Customer Reviews

Complete Russian: The Basics (Book and CD Set): Includes Coursebook, 4 Audio CDs, and Learner's Dictionary (Complete Basic Courses)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I checked out this book with discs from the library, then decided to get the book for myself for future reference. It is perfect to start out with, but I strongly recommend that it be used in conjuction with Pimsleur IA and IB at least. Pimsleur's strength is that it instills the accent and conversational ability thru logical repetition; however, it lacks a broad vocabulary and much grammatical explanation which Living Language courses provide, starting with this one.

This would be at least a four star Russian language package except that, as the first reviewer indicated, the accent needs to be assimilated elsewhere. I cannot imagine how it can be good to train your ear (especially if you are a beginner) on a cd set in which the Russian accent is not native. In addition to the accent issue, the sound of the male speaker's voice is harsh and almost cacophonous. I say this in surprise because normally listening to a Russian voice is a genuine pleasure for me, but I find I want to turn this cd off. The general method of language acquisition they are using, however, is sound. Change the speakers and this would be a valuable set. Not recommended.

A good self-study material and I like the practice part. However there are issues
1) Something are stated wrong or confusing. Like it says hushers are always followed by (sorry I forgot the letters already) but 2 lines down it says hushers and gutters are followed by a another list of letters. That is very confusing
2) The text does not indicate stressed letters in the word. A lot of other books have a way either by highlighting the letter or putting a mark above it. Make sure you constantly use the CD for pronunciation.
3) Some previous reader commented on the speakers not being native. I could not tell since I never met a native russian and I'm a brand newbie. But I would definitely prefer a native russian accent.
4) The textbook could have been organized a little better (like using highlights for a new session). And it could have marked the cd track number so user can find it quickly.
5) in the CD, there is too little space left for the student to repeat. And the english after that is not really necessary. I would rather have the russian repeated twice instead of having english translation since I need to use with the book anyways.

This set is not a good learning set for the beginner. The book is nice, but the cds are not helpful at all. The words in Russian by the male and female speaker is spoken once, while you look at the book, and then the English translation is spoken right after. I returned this, and will go with something else.

If you need assistance in learning the grammatical aspects of the Russian language, this is an excellent book to purchase. It is compact, yet thorough in its explanations of how the grammatical rules of written and spoken Russian are applied. You should have a minimal knowledge of the Russian language prior to using a book like this (being able to read and write in Cyrillic), but otherwise it is a very helpful book.

This is my first sincere try at learning a foreign language without any classroom instruction. By reading and following the steps outlined in this course book I learn and absorb material at my own pace. What is facinating is not only learning Russian, but this work has inspired me to learn about their people, and culture. This is a very affordable first step in learning and in the end understanding will bring us all closer together. This is truly a good value, and is well written. Thank You Amazon, You are great people to do business with, and I will return. GREAT DEAL !

We only received the book we did NOT receive the CD and Dictionary.
WE would appreciate receiving those 2 items.