The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian

by Christopher Froehlich

Does learning Russian have to be so hard? Nyet!

Learn the basics of the Russian language without getting discouraged. This friendly, fun, and practical approach offers first-time learners and re-learners of Russian the basics of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and conversation. Whether learning Russian for business, school, or travel, or just to have a friendly conversation, this book is must.

One of the five official languages of the UN
An increasingly important language for business, trade, and science
Russian is the third most popular language for multilingual skills in the U.S.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Russia

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2006

Reviews

[Christopher]

Well, I wrote it. I guess it was ok.

[Lamadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually get to finish the book. I got it from the library and it was put on hold by someone so I couldn't renew my check out. But I really don't think I would have been able to do much with this course on its own. It seems like it would have worked as a supplemental to a course, but I did not even begin to understand the Russian grammar system as it was presented. It was very useful in trying to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, which is what I really want to do. My true goal is just to learn a few words and phrases and be able to sound out written words before my visit, and I'm on my way to doing that. I don't think that this book alone is going to get someone on the road to actually speaking and understanding Russian.

[Ace · Rating 3 out of 5]

In conjunction with Russian: A Self-Teaching Guide as well as a separate grammar book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian helped me learn approximately a semester's worth of Russian on my own. This book is easy to understand and includes a CD with different tracks that correspond with well-marked places in each chapter. The audio offers an extra dimension to learning that a simple textbook cannot; understanding how word stress, vowels, and consonants should sound boosted my confidence in my Russian-speaking abilities.