Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Not really worth it. August 21, 2008
I have been learning Russian with a tutor for 16 months. When I first started, my first tutor recommended I buy this book as a supplement. Needless to say, I am no longer with that tutor, and this book only collects dust. First off, there is no possible way to teach yourself Russian using only a book. The case system is complex and sometimes things just need to be explained before you can start using it. This book only teaches things like colors, numbers, dates, weather -- but you could finish it 4 times, and not be able to hold any sort of conversation. Unfortunately, I have don't really any other recommendations as I now use a book my tutor brought with her from Russia. All I know is, that you will not learn much from this book.
 Great as a secondary teaching tool November 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are using an audio language program and have a feel for Russian pronunciation, this book is a very good tool. [...] is my primary source for my Russian education. Native speakers are a must for learning any language the right way. But there are going to be times when those learning Russian aren't going to have access to the web or their audio program. For such times, this book is great.
No book is going to teach anyone fluent Russian, and certainly not in 10 minutes a day, but as a complimentary tool, I highly recommend this book. It is particularly useful for those times you happen to forget something you have already learned such as how to order something at a restaurant or a day of the week (though it certainly offers far more than that).
The book looks like a grade school kid's book, but the information is very good, easily understood and practiced, and setup so that later lessons build upon prior ones. It also does a good job of introducing words, and hammering them home through repetition, inserting Russian words into an otherwise English sentence, for example.
The book's shortcoming is clearly pronunciation, but with a quality audio course, this is easily overcome. Again, this book is not of much value by itself, but as an additional tool, quick reference point, or a fun and easy way to drill home beginning Russian you have trouble remembering, it is well worth the price.
 learning russian October 16, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
this is an excellent resource. We use it for homeschooling. it provides worksheet type papers to document your progress. we fill it out only aftr mastery of section on reg. paper. WE combined this with some fun word picture book, early russian reader, a russian-english dictionary, library audio and a tutor once-a-week and less as we progress accurately.
Learning the Russian language August 12, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have not reviewed a lot of publications on learning the Russian language, but I thought this one was very helpful. It provided pronunciations, the Cyrillic alphabet, and repetitive information to learn the most commonly used words in Russian. I highly recommend it!
 A usefull ADD on August 11, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is ok to augment your other language course, which should include a cd, dvd or cassette. Without that you wonmt understand how to pronounce anything. I found teh stickers useful as I wanted to be able to read russian rather than just 'parrot' it. whle i agree with most of the negative reviews I did find myself referring to this book quite often, BUT i also own teh pimsleur and 'in your car' russian cds. If this came with a CD it would be great.
Its PURPOSELY illustrated and laid out similar to a children book, to give you visual cues. The cards, stickers etc I found most useful if you color copied them out of the book.
So if youre using this as part of your introduction you will find it useful and for that I recommend. As a sole source definitely not.
I had a new russian friend who found I learned the language quite rapidly which i think is attributed to the combined visual (photos) and aural (listening ) and reading (text). The basic Russian alphabet is easy to learn, (once you get over that confusion P=R H=N etc.
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