Russian is hard. Progress is slow. Yes, learning Russian does take time, and there’s no fast track to real fluency.
Are you still committed to give it your best shot? You should as there is a way to get to a very good level of Russian faster than you think.
Below are the top 7 tips to help you learn Russian fast:
Read everything you can get your hands on
Reading sharpens our minds and expands our knowledge. If it’s in Russian, read it and you will also learn new vocabulary. The new words you come across will be given in context reinforcing them in your mind. Classic literature, non-fiction, news websites, your social media feed or language settings on your phone: look around to see what takes your fancy. To keep your mind and thoughts fresh, read multiple books at once.
If you’re just a beginner in Russian or your attention span is less than others, read in sprints. Set 20-minute timers and off you go. You will learn new vocabulary without burning out. Not sure what beginner materials you can find? How about children’s fairy tales (“Теремок”, “3 котёнка”, “Каша из топора”), Leo Tolstoy’s fables or Anton Chekhov’s short stories. To start, I’d like you to read the below fable and think about what Leo Tolstoy was trying to say to his readers.
Take notes in Russian
You will be exposed to a lot of new useful vocabulary through all this reading. How do you memorise a large number of words? The easiest and most effective way is to write them down in your notebook.
When I was learning English, I would carry my notebook with me at all times. I like my fancy stationery so I usually take paper notes. Paper notebooks are also handy when you’re learning a language with a different script and want to practise your handwriting. But we’re living in an unmistakably digital age, and a lot of you would prefer to take digital notes. If you haven’t already: Evernote, Google Notes or Apple Notes are all good note-taking apps. Make use of their extended functionality by drawing doodles or making reminders, to-do or shopping lists. Do it in Russian.
The secret to effective note-taking in a foreign language is to write down new words within a phrase or a sentence so their meaning can be easily understood. We retain words better when we learn them in context.
The final touch is to review your notes regularly and use the words you’ve learnt in your speech. Adopt a spaced repetition approach in your learning: rather than trying to memorise all the words in one day repeat them a few times over a period of several days or weeks. Make it interactive by creating your own flashcards with Memrise or Chegg.
Talk with the native speakers
Reading and writing in Russian is good for your accelerated learning. Don’t just stop there though. Speaking a foreign language helps your brain memorise it far better than reading or writing it so go out there and talk to people, seek out native Russian speakers: a Russian tutor, a Russian student learning your language for an informal language exchange or a Russian-speaking person sharing your hobbies and interests.
Listen to Russian speech
The more you listen to Russian speech, the better you understand native Russian speakers. But listening has another benefit: it helps you speak better Russian as the right words naturally “pop into your head” when you need them.
What are your interests? Classic literature, astronomy, politics, photography or cooking? Whatever it is, you’re guaranteed to find a Russian-speaking podcast or Youtube channel out there for you. Subscribe to a few, listen, turn subtitles on and engage with the other followers. At first, you may find it difficult to understand what’s being said but persevere and you’ll soon start to recognise the sounds, words and sentences. This is called deliberate listening but even hearing a foreign language in the background, when you’re not paying full attention, can help you learn it faster. In a 2016 study published in the Journal of Memory and Language, Melissa Baese-Berkis, an academic expert in speech perception, found that “when you go home, turn on the TV or turn on the radio in that language while you're cooking dinner, and even if you're not paying total attention to it, it's going to help you.”
Travel to Russia
There is no better way to learn Russian than to immerse in it while travelling or studying in Russia. Not only will you boost your language skills but also get up close in personal with Russian culture and meet new friends.
Russia is huge. Only your imagination can limit what part of Russia you’d like to explore. If you’re into culture and history, Moscow and St. Petersburg can keep you occupied for months or years if you choose so. Linguistic tours are a great way to practise your spoken Russian while learning something new about cultural and historic Russia. If you’re into winter sports, check out the sports venues and facilities in Sochi that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. If you’re hungry for an adventure of your lifetime, get on board the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Ask a lot of questions
As you learn Russian, you’ll naturally come across a lot of questions. Don’t leave them unanswered. If you’re enrolled in a course, ask your teacher. They are there to support on your linguistic journey to fluency. If you’re learning on your own, join facebook groups and ask other learners. Are you following my blog but can’t find an answer to your question, email me. In the end, you’ll be happy you were proactive and learnt something new.
Follow the stars
Is there a Russian actress, film director, ballet dancer, singer or show host you admire? If you’re not sure yet, here’s a suggestion: actress Paulina Andreeva in Better than Us; film director Andrey Zvyagintsev best known for The Return, Leviathan and Loveless; Svetlana Zakharova, a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Theatre; singer Dima Bilan; Ivan Urgant hosting Evening Urgant.
Get familiar with their work, watch their interviews with subtitles or captions on, your pen and notebook at the ready. The jokes, stories and interesting expressions they share will give you plenty to learn.
Follow these useful 7 tips and your Russian studies are likely to make progress far more quickly. It’s not going to be always easy but think about your dream of one day speaking Russian fluently. This will help you stay focused and highly motivated.
Do you know of any other great tips not mentioned here that help you learn Russian? Become a member of our Russian community by logging in below and sharing your knowledge with other learners in the comments below.
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