Raul Said:

How hard is it to learn Russian compared to Japanese?

We Answered:

Learning ANY 2nd Language is a (HELP) Toward Learning a (THIRD) Language; ESPECIALLY if tHE SECOND & THIRD Languages ARE IN tHE (SAME) Language "Group"; Which Japanese and Russian (ARE) ! ! !

Andy Said:

I'm very interested in Russian as a language and Russian history. How would you suggest I learn more?

We Answered:

Well, living in Russia is relatively cheap (unless you go to Moscow). If you have some money saved, it is definitely possible to just come over as a tourist for a few weeks and hire a local english-language student as a tutor. You should also plan on studying a semester abroad. It is not possible for non-Russians to work in summer camps or do internships in Russia. (Russians do not have summer camps as the Americans do.) But you could look at Au-Pair work. There are bound to be rich Russians looking for native speakers of English to watch their kids.

@Ernie: I speak both Russian and Arabic apart from English and German (my native language), hasn't landed me a job yet. So I suggest learning whichever language you enjoy, because without real passion for and a zeal to master it you will get nowhere when learning another language.

Roy Said:

How long would it take to learn basic - good Russian?

We Answered:

That is entirely up to you. Not only how much time you devote to learning Russian, but also which other foreign languages you have already learnt. First of all you should learn the alphabet. I'm a language teacher, and it may be that you only want to be able to speak Russian, but learning the alphabet will mean that you can start to read simple words. Once you can start to read, you'll reinforce your learning process. Not everywhere in Russia is labelled McDonald's or Starbucks!
My French prof would kill me! But hey! the mother tongue process is great. However, there comes a time when reading reinforces what you have learnt.
The last time I was in Russia I was with a group of Swiss. I read a poster to them, which I had translated into German. Our local tourist guide came up behind me and said in German, "Ah! a Swiss spy." To which I replied, "No! Worse than that. I'm English." My Russian is very limited, but I can read the words.

Patrick Said:

How can I learn to speak Russian?

We Answered:

I started learning Russian on my own my sophomore year of high school. There are several websites that can aid you in learning Russian. I used both books that I bought and various websites online. I also found a native speaker to correspond with that would correct my mistakes. I also did buy Rosetta Stone (but I would not recommend it) It was awful and did not benefit me at all. I was also taking French in school when I started learning Russian and it did not make it anymore difficult for me. They are fairly different languages so I never mixed them up or anything. Russian is also a very grammatically complex language so you probably will need to get a book that explains the grammar really well. First off to start you will need to learn the Cyrillic alphabet so you can read and write Russian. You can also search youtube for videos that will aid your pronunciation. Russian is fairly hard and it takes quite a bit of time to master. I have been studying it for 4 years and I am still not fluent but proficient.

Caroline Said:

How hard is it to learn Russian?

We Answered:

Learning any language takes many many years, and only the truly dedicated learners will be able to master the language. With Russian, you have to take in the consideration of learning a whole new form of written letters, called Cyrillic. You must also take in to factor about the grammatical setup and pronouncation. However, it is NOT impossible!

Websites:
First of all, try this one: http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/r…
If good and easy. Also, you might want to try out youtube. Try typing in Learn Russian, and make sure to click on Victor Huglainov's, he's the odd looking guy, but his videos are GREAT!

Books:
One great book I know can be found in your local Barnes and Nobles Bookstore under the Language section. It's titled: "Learn Russian:10 Minutes A Day." This book is WONDERFUL, and I can't suggest it enough for beginners.

Culture:
Try finding anyone you live around and see if they're Russian, and ask to talk with them and have them teach you some. Also, try watching Russian movies. Two I can suggest to you are: ???????? ?????? (Day Watch) and ?????? ????? (Night Watch). They come in subtitles, but you'll at least be watching a film in Russian that will help you progress, by hearing native speakers.

CD's:
I recently recieved myself a "Teach Yourself Russian" CD set that comes with 4 audio CDs that follow a coursebook with 40 step-by-step lessons as well as a beginner's Russian to English(English to Russian) dictionary that I greatly recommend. The company is called "Living Language" and the website is www.livinglanguage.com. One other beneficial fact is the price, only $30, including perhaps shipping fee with you decide to purchase it online.

Music:
There are some GREAT Russian music groups! Go to youtube.com and type in: Fabrika, Blestyashie, Via Gra, Zhanna Friske, and Russian Music Videos.
Try these two websites as well: http://blest.ru/ and http://www.sras.org/library_russian_musi…

?????!(Good luck!)

Brandon Said:

Can I learn Russian without learning their cyrillic alphabet?

We Answered:

The answer is "no" - strange question really, like,
"Can I learn Italian without learning Italian alphabet" or
"Can I learn Japanese without learning Japanese characters"

:)