Teach Yourself Russian Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)

Book Description

Meandering in Moscow? Teach yourself Russian!

With Teach Yourself it's possible for virtually anyone to learn and experience the languages of the world, from Afrikaans to Zulu; Ancient Greek to Modern Persian; Beginner's Latin to Biblical Hebrew. Follow any of the Teach Yourself Language Courses Audiopackages at your own pace or use them as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are professionally designed for self-guided study, making them one of the most enjoyable and easy to use language courses you can find. Audiopackages include an instructional paperback book and two companion 60-minute audio CDs.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

Step-by-step guide to pronunciation and grammar
Regular and irregular verb tables
Plenty of practice exercises and answers
Practical vocabulary and a bilingual glossary
Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
An exploration of the culture
And much more

Customer Reviews:

Best book I've come across.......2007-10-06

Well organized, concise and well explained. Everything is taught in the context of conversational usage so it's easier to remember rather than just memorizing vocab and grammar by rote. Highly recommend.

The CDs are useful for hearing pronunciation but that's it... They are pretty short.

Great adjunct to Russian lessons.......2007-08-28

What I like about this book/CD set is that I can follow along in the book as I listen to the dialogue on the CDs. AND, they speak slowly enough that you can hear the words and repeat them (unlike some CDs or computer applications where native speakers are rattling tongue-twisting words off at the speed of light...). I am using this as I finish up a 10-week adult school class taught by a native Russian. This will help me get to where I want to be communicating in Russian.

Great Teaching Source.......2007-08-08

If you are like me and pick up on languages easily, then this is perfect for you. If you aren't so great with languages. I would recommend something more basic.

CD not helpful.......2007-05-23

Book is OK but CD is not helpful for newcomers to the language

A solid main textbook, but needs accompaniment by other resources.......2007-05-22

Five years ago, I began learning Russian with TEACH YOURSELF RUSSIAN. Though it was only through a combination of textbooks that I reached the point that I speak Russian, if not perfectly, at least comfortably most of the day every day, I think Daphne West's textbook was a good choice for my first exposure to the language. I should note that my copy of the book is the 1995 edition. I don't know how much has changed in successive editions--I should hope at least the annoying plethora of typos in my edition has been corrected--but so many recent Teach Yourself publications contain the same information as in the past with just some new formatting and more timely financial and political information.

TEACH YOURSELF RUSSIAN begins with the alphabet. I found Cyrillic fairly easy, but those who end up struggling with it can obtain Teach Yourself Beginner's Russian Script as well. The meat of the book is a series of chapters containing a dialogue (mainly a story about the usual English tourist, here one Anna Prince) with following vocabularly, new grammatical points, and exercises. There is often a reading passage dealing with some aspect of Russian culture or history. While the grammar can be pretty heady for those who have no prior experience with foreign languages, I admire how the amount of new vocabulary and idiom in each chapter is kept manageable, unlike the avalanche found in each lesson of the mid-1990s Routledge's Colloquial Russian. At the end there's an appendix with Russian accidence, which is nicely substantial for a Teach Yourself book. I cannot comment much on the cassettes, as I've always been surrounded by native speakers of Russian who read the dialogues for me.

While this is a pretty good main textbook, it does not stand alone. In my experience inflecting languages require much more drill than isolating or agglutinating languages, but the exercises on Russian morphology in each chapter are few and not terribly rigorous. I'd recommend supplementing TEACH YOURSELF RUSSIAN with Basic Russian: A Grammar and Workbook by John Murray and Sarah Smyth (London: Routledge, 1999) which has plenty of fulfilling practice. I'd also recommend getting a picture dictionary, such as the Osborne one or similar, which makes learning new vocabulary of everyday items enjoyable. And, as with every self-taught textbook, the glossary at the end of the book is worthless and the reader must get a proper dictionary. The Oxford one is a popular desk reference, but I've always carried around Random House Webster's Pocket Russian Dictionary and been happy enough with it.

But if you want to get started on Russian, get Daphne West's textbook, supplement it with other materials, and don't forget to get plenty of conversational practice with native speakers, ideally a couple of hours a day.

The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)

Average customer rating:

Penguin Russian Course
Outstanding book for beginners to learn Russian
After a year, still my favorite russian book
Brilliant!
russian reader

The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)
Nicholas J. Brown
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Oxford Russian Dictionary (Oxford)
Basic Russian: Learn to Speak and Understand Russian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)
Schaum's Outline of Russian Grammar
English-Russian, Russian-English Dictionary
Russian Stories: A Dual-Language Book

ASIN: 0140120416

Customer Reviews:

Penguin Russian Course.......2007-08-13

This book is fantastic. I'm new to the language and have several resources on hand, but this book is my favorite. It systematically presents key concepts and is very thorough.

Outstanding book for beginners to learn Russian.......2007-04-11

Alright, i'll break it down for you. This book gives you EVERYTHING you need to learn how to speak russian fluently. The book itself is broken down into lessons and throughout the lessons its broken down further into Exercises. Then, at the end of the lesson they have anywhere from four to six exercises. Make sure your actually DOING THEM! they will help you immensely. At the end of the book they have a Russian to English and then after that an English to Russian vocabulary section that covers most of the common words in russian (the vocab. takes up the last 200 pages). DONT BE INTIMITADED, stay open minded, ask questions (if you have the resourses), have fun and enjoy it. Russian is an awesome language!

After a year, still my favorite russian book.......2007-03-12

There's not much I can add to what all the other reviewers have already said. I'm an expat living in Russia for a year so far and I'm currently taking classes using a different text (Ben Clark), and I still pull this book out regularly. People of course have many different learning styles and I guess for some genius polyglots, this may not be the best method, but for me the material seems to have a very organic presentation to it. It's certainly not a phrasebook, but the author does tend to present commonly used words and phrases as earlier in the text rather than later. This is a serious book and you can expect to be doing some concentrated studying if you want enjoy its full benefit. I highly recommend this book and it's some of the best money I've spent before coming here.

Brilliant!.......2007-02-13

This is possibly the most helpful self-teaching book I've ever seen. If you stick with it and do all the exercises, you'll be shocked at how quickly and how well you learn the language. Keep in mind that you will still need to either take classes with a live teacher or get an audio teaching course on top of using this book, or your pronunciation will probably be terrible. I also got some vocabulary flashcards (and make my own for the alphabet), but whether or not you'd find those helpful just depends on how you learn best.

russian reader.......2007-01-06

The New Penguin Russian Course- is very good for a beginner. It explains the grammar very well and in easy steps.

Learn in Your Car Russian: The Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car)

Average customer rating:

Good Supplement to other materials
Nothing can make Russian easy for a late starter
Not a course. Just a reading of a Russian-English dictionary
Poor excuse for instruction
A good, solid addition to the study program for students of the Russian language.

Learn in Your Car Russian: The Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car)
Henry N. Raymond
Manufacturer: Penton Overseas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)
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Basic Russian: Learn to Speak and Understand Russian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)
The Oxford Russian Dictionary (Oxford)
Teach Yourself Russian Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)

ASIN: 1591257174

Book Description

The all new, updated, enhanced edition of the best-selling Learn in Your Car Foreign Language Series is ready to be released this Fall. In addition, this exciting new edition includes a Travelogue DVD of the relevant destination countries for each language. This added feature will enrich the learning experience and add that extra stimulus to motivate users with their studies.

Customer Reviews:

Good Supplement to other materials.......2006-12-24

I have yet to find a single Russian course that is complete by itself, and this one is no exception. I agree with others that Pimsleur is great, but comparing that with this course is apples and oranges. Pimsleur is great for learning basic verbal conversation. This course is great for learning and expanding vocabulary. Neither is really designed to effectively teach written Russian. To each his own, but I would never agree that this course is worthless or worth only one star. If you fully understand what the course is and what it isn't, I think you'll appreciate the value it provides. If you accept that repetition is necessary to learn vocabulary, you'll go a long way in enjoying what this course has to offer. I can understand why some might call it monotonous, but I never found it so because I accepted that listening and repeating was the only way to learn. And as others have mentioned, my friends in Russia have complimented me on my pronunciation, and for that I credit this course.

Nothing can make Russian easy for a late starter.......2006-07-24

I got a lot for my money - more Russian lessons than I will be able to master. I am a 65 year old rank beginner! Russian has sounds none of the other languages I know have. It is daunting. I loaded Learn In Your Care Russian CD's into my Ipod so they go everywhere with me and after 4 weeks i am up to lesson 6! But the pronunciation comes through very clearly on these CDs. I'm afraid that the local speakers in different parts of Russia have very different accents.

Not a course. Just a reading of a Russian-English dictionary.......2006-05-28

If you or someone you know is interested in learning Russian, and you want to kill that passion, this is an ideal package to purchase. Not only has this course made me less interested in Russian, its made me less interested in life in general. It's honestly that bad.

Poor excuse for instruction.......2006-05-23

This program is hardly worth the price or time. It presents the language in a disjointed, illogical, unstructured, non-intuitive way. Basically, they rattle off an Engligh word (spoken by a male) or phrase once then the Russian version twice (spoken by a female), then on to a new word or phrase. They never explain anything or build upon what's been used. And there is no variety in the Russian speakers to further train the ear.

Russian is a complicated language for people whose native language is English or any of the languages with a Latin/Greek/Germanic base. There are complicated consontant combinations and word/sentence structure that are very different from what is customary for English, Spanish, French, German, etc. This program spends no time explaining pronunciation, structure, cases, conjugations, aspects, gender differences...any of the fundamental parts of Russian. They just unload words and phrases at the listener and expect the language to stick and grow in the mind. It doesn't.

Some sort of intuitive organization is desperately needed in this program. I've tried several courses, including Berlitz, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, and Living Language and this one really fails compared to others. It misses the mark completely. It's not even a good reference or addition to other instruction because there's no structure or flow. It's as if they picked up a traveler's phrase book and read it into a microphone, skipping the explanations between the phrases or sections.

Don't waste the time or money on Learn In Your Car Russian, not even just for a refresher or to fill in gaps from other courses. It's too basic and poorly put together to be useful.

A good, solid addition to the study program for students of the Russian language. .......2006-01-17

The basic premise of Learn In Your Car Russian (LIYCR) is to have an audio-based learning program which does not require book study, so it can easily fit into people's daily schedules while they engage in other activities. There are 9 hours of audio teaching 600+words for the entire course.

Level One is heavily oriented towards the traveler, and addresses important issues such as, transportation, money, hotels, finding your way around town, numbers, restaurants, shopping, time, schedules.

Levels Two and Three go beyond survival words and phrases, increasing vocabulary and developing core grammar skills.

STRENGTHS
I've been to Russia about 15 times , and can state that LIYCR teaches very useful vocabulary and expressions for a person who is actually going to put their feet on the ground in Russia

This is one of the few beginning study courses which does not shy away from the difficulties of Russian grammar for the English speaker. It gives practice in all tenses for verbs and all 6 Russian grammar cases for nouns. Also, this is one of the best courses I've seen for using a restricted vocabulary in almost all available grammar permutations, making it very good at showing how to form natural Russian sentences.

WEAKNESSES
There are few conversational dialogs and no real story lines, so there's nothing here to particularly capture a person's interest. It definitely takes some fortitude and motivation to go through these rather dry lessons.

For the absolute beginner, LIYCR is rather rough. There isn't very much repetition (unlike Pimsleur Russian), and the pace is very rapid fire. The result is that acquiring the presented vocabulary of 600+ words from the audio alone is difficult. As suggested by another reviewer, augmenting your studies with flash cards is very beneficial.

LIYCR does have a small booklet with the Russian alphabet, pronunciation guide, and transcripts with translations of the spoken dialogs. However, it is really beyond the scope of the booklet to teach a person how to read Russian.

This leads to my major criticism of LIYCR - if you are a total beginner and couldn't understand something from the audio (highly likely), the booklet doesn't offer much help since you can't read Russian either. Although the course's stated objective is to be a completely audio based program, it IS necessary to refer to a booklet, and the course does not prepare you to read the booklet.

WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM "LEARN IN YOUR CAR RUSSIAN"?
For students with some prior knowledge of Russian, this is a good addition to your study program. For what you get, the value is quite good. However, it is not a stand-alone course, and you will need other study materials. It really shines at developing intermediate grammar skills and providing a practical vocabulary for the traveler.

Although I have studied for years, I still use LIYCR (mostly levels 2 and 3). It's great practice for pronunciation and reviewing fundamental grammar skills used in everyday speech. I've had numerous compliments from surprised Russians that I don't have a foreign accent and that I seldom make the usual grammar mistakes of an English speaker. I credit LIYCR for much of this (Pimsleur Russian being the other main contributor).

WHO DOESN'T WANT TO BUY THIS?
For a one time traveler to Russia, even Level One LIYCR is probably more than you want to invest time wise. Buy something such as the book "Russian in 10 Minutes A Day" to learn how to read maps and signs in the Russian alphabet, plus a phrase book/audio CD.

For an absolute beginner who is seriously interested in learning Russian and wants a completely audio-based program that truly lives up to it's claims (i.e. doesn't need a book or other 3rd-party study materials), I recommend just going straight to Pimsleur Russian, and coming back to this afterwards. The 2 courses complement each other well, and Learn In Your Car Russian is more appropriate for someone with some prior knowledge of Russian.

The Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners

Average customer rating:

The Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners
J. L. I. Fennell
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)

ASIN: 0140070532

Complete Russian: The Basics (CD) (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)

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Complete Russian: The Basics (CD) (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)
Living Language
Manufacturer: Living Language
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)
Ultimate Russian Beginner-Intermediate (CD/Book) (LL(R) Ultimate Basic-Intermed)
Ultimate Russian Advanced (CD Pkg) (LL(R) Ultimate Advanced Course)
Teach Yourself Russian Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)
Complete Arabic: The Basics (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)

ASIN: 1400021561
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Book Description

The top-selling Complete series has been fully revised, with all new supplemental material and a bonus wallet phrase card for travelers. Each program contains everything a beginner needs—a coursebook with 40 lessons, three hours of recordings on three CDs, a quick-reference learner’s dictionary, and an all-new indispensable wallet phrase card, all in a convenient and compact package.

The courses still use the popular and effective conversation building-block method, but all content has been thoroughly updated and now includes e-mail essentials and internet resources for each of the eight languages in the series. In addition, 18 supplemental vocabulary sections, covering such topics as “Family and Relationships,” “On the Job,” “Sports and Recreation,” and “Around Town,” are now included. As an added bonus, the new handy wallet phrase card with 300 essential words and phrases is the perfect reference for on-the-go learners, travelers, and businesspeople.

With a fresh look, great new features, and the same rock-solid approach to language learning, the best-selling Complete series is better than ever!

Russian Complete Course: Basic-Intermediate (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)

Average customer rating:

Very Good Course!!!
Hang in there.
yeah not really
Not bad, but everything else is better.
Useless course in Russian

Russian Complete Course: Basic-Intermediate (LL(R) Complete Basic Courses)
Living Language
Manufacturer: Living Language
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)
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Easy Russian Phrase Book: Over 690 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase Books)
Learn in Your Car Russian: The Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car)
Teach Yourself Beginner's Russian Script

ASIN: 1400020263
Release Date: 2002-04-16

Book Description

SPEAK RUSSIAN WITH CONFIDENCE IN JUST 6 WEEKS!

The Living Language® Russian Complete Course teaches the basics of Russian language and usage. It uses a highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach languages to overseas-bound service personnel and diplomats.

TWO 90-MINUTE CASSETTES WITH 40 LESSONS
• Begin with simple words and progress to complex phrases and sentences.
• Just listen and repeat after the native speakers on the recordings to learn naturally, the way you learned English.

RUSSIAN COURSEBOOK
• 40 lessons from the recordings with translations, additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, quizzes, and reviews.
• Verb charts, a comprehensive grammar summary, and a section on letter writing are also included.

RUSSIAN–ENGLISH / ENGLISH–RUSSIAN DICTIONARY
• More than 20,000 words, idioms, and expressions.
• Examples show how words are used in everyday conversation.
• 1,000 frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference.

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Course!!!.......2006-02-12

The Living Language RUSSIAN course is actually a very good one, BUT you will need many other materials, aids, etc... to actually learn Russian, become fluent, converse and read. I am actually using about 15 different products to tackle Russian properly, this is my 8th language and I have just ordered a few books in Russian... classic Russian literature and Pushkin, not translations, but books in Russian Cyrillic.

This package comes with a coursebook, dictionary and a set of 3 CDs.... I completed the 40 lessons in the coursebook, but hardly used the provided dictionary. I personally use the Babylon dictionary and the Langenscheidt.

The lessons are very well organized, grammar is explained in a very clear way, the lessons are fun to do and quite amusing -- at the same time you are actually learning a lot about Russian culture -- and you will definitely need to use the CDs along with the book.

I think the greatest strength of this course is that it ultimately teaches you how to read Russian ... again, the actual native voices on the recordings are great and you go lesson by lesson studying dialogs, particularly in the second half of the course.

Russian is heaps of fun... but you need to work hard at it!

Good luck!

Hang in there........2005-09-21

When I first bought this item I really did not know what I was in for. I thought I was buying a listen and learn CD course. What you get are CD's, a dictionary, and a course book. I have to admit I was not keen on the idea of the course book and I hated the whole thing after a couple of days, but I stuck with it. Over all I will say that the course is good and you do learn to speak, read, and write Russian. This course teaches you how to pronounce the words really well. I feel this was better for me than courses I have tried for other languages. The only thing I really think could use improvement would be the CD's them selves. There is no English spoken with the words and sentences come one time really fast. You will find your self pausing and replaying a lot. If you want to learn to read and write Russian as well as speak it then this is a good course. If you just want to lean a few phrases and how to ask for things I might try something else.

yeah not really.......2005-07-14

So unless you are a seriously motivated, self-starting, ready for a challenge type of person, I can't reccommend this. It is not very clear and the method is really just not good for language learning. The cds basically just go through long lists of words and phrases in Russian, with no real pauses or explanations or anything... and you can follow with the book and a pronunciation key but it tends to just be exhausting and uninteresting.

I am a languange learner and have found interactive approaches to be MUCH more effective.

Not bad, but everything else is better........2005-05-06

At first glance, it seems too good to be true: A lesson/excercise book with grammar tables, a pocket dictionary, and 3 lesson CDs. What a bargain!
Living Language attempts to teach reading, writing, grammar, and every day conversation all in one convenient package, but does none of these tasks particularly well. For every positive point a reviewer might make about Living Language, I can point to other available products that do it much better. The dictionary? The Langenscheidt Pocket Russian Dictionary is the gold standard, although it's difficult to do worse than Living Language in this area. The lesson book? I'd recommend any of the 5-star Russian grammar texts via Amazon, and most cost a lot less. Conversational Russian on CD? Granted, I haven't heard all of them, but Living Language is near the bottom of the pile, if not actually occupying that position. In this case, Pimsleur is the absolute best of the best; your functional fluency will improve immensely, and natives will compliment your pronunciation--if and when they realize you are actually an American.
Again, it's difficult to recommend this Living Language course to anyone, because it doesn't particularly excel at anything. For a beginner, this will be 6 weeks of foreign language hell. For an advanced-intermediate Russian speaker such as myself, this will be about a week or two of slogging through tedious grammatical review.
Perhaps 10-15 years ago when Russian materials were few and far between, this Living Language course would have been the biggest bang for your buck available. Today however, the availability and quality of alternative products renders this one obsolete.

Useless course in Russian .......2005-02-27

This set has 3 CD's, a Russian coursebook, and a Russian dictionary. The coursebook does have information in it but the book is not put together in a way that aides learning.
The first lesson is 5 pages long. Part A is titled The Letters and Sounds of the Russian Language but tells you that the letters and sounds will be learned in another chapter. Part B gives a list of people's names and Part C lists geographical names.
Lesson 2 is just another list of words and names.
Lesson 3 gives a list of the Cyrillic alphabet and the names of the letters but not the sounds!
The dictionary might be ok but since I don't know Russian, how would I know. The front of this book gives a 4 page pronunciation chart.
I do think the coursebook would be ok for a phrase book.
I don't think the CD's are very useful except the parts that conjugate verbs.
Overall, this is not worth paying full price.

Colloquial Ukrainian: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only))

Average customer rating:

OK, but not great
This manual gets you going quickly!

Colloquial Ukrainian: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Book Only))
Ian Press
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Teach Yourself Ukrainian Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (Teach Yourself . . . Complete Courses)
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Talk Now! Learn Ukrainian - Beginning Level
Ukraine: The Bradt Travel Guide

ASIN: 0415092027

Book Description

Colloquial Ukrainian is a practical course in everyday written and spoken Ukrainian, requiring no prior knowledge of the language. It is ideal for anyone seeking to develop a sound command of contemporary Ukrainian.

This paperback in the Colloquial Language Learning Series is available individually here or as part of a cassette pack. To purchase the book and the cassettes, please refer to the cassette pack listing for this language.

Customer Reviews:

OK, but not great.......1998-12-09

I found that the cassettes and book started out slowly and well but then became extremely difficult around the 3rd and 4th chapters. For example, in the 3rd lesson on tape, the dialog was taped with a lot of background noise (realistic for the restaurant setting). This makes it very difficult for a beginner to understand the new words! The beginning spent a lot of time on phonemes and the alphabet- both very helpful.

This manual gets you going quickly!.......1998-11-06

Ukrainian as a second language for English speakers is especially difficult, because the student must learn a new phonetic system via a cyrillic alphabet. "Colloquial Ukrainian" starts with understanding the cyrillic phonex and teaches beginning grammar through common dialogue.

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

Look ma, no textbooks! The Learn in Your Car series treats you like a child--in the best possible way--starting with one-word phrases ("please," "good-by"), counting exercises, and simple nouns ("bus," "train") designed to imitate a child's learning process. First you hear the words in English, then they are repeated slowly in clear, unaccented pronunciations. The method is extremely effective for those who don't know a thing, or for those who want to brush up by testing themselves when the English words are spoken. The tapes emphasize the building blocks of communicating in a foreign country rather than rote phrases that only apply on the tape and not in real-life exchanges. Level 1 painlessly covers basic verb forms, essential prepositions, near future and past tenses, as well as shopping, hotel reservations, and other travel-related situations. The series includes French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish in three levels that can be purchased individually or in boxed sets. Each level contains two 90-minute cassettes (or CDs) and an accompanying booklet (not for use behind the wheel) with helpful explanations and scripts for the lessons.

Customer Reviews:

Helpful, but not the best.......2006-06-12

This is ok in some ways but not so good in others. It is based on unconnected repetition. Pimsleur, on the other hand, is a much better choice for those who really want to learn to speak Russian in the shortest time possible. If I were doing it again, I would save the money from this and put it towards the Pimsleur course. Pimsleur is more expensive, but it is more complete, easier to understand, and most importantly, gets you speaking and understanding immediately.

Colloquial Russian: A Complete language Course (Colloquial Series)

Average customer rating:

Colloquial Russian: A Complete language Course (Colloquial Series)
Svetlan Fleming
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Colloquial Russian: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)
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ASIN: 0415126835

Book Description

Colloquial Russian is easy to use and completely up-to-date, with no prior knowledge of the language required. These CDs are recorded by native Russian speakers and will play on any audio system. The material can be used on its own or to accompany the book, helping you with pronunciation and listening skills.

Teach Yourself Ukrainian Complete Course (Teach Yourself Books)

Average customer rating:

Not for the average learner...
trying to please Grandma
Ukrainian Course Review
Teach Yourself Ukranian Compete Course(Book + CD)
far from exhaustive but well done!

Teach Yourself Ukrainian Complete Course (Teach Yourself Books)
Olena Bekh , and James Dingley
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ukrainian English/English Ukrainian Practical Dictionary With Menu Terms (Hippocrene Practical Dictionaries)
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Ukrainian Recipes

ASIN: 0844236802

Book Description

Cuddling in Kiev? Teach yourself Ukrainian!

With Teach Yourself it's possible for virtually anyone to learn and experience the languages of the world, from Afrikaans to Zulu; Ancient Greek to Modern Persian; Beginner's Latin to Biblical Hebrew. Follow any of the Teach Yourself Language Courses at your own pace or use them as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are professionally designed for self-guided study, making them one of the most enjoyable and easy to use language courses you can find.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

Step-by-step guide to pronunciation and grammar
Regular and irregular verb tables
Plenty of practice exercises and answers
Practical vocabulary and a bilingual glossary
Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
An exploration of the culture
And much more

Customer Reviews:

Not for the average learner..........2007-07-16

This course (Teach Yourself Ukrainian) is not a good buy for the average learner. It begins by trying to teach the cyrillic alphabet first, then introduces conversations, which are presented in writing as well as on the discs. The conversations are not broken down well, so they are difficult to learn.
How do we learn to speak as a child? We learn basic words, then how to combine words, then (much later) how to spell and write.
I would recommend finding a program that takes the above approach, not the one offered in this course.

trying to please Grandma.......2007-03-10

I wouldn't suggest this if this is your first stab at any sort of russian block language. It's not exactly user friendly unless you have a teacher handy.This would be good if finding yourself further down the road in the language itself. But to become comfortable with the language first would help and this is a bit daunting.

Ukrainian Course Review.......2007-02-24

There are so few courses in Ukrainian.

Pro:
- One of a few courses out there
- Seems like a comprehensive course, if you get through it

Con:
- Hard for me to follow at the beginning and that's where I've stayed with my progress in this course. It immediately jumps into words and phrases without spending much time on basic linguistics like sounds, alphabet, word construction, logic and thought process. Logic and thought process are very important in understanding any language.

I contacted Rosetta Stone and they unfortunately have no current plans to teach this language.

Teach Yourself Ukranian Compete Course(Book + CD).......2005-10-14

Excellent series for learning languages. The books are small enough so that you can take it anywhere with you. The CD helps you to be able to understand the spoken language. I love it. You can learn at your own pace!I use the book and CD at home, on my computer to "see" the words that I am speaking; then I use the CD in the car when I am driving, to see how much I can understand.

far from exhaustive but well done!.......2005-07-19

The one point i took off is for lacking gradual switch to Ukrainian as the reader gains knowledge of the language.
It'd've been great practice and more of an immersion in the Ukrainian language.

This is indeed a very simple book, but it sure can allow itself to be one, since it's the ONLY BOOK on the market (more or less).
Ukrainian is the first slavic language and though had long existed in the doldrums of occupation, the trend in Ukraine is strengthening it as a national language and it seems like it's heading to be the 6th most widely spoken native tongue in Europe after Russian, German, English, French and Italian.

*note that it is practically useless for those with prior knowledge of other slavic languages. It is oriented at English-speakers.

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