puck up Russian language efficiently and happily! ... Read more

Product Description

Advanced Russian Through History is a Russian reader for intermediate and advanced students of Russian and heritage learners of Russian.  The book consists of 36 chapters focusing on the history of Russia, from Kievan Rus' to the post-Soviet era.  Each chapter features a written text, a brief lecture on the accompanying CD-ROM, and web-based learning tasks designed to promote students' abilities to understand and produce argument in the style of scholarly discourse, both in speech and in writing.

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent tool for self-guided study
Centers study on 36 graded, glossed readings about everything from the Decembrists to Stalin. Difficult words are underlined and become the basis for some excellent vocabulary and discussion exercises online. Included is a CD with audio lectures on the same themes as the readings.

For a student who has completed two or more years of college study, this books would be an excellent tool for selfguided study, to a point. Certainly a student can work through the readings and audio/video pieces independently, but to get the most out of the exercises, be they online or in the book, one would likely need a teacher or native language tutor. (Reviewed in Russian Life)

True value for the money
Reading history of Russia all the way back as far as they can go all the way up to the present is invaluable in terms of gaining new vocabulary and becoming more fluent so as to talk about it as well.

One caveat: The way that they pack the cd allows for some of the glue to get on the disk. Carefully cut from the top after removing the tab along the left or right side of the CD container to avoid this. My first disk had so much glue that I tried to remove it and it just spread around worse so that the disk was unreadable. There was still some on one edge that came off on my second disk. So, follow my instructions.

BTW, I told Amazon about the problem, they gave me the files to put on a box to return the item AND shipped me a new one on the same day. Talk about service!!!

Anyse ... Read more

Product Description

Bestselling quick-prep Russian course for travelers, now in CD format!

This accessible minicourse provides all the communication skills needed to make the most of a foreign jaunt. In just one week--less time than it takes to get a passport--you can learn enough Russian to conduct typical travelers' transactions with conversational confidence.

Organized into seven units, one for each day of the week, these colorfully illustrated chapters feature:

• Vocabulary and phrase lists for everyday situations such as dining, shopping, and asking for directions
• Accessible grammar points and interactive practice exercises
• An easy-to-navigate vocabulary list for on-the-spot reference
• Dialogues and exercises performed by native speakers--now on CD
• Updated information about ATMs and public phones abroad

Customer Reviews (3)

I speak Russian thanks to this book
I used Conversational Russian in 7 Days when I started studied Russian, I practiced a lot with this book. Russian is not an easy language, it has six cases for the nouns and much more complications. But this book gave me the opportunity to actually speak Russian, carefully showing the way to pronounce many helpful expressions. I saw this book as a fundamental part of my study of Russian language, though not the only one. I also used the Pimsleur method. I read this book for several months before mastering it, but even so I don't find the title misleading, because the days of the week are used as indicators of the progress in the study. This is a great book, thanks to which my study of Russian was amusing and interesting in the beginning. It took me almost two years to acquire proficiency in Russian, now I speak it fluently, and this is the reason why I know that the book is good, and I highly recommend to everyone beginning to learn Russian.

Just enough
I agree that the book is horribly dated, but I don't think that makes it useless. In fact, I think the "7 Days" series can be very helpful for the right kind of reader with the right kind of goals. This book gives just enough more than a phrasebook that you feel like you have a chance when you go traveling. The grammar explanations and exercises are lighter than the ones in a "Teach Yourself" book, but that made me more likely to do them. There's enough grammar that you can sort of guess at how to say new things that aren't in the book. In that way it's better than a phrasebook. Russian grammar is far too complicated to pick up from a little book like this, but I don't think the book is intended to make you a fluent speaker of Russian. Though an updated version is well overdue, for the price, it's not a bad way to get ready for a trip.

Don't bother.
This book is horribly out of date and a complete waste of time.It still refers to Russia as the Soviet Union, and the Russia of today is a COMPLETELY different animal than it was in 1991, when this book was published.

There are lots of pretty pictures and cutesy cartoons, but you will not learn Russian using this book.Even at it's cheap price, it's a waste of money.If you don't want to spend much, get the Lonely Planet phrasebook instead. ... Read more

Product Description
Developing on the success of his widely acclaimed textbook, A Comprehensive Russian Grammar, Terence Wade provides a workbook for all English-speaking students of Russian. The book is designed to be used both as a companion volume to the reference grammar, and independently.Exercises range from substitution drills and multiple choices to grammatical quizzes and translation exercises, with every important grammatical point illustrated and explored.The large-format workbook includes a key for students working on their own and suggestions for following up particularly difficult areas in more detail. A Russian Grammar Workbook offers a structured and stimulating approach to the study of Russian for learners at all levels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For advanced learners
I am at a low to intermediate level of knowledge of the Russian language. This book is far too complicated for me. It has an extraordinary amount of rules and exceptions to rules, which, for people who already know the language very well, may be quite useful; for me it is impossible to follow.

An indispensable companion to the Wade grammar book
There is little to say about this workbook that the editorial review does not cover. If you are a student of Russian at university, or if you are serious about learning this challenging language by yourself, then you would do well to have a grammar book and workbook like the Wade combo to work through. It is directly linked to what you learn in the grammar, and if you are one of those die-hard language learner types who can actually work your way through a grammar book from cover to cover, then having the workbook to practise and expand upon the grammar points in a great bonus. It will turn what is, esentially a reference work into a practice work. Although, personally, I do not think the grammar book covers all that it should (read my review of it for more details) for high level students, it does cover a lot and this workbook makes it all the more worthwhile. There is no short cut to Russian grammar, no matter what other titles that proport to make Russian and its grammar quick or easy. This work makes no such claims either. It is a serious grammar workbook that really puts you through your paces. It will give even the hardened linguist a thorough and challenging workout, and will take several weeks of dedicated study to plough through so don't expect an easy ride. I suppose it needs to be said that if you expect an easy ride, you shouldn't be considering learning Russian anyway. ... Read more

Product Description
SynopsisDeveloped by Linguaphone, the world s leading publisher of self-study language courses, Russian PDQ-Quick Comprehensive Course: Learn to Speak, Understand, Read and Write Russian is the perfect way to begin learning the Russian Language.Designed with busy people in mind, Russian PDQ-Quick Comprehensive Course is an effective way to learn all the essential and practical Russian. Native speakers take the listener to France, where you will discover how to get by in a wide variety of everyday situations. Topics covered include: meeting people for the first time; asking a question; ordering food and drink; starting a conversation; getting to know someone; talking about your friends and family; finding your way around and asking directions; talking about your home and where you live; hiring a car; and sightseeing. All the recordings are bilingual, so you can study simply by listening to the lessons on the CDs.. The 64 page course book offers helpful backup and extra practice. From the PublisherPDQ - the first step towards fluencyLinguaphone aims to provide a solution for every language requirement, The PDQ range of language courses is designed specifically to bridge the gap between our full language courses and the requirements of the traveler or holiday maker. PDQ is the perfect course for the person who wishes to take the first steps towards speaking a new language or would like to learn all the language needed for traveling and holidays abroad. Contents 4 sixty-minute audio CDsAudio Recordings PDQ covers a wide range of every day situations and uses native speakers to deliver an active vocabulary of over 500 words. Lessons are bilingual, which means that it is possible to complete a PDQ course by simply listening to the recordings. Lessons on CD allow the student to instantly access different parts of the PDQ course.Course Book PDQ contains a full-color 64 page program guide. ... Read more

Product Description
This book and CD set is designed to help Russians achieve greaterfluency in American English. The set contains over 300 of today’smost commonly used idioms and phrases. Idioms are presented in 25lively dialogues which tell the entertaining story of an Americanfamily. The set is appropriate for intermediate to advanced studentsof English of all ages. The book comes with an audio CD of all of thedialogues. Contains dozens of helpful exercises to reinforce thematerial, with convenient answer key for self-study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Interesting Stories That Are Possibly Juvenile But Definitely Relate to The Real World
I bought this book for my fiancée and her 24 year old son, both Russian speakers from Kazakhstan. I read it first before I gave it to them. I must admit that the stories are very simple, and that is probably best and by sheer necessity. A literary scholar would chide them and deem them as possibly juvenile, but let us not lose sight of their intent. And that is to teach people who are not totally fluent in English how to speak English better. That includes how the slang and colloquialism that are so engrained in our language are woven within the very fabric of our speech, as is true of any language. This is exactly what this book gives you and it is not at all tedious to read so those who are not given to studious works that require great protracted spans of concentration will particularly enjoy this I believe, as is the case with my friends who are everyday working people, a chef and a TV personality respectively. There was considerable thought given to the development here of the stories and there are quizzes as well as crossword puzzles, all of which add to the realism and appeal of this book. It is a real winner and so engaging that its readers will surely not at all be bored.

Quite useful, but still needs some editing
****

This is a fine book for classroom use with intermediate-to-advanced level Russian speakers who are acquiring English.A good selection of idiomatic American expressions is presented and illustrated through an engaging 25-chapter story involving a single family (the Johnsons); the specific situations used-- from the family's daily life, work, school and recreation-- are generally clearly delineated and are often instructive for the students in both linguistic and cultural contexts.The various exercises which accompany the texts are varied and competently assembled, and their completion probably gives the students an important sense an accomplishment (however ephemeral) that rote memorization does not by itself provide.

Some editing still needs to be done: there are too many instances of everyday expressions (which most students already understand) being offered up as "idioms"; conversely, there are also several occasions in which odd/unusual constructions go unglossed.While these are not great impediments, the CD which accompanies the book has several more serious problems: the voice of one principal character (Bob, the father) is poorly enunciated throughout [and also happens to bear an unnerving resemblance to that of Vladimir Pozner...]; and several other characters simply miss the appropriate stresses in a number of words and phrases-- as though they were reading the texts aloud for the first time.The instructor is left to explain that, well, what he/she would *actually* say in this situation sounds more like this: "..."One gets the impression that the roles were voiced by a convenient selection of local volunteers-- whereas hiring real actors for the roles could have made a significant difference.

That said, I recommend this book-- and look forward to a second volume (as well as to the remedial tinkering with the first).My students enjoyed it for the most part, and no doubt learned a great deal from the adventures of the Johnson family.

fun to read
This book is useful and fun. It teaches American expressions by telling funny stories, and it has amusing pictures.

Laugh and also learn English
Easy to understand and written with a great sense of humor, this book is an essential aid to improving English understanding and speech.Learn how to correctly use language of daily life (at an interview, on the job or at the store).The additional CD teaches proper pronunciation.A great help fornew immigrants and also for those who want to increase their knowledge of English idioms.

Enrich yourknowledge of English !!!!!
I found this book very useful and helpful; great CD too.One can learn new phrases and listen to the correct prononciation at the same time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her English skills. ... Read more

Product Description
Delightful learning aid contains 15 scenes of home, school, farm, beach, park, classroom, and other common environments--with more than 500 objects labeled in Russian. Complete list of Russian words and English translations included at back of book. Fun-filled, effective way for students of Russian to build and strengthen their vocabulary skills.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Not good for stydying Russian
If I would be able to look inside this book, however not expensive it is, I would not order the 10 copies for my students in Russian language class.Not only these 500 words are not so common for general (beginning) conversation, there are some spelling mistakes in Russian.In addition to that, the book without any colors, presuming the students would color it thus covering the names of the objects, -- not so smart idea.Sorry, I spent my money.

"Russian Picture Word Book"
"Russian Picture Word Book" is a good vocabulary review of 500 or so commonly used objects and words.When I first opened it, I thought it was a child's coloring book rather than a Russian vocabulary review.However, on reflection, it will work for me to review the words contained inside.I might even get some colored pencils and color the objects in order to reinforce the words.It might be fun!!

Idea snd approach for leading words rather than a course or textbook
It is crucial to have the right expectations to this book. It can give you ideas to inspiration to how to learn Russian, but it is nothing with this kind ob book that can learn you Russian. Also compare with "First thousand words in Russian" that is more or less the same concept, to decide which one you like best.

Boosting you vocabulary with 500 or 1000 words is time consuming, exhausting, most likely boring and the bad news is that you have to do 100% of the job yourself, There is no course you can go to, book you can read or plug-in you can install in order to avoid learning every single of those words by yourself, one by one.

It is not that unlikely that it is on a point where you have been though chapter 1-5 or so in your textbook, learned the grammar topics covered in these chapters, learned the 250 words or so absolute basic vocabulary from those chapters and made notes besides the text of all the words you simply can not remember, you might have discovered that you are not able of reading even simple text beside your textbook and you find this book in a bookstore, thinking it might help you to achive the vocabulary you need in order to find it worthwhile to move on with your work.

If this type of book gives you an idea or inspiration to how you can visualize and group words, making it easier to drill and memorize them, you might have got a good idea. Grouping words probably makes the learning process easier. I and a course mate took the concept a step further, and agreed upon vocabulary to learn, put up a drawing on the blackboard and wrote down one word we were supposed to learn at a time, until one of us could not remember any of the ones left and lost the competition. Such drawings also tend to have more objects in them, than the ones that is written in Russian (or what ever language you learn) or you can add your own objects and write their name in Russian.

Another point is that it does not really matter that much if such a book is intended for "your language", as long as it has pictures of objects you want to know the words for in your language. I used one book intended for Russian to learn new vocabulary in Turkish and got a refresh of my Russian vocabulary as a bonus without wasting a single calory extra. It is not surprisingly it worked just fine, as this type of book is a concept of structuring your learning and has nothing what so ever to do with the Russian language per se. You can write in those words yourself and probably learn much more from that initial work that if all the work was done for you from the beginning. Or use photoes in a magazine or chilren's crosswords.

Some reviewers of similar books have claimed that you will get the same effect out of making your own drawings or use pictures to visualize the objects you want to learn the words for. They are right, except that the extra work involved in making your own book and the fact that you can focus on exactly the type of words that you want to learn, probably will make the effect even better than someone else's product. Not to mention that the cutting, pasting, drawing, writing, extention, reorganizing, will be far more fun than sitting with your textbook (or pre purchased picture word book for that matter) and drill new words. To start doing that, you need to get the idea from somewhere though. Some might think this is not that much value from purchasing a book, but after reading many language textbooks and followed many 10 weeks language courses, there is several books and courses where I have picked up one very good idea or insight and still find them average or beyond average useful.

I am a bit surprised that some of the other reviewers make a point out of that this is not only a book for children as if that was something that made it less relevant for grown ups. Quite on the contrary children are much faster in picking up foreign languages than grown ups and pedagogical approaches that make use of typical children-ways of learning(including visualising whit pictures and grouping words), is probably the most effective.

To make a long story short - this is one example of many within language courses that at best can give you good ideas and inspiration on how you can approach your own work pedagogically, some of them you will like some of them you will not like at all, but it is guaranteed that you never will get any lingual insight of the language in question based upon using this type of book. Whether you choose to buy this book or not I wish you good luck with improving your vocabulary in Russian

kids book for adults, too
Here's another kids book that adults could use.Compared to the book "First Thousand Words", it's not as attractive, but I bought it for fun.It has 15 2-page black and white drawings of themed scenes.My husband said "Oh!I see you have a coloring book!".I guess one could color the pictures...what the heck.

Each theme is labeled, and items in the scenes are labeled.Unlike "1,000 Words", it does NOT have pronunciations (that's dumb..there isn't even a phonetic guide), but like the "1,000" it does have a translation glossary in the back.

I liked it as a diversion from text-only Russian lessons.

It has its purpose
The Russian Picture Word Book has many uses, but I like to leave it in my office and from time to time, re learn the sounds the letters make.Most Russian letters sound the same, so pronouncing what you see is easy.This book helped me learn the phonics of the letters.I can read and pronounce almost any word in Russian.I use a translation dictionary usually to find the words meaning.

Peace Out, The Compusician

PSIt is well worth the price. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Great book
Great book to help you start learning the language. And thanks to whoever wrote those extra notes and tabs!It was very helpful.

First Thousand Words in Russian
One of the most used books I've ever purchased.My grand-daughter who just turned three "reads" it every day.She loves it (especially when you read it with her).

idea and inspiration to increase vocabulary not language course
It is crucial to have the right expectations to this book. It can give you ideas to inspiration to how to learn Russian, but it is nothing with this kind ob book that can learn you Russian.

Boosting you vocabulary with 500 or 1000 words is time consuming, exhausting, most likely boring and the bad news is that you have to do 100% of the job yourself, There is no course you can go to, book you can read or plug-in you can install in order to avoid learning every single of those words by yourself, one by one.

It is not that unlikely that it is on a point where you have been though chapter 1-5 or so in your textbook, learned the grammar topics covered in these chapters, learned the 250 words or so absolute basic vocabulary from those chapters and made notes besides the text of all the words you simply can not remember, you might have discovered that you are not able of reading even simple text beside your textbook and you find this book in a bookstore, thinking it might help you to achive the vocabulary you need in order to find it worthwhile to move on with your work.

If this type of book gives you an idea or inspiration to how you can visualize and group words, making it easier to drill and memorize them, you might have got a good idea. Grouping words probably makes the learning process easier. I and a course mate took the concept a step further, and agreed upon vocabulary to learn, put up a drawing on the blackboard and wrote down one word we were supposed to learn at a time, until one of us could not remember any of the ones left and lost the competition. Such drawings also tend to have more objects in them, than the ones that is written in Russian (or what ever language you learn) or you can add your own objects and write their name in Russian.

Another point is that it does not really matter that much if such a book is intended for "your language", as long as it has pictures of objects you want to know the words for in your language. I used one book intended for Russian to learn new vocabulary in Turkish and got a refresh of my Russian vocabulary as a bonus without wasting a single calory extra. It is not surprisingly it worked just fine, as this type of book is a concept of structuring your learning and has nothing what so ever to do with the Russian language per se. You can write in those words yourself and probably learn much more from that initial work that if all the work was done for you from the beginning. Or use photoes in a magazine or chilren's crosswords.

Some reviewers of similar books have claimed that you will get the same effect out of making your own drawings or use pictures to visualize the objects you want to learn the words for. They are right, except that the extra work involved in making your own book and the fact that you can focus on exactly the type of words that you want to learn, probably will make the effect even better than someone else's product. Not to mention that the cutting, pasting, drawing, writing, extention, reorganizing, will be far more fun than sitting with your textbook (or pre purchased picture word book for that matter) and drill new words. To start doing that, you need to get the idea from somewhere though. Some might think this is not that much value from purchasing a book, but after reading many language textbooks and followed many 10 weeks language courses, there is several books and courses where I have picked up one very good idea or insight and still find them average or beyond average useful.

I am a bit surprised that some of the other reviewers make a point out of that this is not only a book for children as if that was something that made it less relevant for grown ups. Quite on the contrary children are much faster in picking up foreign languages than grown ups and pedagogical approaches that make use of typical children-ways of learning(including visualising whit pictures and grouping words), is probably the most effective.

To make a long story short - this is one example of many within language courses that at best can give you good ideas and inspiration on how you can approach your own work pedagogically, some of them you will like some of them you will not like at all, but it is guaranteed that you never will get any lingual insight of the language in question based upon using this type of book. Whether you choose to buy this book or not I wish you good luck with improving your vocabulary in Russian.

Great for memorizing nouns!
I am currently learning Russian and bought this book to use with the grammar and verb books I already own. I have the Pocket Oxford Russian-English dictionary(which is amazing) but I tend to memorize things better if there are pictures to associate them with. I also wanted to learn language in the same way that a younger child would, so these everyday words are great to get me through children's books. I love that they have both the printed and written alphabet in the front of the book, and show the pronunciation(with stressed parts in bold) under every word. And if any of the pictures are not clear they have an alphabetical list of all of the words with the printed russian, the page number, the pronunciation, and the english translation, in the very back of the book.

fun vocabulary builder
Okay...so this is like the English-language version that American kids have.While some may think there are too many words and pictures on each page, this works for adults.It's grouped according to themes (food,travel, party, etc) which are shown in scenes, with extra pictures around the borders.All pictures are labeled in Russian, with the pronunciation below each word.Most pronunciations are correct.If you can't figure out the word's meaning, there is a glossary in the back.

Kid's-style vocabulary* book for adults...and kids, too.Nice break to just look at simple pictures instead of Russian text-only.

*Vocabulary, NOT phrases/sentences ... Read more

Product Description
Now learning a foreign language can be enjoyable as well as challenging, and not require a trip back to the classroom. Available in both book-only or book-and-cassette format, these Three-Month Language Courses are outstanding self-study programs designed for the individual seeking to acquire a good working knowledge of a language in a short amount of time. Devoting just over an hour daily to the course, the program provides grammar lessons, contextual conversion drills, relevant word lists, and graded exercises, giving you an immediate and practical grasp of the language. In addition, pronunciation is made easy with Hugo's unique "imitated pronunciation" system, which represents foreign sounds with English syllables. Whether you are a businessman tackling an international account, a student preparing for an adventurous holiday, or simply a lover of new languages, the Three-Month Language Course makes learning easy, satisfying, and more fun than ever before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent value
This course is an excellent value.It has four cassettes with very good audio quality.The book in combination with the cassettes helps you see how the words are written as well as how they are pronounced.It would be nice if there were more repetition with the tapes -- but considering the price you are getting a lot for your money.I have also purchased Pimsleur tapes which are excellent but which are very expensive.This course also provides grammar and pronunciation rules that are very helpful and which make this course better in some ways than Pimsleur because many of the sounds in Russian are very subtle and are difficult to pick up when only listening to audio tapes.I highly recommend this Hugo course.I would also supplement it with other materials like Pimsleur.

It worked for me
Three months after starting this course I went to live in Moscow.I bought food, travelled on public transport, had simple conversations with strangers, read newspaper headlines, spoke to my neighbours and went out to nightclubs.

I've read a lot of Russian language course books and this iseasily, easily the best value.

To improve your Russian after this book -there's one 'Verbs of Motion for Intermediate Students of Russian', whichis also fantastic.Also buy Offord's guide to Russian grammar if you'regoing to Russia.There are also a couple of great books published byStrathclyde University's Professor of Russian, do check these out.Don'tbuy any textbooks written by a Russian (unless it's from MGU), they're allterrible!

A great way to learn Russian..
I feel that this book offers a great deal in teaching the reader the basics of the Russian language. Like other Hugo language books its style and approach is very clear and comprehensive. Obviously with Russian youhave to learn twice the amount as with another language which uses ouralphabet, i.e Spanish or German. The author realises this and paysextensive attention to the Cyrillic alphabet, making sure that the readerbecomes very familiar with it. The first few chapters are dedicated to itslearning, as well as the pronunciation of the letters within words, andalso additional letter rules. I'm really enjoying learning Russian by usingthis book and once more am confident that the imitated pronunciationoffered throughout the chapters has given me a sound knowledge on makingmyself understood. It's the little idiosyncracies and tidbits which serveto impress the reader. For example, at the back of the book the author hasactually included a section on how Russian is handwritten with a fewexamples of letters. I have not finished it yet, but with some dedicationand a little bit of work, I am sure that I will have the basics of Russiandown to a fairly reasonable degree. One comment I will make though is thatI bought the book without the aid of the cassettes, and I think thatwithout them I will find it harder. This could be said with all thecourses, as the cassettes are critical to getting a real 'feel' of thesound of the language. Hopefully I will be able to get the cassettesseparately. To conclude though, I feel this book offers one of the bestways of learning not only Russian, but other European and non-Europeanlanguages too. I do and will continue to use Hugo's language coursesexclusively. (And not just because they are nicely colour-coded...)

A simple way of learning Russian...
Even though I have not finished the book as of yet, I thought I'd still comment. Obviously with Russian you are forced to learn almost twice the amount as compared to an alternative European language due to the fact thatyou have to grasp the intracies of the Cyrillic alphabet. Once you'vetranslated a word from Russian to English, the meaning could still beunknown. Anyway, the author realises this and has spent a fair deal of timeon making the alphabet clear, and the first few chapters are dedicated togiving you a thorough understanding of it, including some basic rules, andof course letter pronunciations. The imitated pronunciation, which ispresent in all of Hugo's language books, is once more very helpful. Onceyou start repeating certain words with the pronunciation guidelines, yourealise that what you're saying does sound like authentic Russian, or atleast if you have heard Russian before anyway. Personally I may find iteasier because I possess books by the same publisher in Swedish andSpanish, but even so, the explanations are clear and comprehensive. It'sthe little additions, like idiosyncracies and other tidbits whichsupplement your understanding. For example at the back of the book theauthor has included a section on how Russian handwriting is done, showingyou how some of the alphabet changes when written rather than printed.Unfortunately the version I bought was without the cassettes which comewith the book, and I feel that these would greatly assist me in learningthe language. The cassettes do a lot for giving the student a real 'feel'for the sound of the language. If you are prepared to do a little bit ofwork and revision, you can easily master the basics of the language. I doand will continue to use Hugo's language courses exclusively. (And not justbecause they are nicely colour-coded...)

well-integrated listening, speaking, and grammar
The book is attractive and laid out well...easy to find your way around.The tapes are clear, and in the first few lessons, very slow.Each chapter contains a grammar lesson, some vocabulary, and a dialogue illustratingboth. There are also a few "quizzes" scattered along the way. The dialogues tell a story, which progresses from chapter to chapter,culminating in an "epilogue" at the end, telling what happened tothe characters.The device sounds a little silly, but actually was rathermotivating! The only real fault in the course was that there wasn't enoughrepetition.Some words appeared only once or twice in the dialogues...itwould have been preferable to hear them several times, to develop theability to recognize them in new contexts. ... Read more

Product Description
Our best-selling audio language-learning program provides comprehensive grammar and vocabulary to beginners and advanced students, offering guidance in pronunciation in addition to language fundamentals. Updated for the 21st century and re-recorded with fresh voiceovers, Learn In Your Car includes terminology for cell phones, computers and the Internet, as well as contemporary currencies and usages. Listeners learn pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of a new language without the need of a textbook: Level 1: Key words and phrases, basic grammar skills, emphasizes travel needs; Level 2: Expands vocabulary, new grammar concepts, more day-to-day activities; Level 3: Broadens vocabulary base, more advanced grammar skills, enriches conversational ability. 9 hours of audio on 9 compact discs, 3 booklets with recorded text for reference & grammar notes, Zippered CD Wallet, Travelogue DVD. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

fun but no serious way to learn a language
These things are great to listen to, to hear the pronunciation of various native speakers (they might use 3 different speakers over the course of the 3 volumes) but there is no way that you're going to learn a language this way unless you are a mimic. They are good for practice and pronunciation, though.

They don't make you come up with the translations on your own.
It's too easy to sit back and wait a few seconds and just listen to the correct translation.

And it's far too distracting to try to drive and listen to this at the same time.
It's cool to rip to mp3 and listen to on a hammock though. I've had mine for 3 years and I've picked-up virtually no Russian at all this way.
I've spent enough time studying languages to know that the only way to really learn them is to force yourself to translate back and forth between English and the foreign language and build-up your vocabulary. But still that will not give you the proper or even a realistic pronunciation, and that is where these CDs really help. That one part makes this set (or something like it, with native speakers & phrases) invaluable for anyone who is seriously considering the study of the Russian language.

Cheap, but not very useful
Basically, this CD is just an audio Russian-English dictionary.You can use it to pick up a few words, but it is very tedious way to learn.It doesn't go far in describing how to construct entire sentances.

Great for in the Car
These discs are well done with great enunciation. They also give you enough time to practice the new words without having to rush. I am really enjoying listening to them as I drive in the car. Great value for the money.

Excellent way to learn a language
Really the best way to learn a language especially when you have a busy schedule

Too list-oriented
When first going to Russia I listened to this on Delta heading to live in Moscow for a few years. I think that very little stuck to me. I have bought lots of these Russian tutorials and this seems to me to be one of the least useful. Try a Transparent or Rossetta course instead. This basically gives you long lists of words and their definitions. It's just not the most efficient way to learn -- you need more context than this.

If you are just cramming to visit Russia, my advice is to get Cyrillic down cold and study some traveler's phrase book on the plane. You can find many tutorials on Cyrillic for free. You'll be stunned at how much you can figure out once you get the alphabet down. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

Concise and informative
These phrases are generally useful and informative, but I would recommend it much more for people traveling to Russia without extensive knowledge of the language than students trying to learn it.

Phrases you'll most likely use
Finally...a phrase book I can use immediately.There are some discrepancies, such as "I want to eat cake"---most likely you would say "I would like to eat cake", but my tutor says I wouldn't get thrown out of a restaurant or someone's home if I said "I WANT"!

Phrases are grouped by topic and are listed by page number in the index.Pronunciation is below each phrase. Don't be confused by the "floating" /y/--it is explained, but can still lead to one saying the y sound, instead of softening the preceeding consonant (they probably should have used a non-letter symbol).

A good starter book.

Excellent!
Taking a 10 week Russian language class and found this book very helpful with the at home learning process.

Wonderful Introduction
I have never read most of these authors and each story was as enthralling as the previuos one. I had a great time using the Russian side of the book and trying to read out the words. Fabulous having the orginal language next to the English translation. A bit hard for beginner readers, but worth a shot.

Easy Russian Phrase Book: Over 690 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase Books)
Arrived quickly,in great condition ... Read more