Golosa: A Basic Course in Russian, Book I (2nd Edition) [Hardcover]

Richard Robin (Author), Joanna Robin (Author), Kathryn Henry (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0138950385 | ISBN-13: 978-0138950385 | Publication Date: November 25, 1997 | Edition: 2

This is a 2-volume, communicative approach to Russian that is designed to help students reach the ACTFL Intermediate range in speaking and Intermediate High in reading and listening. This market leader is a 5 skills, mainstream book with a clear chapter structure, with more emphasis on reading documents using authentic materials. The book includes a manageable vocabulary load, extensive and accessible listening comprehension exercises, and expanded and updated cultural information. For anyone interested in learning basic Russian.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian

From the Back Cover

This is a 2-volume, communicative approach to Russian that is designed to help students reach the ACTFL Intermediate range in speaking and Intermediate High in reading and listening. This market leader is a 5 skills, mainstream book with a clear chapter structure, with more emphasis on reading documents using authentic materials. The book includes a manageable vocabulary load, extensive and accessible listening comprehension exercises, and expanded and updated cultural information. For anyone interested in learning basic Russian.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (November 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0138950385
• ISBN-13: 978-0138950385
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the rest (but wait for the 3rd edition), August 15, 2002

By 

Benjamin Scott (SEATTLE, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golosa: A Basic Course in Russian, Book I (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I am on the brink of completing an intensive Russian course (1 year of Russian compressed into one quarter) which has used this series. Over the course of 8 weeks with the two books and a PhD candidate as my guide I have found myself possessing enough proficiency to converse with a couple I met on a bus, to listen to the news in Russian, and assume I could keep my head above water were I to travel.

The authors' approach is vastly different from other texts I have encountered. A large number of listening and reading excercises accompany lessons on grammar and a wealth of vocabulary. Texts and dialogues, unlike other texts, are not overly glossed and seem to focus on adding unknown words and phrases, forcing the student to pick out what he or she understands to follow the action. Such an approach approximates what a student might experience in a real world situation.

For a student or teacher of early Russian classes I believe there to be few better books. I could not recommend the text and the authors' approach more. Although I would suggest awaiting the 3rd edition (the current edition is rife with confusing errors and typos as well as a cumbersome delivery system for the accompanying audio) the issues can be surmounted by a dedicated student and/or knowledgeable teacher. They do little, however, to detract from the overall quality inherent in the books' approach to learning.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly adequate textbook, December 6, 2004

By 

Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golosa: A Basic Course in Russian, Book I (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I used this textbook in an intensive Russian class I took in college. It follows the standard textbook format: Each chapter introduces a grammatical concept and new vocabulary. There are a few short dialogues and several exercises to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary. There are also exercises at the beginning to practice cursive in the cyrillic alphabet. At the end of the book there was a grammar reference so it was easy to review and brush up on previous lessons. It was a perfectly good textbook to use as part of a class.

In this case I also used the workbook and tape set. The workbook has additional exercises for each chapter in the book. It helped, but isn't necessary since things are covered in enough detail in the book. The tapes were helpful for picking up on how to pronounce. Russian pronunciation is very tricky. Basically they contain spoken versions of the dialogues in the text and a few simple exercises. I would just try to repeat after them to pick up on how to pronounce. The tapes are only useful as a supplement to a class, and not to teach you Russian on your own.

This and Golosa Book 2 is a good textbook set to use as part of a class. I used it in college but it would also work for highschool. It did a pretty good job of explaining things and covered the concepts adequately. Teachers will want to know that there is a third edition out now.

If you are trying to learn Russian on your own: Don't try to use this as a tape and book set. It isn't designed for this and unless you have superhuman amounts of natural aptitude for Russian it isn't going to work. Instead find a good tape and book set specifically designed for studying on your own. If used copies of the Golosa books are on sale dirt cheap then consider buying them for the exercises and to use as a grammar reference, but don't expect to learn Russian from them alone.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use this book to start learning Russian, June 7, 2000

By 

Bethany McKinney (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golosa: A Basic Course in Russian, Book I (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

This book series, in my experience, is the best way to start learning Russian. It is more helpful in conjunction with the workbook, and most helpful when combined with the written exercises in the workbook and oral exchange with other people (there's a tape series that goes with this, but if you have people who are learning with you to talk to, the tapes aren't really necessary). It covers all the basic conversational topics like greetings, weather, telling time, etc. And for the most part, the phrases in the book (even the colloquialisms) are still in use today. So if you want to start learning Russian, order this book and the workbook right away!