Job Discussion Forums

[csdandridge]

I got an offer from a school in Saint Petersburg. It would start in September.

I would obviously start learning the language now.

But comrades, will I be miserable in Saint Petersburg with only an elementary grasp of the language?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[Sashadroogie]

Come to the Paradise. Find a pillow dictionary. Make great strides!

No one is ever miserable in the Motherland. Too much joy to be had being free from the Piggies.

[coledavis]

You can learn to read and pronounce Russian letters in a few days. As most Russian words are spoken exactly as they are spelt (almost the opposite of British English), you will then have the use of a dictionary. Not bad.

My suggestion is to buy a book like the Penguin Russian course and get the first few chapters under your belt. That should include the reading, pronunciation and some basic Russian (please, thank you, I want, etc). If I were you, I would not bother with the handwritten Russian, as it will hold you up when you first start. And buy a pocket Anglo-Russian dictionary (Oxford is ok).

Don't try to learn everything - nobody expects that - but at least get those functional bits mastered.

[teacher X]

Russian is a bitch to learn. I'm no linguist, so I find my classes to be rather painful. But as Coledavis states, get the basics under your belt and you'll be alright in general day to day situations.

I can competently order in restaurants, do my shopping, ask for directions and such. I can express myself in a simple manner and have fairly basic conversations, but this has taken about 10 months to achieve. But I'm a real lazy student and rarely do anything outside of class. If I were a dedicated student, I would be speaking pretty well by now.

So, get yourself some lessons, maybe twice a week and you'll do fine.

That said, I know teachers who have been here for years and have a lower level of Russian than I do. So clearly you can get by knowing almost nothing, but you'll be very dependent on Russian friends and colleagues to help you out.

[coledavis]

As part of the basics, learn stuff like counting to 10 (up to 20 is better but a bit more difficult), also the days of the week. When making appointments, your life will be so much easier when you know your Tuesday from your Thursday.

[roywebcafe]

How about Pimsleur? I managed to get (Torrents) Levels 1,2 and 3 of pimsleur language. Has anyone tried it and found it useful? Its from an american perspective " you are an american man talking to a russian etc"

[teacher X]

I used Rosetta Stone for a while. It's good initially, but once it starts getting onto cases, you really need to be using a text book to explain the grammar aspect. I found the tasks almost impossible without some extended grammatical study.

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t31.0-8/977380_10152873100585613_1016773808_o.jpg

This will become your very best friend.

What's the point in having the [img] tag on this site when it doesn't work?

[coledavis]

The Penguin is in British English but at the level you want it, I don't think the cultural references will be all that important.

[jonniboy]

As a bare minimum learn the alphabet. You'll then find a fair number of recognisable words in common with other major European languages like English or French. "PECTOPAH" makes a lot more sense when you can read Cyrillic

[Sashadroogie]

Double plus good comment!

Дубил плус гуд коммент!

[roywebcafe]

Thanks will look out for penguin.

[LAR1SSA]

[Sashadroogie]

But why limit yourself when there is so much richness to be experienced in learning Russian? Crack open the books and open up a new dimension.

Hic!

[fat_chris]

[Sashadroogie]

Fat_chris, is that you?! Back from your top-secret mission?

You are looking well. Added a few pounds I see.

Welcome back! Hang on... I'll just crack open the Beluga crate lying here under my office desk...

CHEERS!!