Learn Russian in a Fun Way

The key to learning a language is to keep motivation high. This is even more essential with a language like Russian. An entirely new alphabet, the pain of the grammar cases, letters with strange pronunciation, and many other obstacles could make even the more enthusiastic of us give up. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome all these obstacles by learning Russian in the fun ways listed below.

1. Watch a Russian TV Show Or Movie

This is a great way to get a sense of how real Russians talk. Although the speech will tend to be quicker, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you begin to understand the gist of the conversation. You can watch the TV show ‘Физрук’ (‘P.E. Teacher’) or ‘Универ’ (‘The University’). They are comedies so it makes learning Russian that much more enjoyable. Russian cartoons are extremely useful as they are designed for children, so the characters speak slowly and simply. Another favorite is ‘Чебурашка и Крокодил Гена’ (‘Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena’).

2. Read Russian Books and Newspapers

This is not telling you that reading ‘Война и мир’ (‘War and Peace’) in the original is the best way to learn Russian, but reading short articles or novellas is! Short literary works, for example Chekov’s ‘Три сестры’ (‘Three Sisters’), introduce you to a whole new range of vocabulary. Newspaper articles contain contemporary vocabulary and keep you up to date with current events in Russia.

For those who love reading online, check Lingq. On this website, you can find texts and lessons for beginners and advanced learners, a great bonus is that all lessons have audio files. That allows you to listen to the right pronunciation and learn Russian faster.

3. Listen to Russian Music

In a language where the stress of words is inconsistent, this is really helpful in learning the rhythm of speech, and memorizing lyrics is a lot easier than trying to remember a list of words. The Eurovision-friendly sound of contemporary Russian pop music isn’t to everyone’s taste, so instead try listening to older or slower music. Children’s songs are useful too.

4. Change the Language of Your Social Media or Smartphone

This forces you to engage with Russian and digitally immerse yourself in it. Seeing the same phrase several times a day (e.g. уведомления (notifications), лента новостей (news feed)) really familiarizes you with their meanings. Also, changing the language is a great way to easily and conveniently learn new words.

5. Talk!

Having to think about case endings, verb perspectives, and pronunciation at the same time as you’re speaking can be really hard! However, you just have to be confident and not worry about making mistakes. Talking to native Russian speakers is the best way to improve your speaking and listening skills. Don’t be afraid to order some food at a restaurant or ask someone for directions! Although these situations can be nerve-wracking, they really help you to focus on what you’re actually saying.

So the next time Russian starts to feel a bit overwhelming, try out some of the suggestions above! These small steps can make a huge improvement in your language skills and make learning Russian a bit easier.