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[Beginner's Russian with Interactive Online Workbook] [By: Kudyma, Anna] [July, 2015]
Start speaking Russian today! Beginner’s Russian with Interactive Online Workbook offers an innovative, easy, and thorough way to speak, and read Russian confidently. This complete Russian course includes a user-friendly textbook and interactive online workbook. The carefully-paced, relevant lessons cover grammar and language basics in the context of everyday situations related to family, jobs, introductions, dining out, the Internet, and much more. The chapters are designed for the beginning student, and are full of photos, cartoons, games, and exercises alongside easy-to-understand lessons. In addition to the book, you have access to an interactive website full of videos, audio, and self-correcting exercises. The enriching material on the website reinforces the basics of the lessons in the book, helping you acquire Russian skills in a natural, engaging way.
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First published June 15, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 30, 2018
Originally reviewed on Jan 25 2012
There is very little positives I can say about this book (and the online website). The table of contents is nice and organized, the back dictionaries are...okay and the appendix is good. But that's about it. Everything in between (including the website) was done very poorly. I'd say it'd be near to impossible to use this book to teach yourself Russian. In fact, I would suggest you only buy this book if it is required for a class.
The grammar and overall lessons themselves are in small print in the margins of the pages, and there is very few of them compared to what takes up the rest of the book - exercises. This book is just a workbook in itself. There are plenty of exercises (with no places to look for the answers, so there goes another reason why not to use this by yourself). Many of the students in my class agree in that they don't find the book helpful at all, not to mention confusing.
As for the website, at least it's organized by chapter then exercise. It's coded in Javascript (and not so great at that) which makes cheating very easy (as you just view the source and bam, enocded UTF8 answers that anyone with access to Google can look up; bad decision on their part). I do like that they offer audio and visual tools to help you, but it's very very hard for beginners as the audio quality is so poor and they speak so fast that it's almost impossible to follow.
Overall, I do not like this book. I do not suggest this book. In fact, I'm going to buy another (hopefully better) Russian learning book and only use this one for class. Hopefully the authors will see this and make improvements on any later additions they might do as well as their website.
There is very little positives I can say about this book (and the online website). The table of contents is nice and organized, the back dictionaries are...okay and the appendix is good. But that's about it. Everything in between (including the website) was done very poorly. I'd say it'd be near to impossible to use this book to teach yourself Russian. In fact, I would suggest you only buy this book if it is required for a class.
The grammar and overall lessons themselves are in small print in the margins of the pages, and there is very few of them compared to what takes up the rest of the book - exercises. This book is just a workbook in itself. There are plenty of exercises (with no places to look for the answers, so there goes another reason why not to use this by yourself). Many of the students in my class agree in that they don't find the book helpful at all, not to mention confusing.
As for the website, at least it's organized by chapter then exercise. It's coded in Javascript (and not so great at that) which makes cheating very easy (as you just view the source and bam, enocded UTF8 answers that anyone with access to Google can look up; bad decision on their part). I do like that they offer audio and visual tools to help you, but it's very very hard for beginners as the audio quality is so poor and they speak so fast that it's almost impossible to follow.
Overall, I do not like this book. I do not suggest this book. In fact, I'm going to buy another (hopefully better) Russian learning book and only use this one for class. Hopefully the authors will see this and make improvements on any later additions they might do as well as their website.
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September 6, 2023""
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2018
I spent 40 weeks (once a week for 3.5 hrs) with this book. While I learned a lot, I have to attribute much of that to the teaching of and supplements from the teacher, my investment in Pimsleur (1-4) (I'm halfway through #3) and from google searches & additional book purchases for clarity.
In this book, the cases are introduced in a piecemeal way which was very confusing and frustrating for all involved (i.e. singular case endings introduced in first half of book and plurals in the second half...case by case... so instrumental plural was introduced in one of the last few chapters). It would have been better for me as a student for this book to have each case presented in its entirety (at least all endings) before moving on to the next case. I had to do this process on my own which did make the end of the book easier but I really could have been learning something more meaningful then. The course I took which used this book has decided to invest in another teaching option for beginners. Sorry, I do not know what the new book will be.
The online portal was useful but a huge hassle to access. It required getting a UCLA login and reading fine print about what the password should be if you are indeed not a student there (which I'm not). Somehow I made it in and then there were still hoops to jump through to use the material - back buttons were not my friend and quite a number of pages would freeze up or not work at all once the 'submit' button was selected. It operated like an older program retro-fitted to a new format (which I'm pretty sure it was) and felt clunky, as though it were about to crash often. Not confidence inspiring when you are using it to learn a language through self-tests and your 'answers' page crashes before you can see how you did. Seriously, who user-checked this process!?
Considering how much money and time was spent to make up for the lack of explanations in the book and the technical difficulty accessing their online area, I can only give this 3 stars. I can after all, have short conversations now but how much of this is from the book and how much is from everything else I've done can not be separated.
In this book, the cases are introduced in a piecemeal way which was very confusing and frustrating for all involved (i.e. singular case endings introduced in first half of book and plurals in the second half...case by case... so instrumental plural was introduced in one of the last few chapters). It would have been better for me as a student for this book to have each case presented in its entirety (at least all endings) before moving on to the next case. I had to do this process on my own which did make the end of the book easier but I really could have been learning something more meaningful then. The course I took which used this book has decided to invest in another teaching option for beginners. Sorry, I do not know what the new book will be.
The online portal was useful but a huge hassle to access. It required getting a UCLA login and reading fine print about what the password should be if you are indeed not a student there (which I'm not). Somehow I made it in and then there were still hoops to jump through to use the material - back buttons were not my friend and quite a number of pages would freeze up or not work at all once the 'submit' button was selected. It operated like an older program retro-fitted to a new format (which I'm pretty sure it was) and felt clunky, as though it were about to crash often. Not confidence inspiring when you are using it to learn a language through self-tests and your 'answers' page crashes before you can see how you did. Seriously, who user-checked this process!?
Considering how much money and time was spent to make up for the lack of explanations in the book and the technical difficulty accessing their online area, I can only give this 3 stars. I can after all, have short conversations now but how much of this is from the book and how much is from everything else I've done can not be separated.
June 19, 2016
This is the first-year Russian course book from UCLA, but I was using it for individual study. Can't compare with other books out there because I haven't tried them, but this is very up-to-date and comprehensive. The activities are usually interesting/fun, which is a nice counterpoint to the difficulty and frustration of learning a new language.
This is definitely a university-level book, so it's helpful if you are already good with languages since Russian grammar is very difficult, and this doesn't waste time explaining basic terminology for parts of speech etc. By the end of the course you will know all six cases in singular and plural, as well as perfective/imperfective verbs conjugations for present, past and future tenses. The vocabulary is the most widely used, relating to family, travel, food, holidays, leisure time, home, etc.
About half the activities use the website either for audio or exercises (writing, multiple choice), and the answer key is on there, as well as supplementary resources like flashcards. I gave up on the grammar podcast early on — it's read in the most dry fashion and just reiterates everything from the book.
I did notice typos throughout the course, but a lot of that I think comes down to discrepancies between the newer edition and the older ones, since there is still only one website. For example, the answers on the website might show a few more exercises under a given activity that aren't in the book, or the wording changed slightly on a few of them.
If you are a solo learner, it is good to have someone you can speak with once you learn the basics. I am part of a Russian language exchange group, so had the opportunity to practice what I was learning with native Russian speakers twice a month (took me about nine months to get through the book).
Overall this is an excellent Russian course if you are serious about learning the language, just be prepared to study.
This is definitely a university-level book, so it's helpful if you are already good with languages since Russian grammar is very difficult, and this doesn't waste time explaining basic terminology for parts of speech etc. By the end of the course you will know all six cases in singular and plural, as well as perfective/imperfective verbs conjugations for present, past and future tenses. The vocabulary is the most widely used, relating to family, travel, food, holidays, leisure time, home, etc.
About half the activities use the website either for audio or exercises (writing, multiple choice), and the answer key is on there, as well as supplementary resources like flashcards. I gave up on the grammar podcast early on — it's read in the most dry fashion and just reiterates everything from the book.
I did notice typos throughout the course, but a lot of that I think comes down to discrepancies between the newer edition and the older ones, since there is still only one website. For example, the answers on the website might show a few more exercises under a given activity that aren't in the book, or the wording changed slightly on a few of them.
If you are a solo learner, it is good to have someone you can speak with once you learn the basics. I am part of a Russian language exchange group, so had the opportunity to practice what I was learning with native Russian speakers twice a month (took me about nine months to get through the book).
Overall this is an excellent Russian course if you are serious about learning the language, just be prepared to study.
November 19, 2020
I personally love this book. It presents grammar in smart, small chunks and builds up your skills in a well-structured manner. Exercises are enjoyable, and even though some texts are really targetted at university students and their universe, it's not too off putting.
I use it for self study, but would also add, that I am very experienced in language learning AND I use other materials and do conversation practise regularly. This is a book for learners who don't need babysitting and have probably acquired one or more foreign languages before.
The website needs improving and the procedure for non-UCLA students is annoying. Exercise keys in the book would be highly appreciated too.
I liked the book enough to also buy the authors' intermediate/advanced textbook - which I'll tackle next.
I use it for self study, but would also add, that I am very experienced in language learning AND I use other materials and do conversation practise regularly. This is a book for learners who don't need babysitting and have probably acquired one or more foreign languages before.
The website needs improving and the procedure for non-UCLA students is annoying. Exercise keys in the book would be highly appreciated too.
I liked the book enough to also buy the authors' intermediate/advanced textbook - which I'll tackle next.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews