Customer Reviews

Everything Learning Russian Book with CD: Speak, write, and understand Russian in no time! (Everything: Language and Literature)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The opinions on how to learn a language are vast. And, I tend to think that each individual must read widely on how to acquire a second language, and come to your own conclusions.

With that said, lets be frank, though, over 90% of learners will quit without even obtaining the first level of learning (A1 Elementary Level).

So, develop any reasonable plan you choose, but remember, 2 words a day, not learning Cyrillic, learning to talk, but not to read, etc...are all unreasonable plans that mark you as doomed to failure.

Now about this book...it puts you on the right track. Recent books have been of the kind I call 'pandering', they tell you its OK not to learn, in order to sell you the book, but they are so bad, you will never be fluent.

This book really impressed me, because it is just a fun, simple, clearly written book, that presents the subject matter in a concise, clear way.

It doesn't pander. It's not complete either, you won't learn advanced topics here, but it is a great introduction!

I've been learning Russian for 6 years. In those six years, I have been kind of meandering about. I have learned Cyrillic, I do know quite a bit of vocabulary...but with this book, I finally said to myself, I will work through every single exercise. I will buy the practice book, and practice at each task.

It was far easier for me, for having six years of 'pre-study' study, but, having bought just about every book out there, I can definately say that this book, along with the Penguin books, are good. I definately feel I have solidified my understanding of very basic, A1 to A2 level Russian by using this book.

Now onward!

I've been learning Russian for the past 6 months. It's been a difficult language to learn. I've basically been trying every resource I could find. I've found most Russian grammar books too BORING and poorly written to read. Normally I utilize audio courses more on this topic because in most audio courses, they do a better job of keeping it interesting and describing Russian grammar in a way that I can understand. My experience with books about Russian is that they're very wordy and tremendously BORING. Not with this book, however. This book is clear, concise and very interesting. Full of sensible charts and interesting facts about Russia, this book combines learning the Russian language with learning about Russian culture. Each chapter takes you further into the Russian language, while keeping you engaged with relevant scenarios in Russian culture (one chapter teaches you about Russian cuisine and how to order in Russian whilst teaching you how to keep your adjectives in forms that agree with the words they modify).

Unlike some introductory books, this book actually teaches you (simply) how to READ Russian characters. I had already learned how to read Russian before I bought this book, but this book pointed out certain spelling rules I hadn't learned yet that have really been improving my reading. I think this book is great for beginners and will be a great reference book as well. There are quizzes at the end of each chapter (and an answer key) which help you practice the language (even giving you opportunities to practice your grammar). Most basic books on Russian have quizzes at the end, but this is the first book I've actually been inclined to answer the quizzes. The book is written in such a way that I was actually interested enough to retain the knowledge I had read and I was able to answer the quizzes.

I would definitely recommend this book.

This book ended up exceeding my expectations. It is a good choice if you would like to learn Russian. The author knows what she is talking about because she lived in Russia and she gives little quizzes at the end of chapters to test what you've learned. I've never seen that before so I thought it was interesting. Of course it isn't as good as having a person to help you, but it's about the next best thing.

Ignore my rating, because this book just isn't what I expected, not necessarily bad. I only need to get a few phrases correct, and to recognize "danger" signs; in other words, "tourist Russian," along with cultural information, different cities and regions, etc. This is not exactly that kind of book. Firstly, the book does not "transliterate" the Cyrillic Russian words. It basically demands that you learn the alphabet and correct pronunciation first, before you can learn the words. But... there is a separate "workbook" The Everything Russian Practice Book: Simple Techniques to Improve Your Speaking And Writing Skills (Everything: Language and Literature) you can buy where everything is transliterated into Latin alphabet, but it does not have Cyrillic! It is rated poorly here on for that reason. Why are these two books are sold separately? Why isn't all the information provided in a single book? I suppose its a good idea to get more money from the sale of two books, but it certainly leaves a "bad taste in my mouth. '''''''''' ''''''' '' '''"

As a Russian specialist, I think that this is a good choice for those who want to try their hand at a difficult language.

My only complaint of this book is that, in several places there are footnotes in cursive with no explanation of the difference between cursive and printing, specifically that a printed "t" is "m" in cursive. If you already have a cursory understanding of Cyrillic cursive, this is no problem. To a complete beginner, it may cause some issues. The rest of the book is wonderful. Well laid out and easy to read and follow.

I think this is a great book and CD to learn Russian.It takes you step by step to learn the language.I give it five stars.

Perfect book for learning to speak Russian! The CD is definitely helpful as well. Explains everything very well, including how to pronounce the words, etc. I definitely would recommend this book if you'd like to start learning Russian.

This product came in when it was said to and arrived in excellent conditions no problems with this item. Very satisfied.

The book covers good material, however it is not easy to follow. Like after the lesson on pronunciation, it jumps to surviving in Russian, which is basically about travelling in Russian. A lot of worlds, phrases, some sentences without building the basic grammar foundation.
I switched to the Penguin book by Brown. That one seems better for self-study. I also use the Peamsula CD for pronunciation. I will come back to this book after I feel I get basic grammer in place.