Customer Reviews

Instant Immersion Russian 2 CD-ROM Set (Jewel Case)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a fun bit of software, and is a nice way to augment your Russian studies in an entertaining way, but I don't see how anyone could learn Russian using this product alone. The first CD is akin to a memory game which teaches some random, thematically linked vocabulary. Just when you think you're becomming a master, you move on to CD 2.

The second CD has an entirely different feel than the first, and this is where the "instant immersion" comes in. Suddenly, animated characters are speaking at you in speedy Russian sentences. Help in English disappears and, even though neither disc gives any instruction in the cyrillic alphabet, you are suddenly expected to be able to read. Was there a CD 1A that I missed?

I plan to go back to CD 2 as I learn more Russian. I think its games will be a fun way to review-- once I learn from some other means...

First, to address some practical issues from other reviews:

1) I have XP. This CD works on XP.
2) This company does not make a more advanced program in Russian as they do in other languages. As far as I can tell, this 2 CD set is the full extent of their offerings in Russian.

I found this program very useful in learning some important basic vocabulary and getting more comfortable hearing and interacting with spoken Russian. The first CD is set up as a series of lessons and games on 8 different topics -- basic words (hello, goodbye, excuse me, etc.), foods, numbers, time of day, basic phrases, body parts, countries, and objects you might buy shopping like clothes.

In the lesson, a picture is shown, for example a plane. The word for plane is shown in English and in Russian (in cyrillic) and a Russian speaker says the word. There are two speakers on the CD, with noticeably different accents. It is interesting to compare the two accents and sort of triangulate the standard pronunciation. It also helps when you can't understand one of them, listening to the other one usually clarifies. SO, you see the meaning of the word, you see the word in English, you see the word in Russian, and you listen to a native speaker say the word. This is GREAT! I can't tell you how much of this I retained from all this great linguistic input!

So then there is a game to go along with each lesson, which is basically memory. They say a word in Russian and you have to click on the right picture. Simple. There are four different games you can play of varying difficulty levels. And it's really more of a test than a game, but hey when i graduated from college i got an engraved plaque saying i never had to take another test in my life. Didn't you? Anyways... This first CD was really helpful. I really have retained about all of the words on the CD, which is pretty amazing to me. There is also a speech/pronunciation section, but I didn't use it.

The second CD is a little different. It's more of the "immersion" that the title claims. They start spouting sentences full of words you probably don't know, and you're supposed to pick out like which picture they're talking about based on the fact that you heard the word "red" and "shirt" in there somewhere. But it's a little baffling. I'm going to hold off on doing the second CD until I go through some of my other books a bit more. But it's essentially set up the same -- lessons and then "games" to test and reinforce what you learned.

IN SUMMARY, very valuable vocabulary building. The setup of the lessons lends itself to a high level of retention, and the native Russian speakers are great for self-taught book people to hear. There are no grammar lessons, there are no writing exercises, there is no conversation on your part, there is no instruction in cyrillic, the list of vocabulary could have been a bit more extensive, and you don't even necessarily learn how to spell the words you learn. Therefore, it is only ONE weapon among many you should have if you really intend to beat the Russian language into submission. (just kidding) But it is very good at what it undertakes.

And need I repeat that for the price, you can't beat it.

Although this is not a bad supplement to learning Russian it is just that, a supplement. Unlike a college textbook this will not teach the Cyrillic alphabet (even though it assumes the student knows it) nor will it teach verb conjugation and doesn't seem to have any kind of dictionary or grammar guide.

However, it will help both begining and intermediate students improve their speaking ability and reinforce their vocabulary.

If you're not taking a Russian class but learning from a book this will serve as a good language lab (it has the ability to record and play back your pronounciation).

In conclusion, don't buy this title mistakenly believing that it alone can teach you to do anything but learn to speak the most basic vocabulary and phrases.

I found this product easy to understand and use. It was organized as a game playing experience that made learning fun. I wanted the English version but it also supported 50 other languages so if you were French it spoke to you in your native language and taught you Russian. Have purchased several other products and I have found this one the best introduction to Russian, and the easiest to use. It's fun.

This is an excellent starter course in Russian. There are dozens of multimedia and interactive lessons in just the two CD's, enough probably to fill a one-semester introductory course. The coolest aspect of the course is the digital speech-recognition feature which allows you to improve your pronunciation by comparison with the native speaker's. I also like the way you can highlight words you don't know with your mouse and pop up the definition of the word, or go right to the included dictionary for more information. This is very convenient and handy when doing the exercises if you can't recall the meaning of a word, and is a lot faster than looking it up manually in a book dictionary.

However, for the serious student, I'd recommend spending the extra money and getting the 5-CD Beginner to Intermediate course or the 8-CD Deluxe course. I've previously used the 8-CD edition of the Spanish course, and it's a fine program. Since I was already familiar with the Instant Immersion approach from that, I thought I would try the same one for Russian. Since you'll have to buy the complete course anyway if you want to progress beyond the level where this course leaves off, I would just buy it right from the start.

In the Deluxe edition, four of the eight CDs are devoted to the computer-based learning portion, which contain about 60 activities and exercises per CD on the four CD's, so that's about 240 total. That's a lot of material and it took me several months to go through it on the Spanish course. The other four CD's are audio-based only and contain further material on grammar, speaking exercises and dialog, and so on.

Overall, this is a good little starter program, but it leaves off at the beginner level, as I said. For the more serious student I recommend getting either of the other two editions, which will take you from the beginner to intermediate level. After that, there is an Advanced Instant Immersion course you can get to continue progressing from there.

This is a 2 CD set.

The first CD deals with beginning words and phrases, by playing simple games, such as telling time, colors, articles of clothing and asking questions such as where is the bathroom, how much is this and where are my suitcases. It teaches you certain foods like eggs, fruits, fast foods and eating utensils (including chopsticks!).

This first disc is easy going but a great companion to this program is the book "Beginners Russian Script" a Teach Yourself Product sold here at Amazon.com that helps you to define how the letters should sound. The first disc went much easier after I started reading this book.

The second CD jumps right into it with game playing on a higher level. Which if you haven't mastered the simple basics, you'll be lost.

Before I started this program I knew absolutely no Russian words and now I can speak the very basics. It's a great way to start learning Russian.

This is a two cd rom set. The first one gently takes you through some beginning exercises that are fun and teach you some VERY VERY limited vocabulary that might be useful if, say, you're on a guided tour of Russia with some one else to handle the language for you, and you just want to be able to say a couple of very basic things. (Especially number practice is very well done)

So far, so good. But then when you switch to the 2nd CDrom.. all of a sudden EVERYTHING is in Russian including the game instructions, verbal and written cues plus you're required to do some comparatively sophisticated manipulation of language in the games themselves--skills that the first CDrom did nothing to teach! It's sort of like being moved from first week, Level 1 Russian straight to a 2nd year college class. This produces a lot of frustration. To be effective there should be 4 more carefully stepped CDroms inserted between the 2.

This cd rom set is a joke if you really want to learn the russian language. The first cd just teaches you some random words. The second cd doesn't teach you anything. It's set up like a game show where they ask you questions that are entirely in russian then you have to guess the answer. This is not for beginners. If you want to learn russian I suggest getting books and tapes.

I am a newborn child, trying to grasp what all those sounds are that the bigger versions of me are making. I started out saying single words, doing a lot of pointing, and eventually, was able to put the words together. After 45 years, I seemed to have figured it out.

This program is the same way. Each lesson is broken down into groups of words, ie first words, numbers, colors, eating out, around the house, etc. Four pictures are shown, with writing in English, and spoken in Russian. On the next screen, you are given one Russian name and asked to chose what it means from the words 4 words listed in English. House? car? Boat? Taxi? Bathroom? Through constant repetition, the words finally start to stick.

Repetition is the way I learned to speak English when I was a baby and I believe that repetition is the way I will learn to speak Russian. Having both a man and a woman say the Russian words helps, too.

You have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run. The foundation must be built. Talk to a two year old. They don't say it right (yet), but they can get their meaning across. Hopefully, I will be able to do the same, minus the temper tantrums!

I gave this program 3 stars, since I feel the Rosetta Stone CD is better (although I think this is a good companion program) and I'm leaving 5 stars open for the ultimate, which I hope is out there.

Happy trekking!

This is a program that will help you learn Russian through games. It's purpose is to teach you mainly through listening. The purpose is not to teach you how to read or write or even put together full sentences. CD 2 is definitely great if you want to improve your listening but have nothing to listen to. The CD is all in Russian and teaches you to get used to it. The first Cd is fun because you can play their games or even make up your own using the games they give you. Before spending 100s of dollars on grammar books and such, pay ... for this program. If you cannot grasp this simple vocab - maybe Russian is not for you.