Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Ukranian Complete Course

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

 

 

from the beginning, this book easily guides the novice learner through the alphabetic pronunciations, including a brief history of the language. also provided are block & cursive writing styles with simple word comparisons to make the learning easier. ample examples & reading text abound, lots of material to use but without the intimidation factor. a good read, this book is a definite must-have for the ukrainian student's bookshelf. the only thing missing is a person to talk to!

I had monopolized this book from the local library all summer, then finally purchased my own copy. It is a good way to learn some basic Ukrainian. I found it more relevant than some of the other books I had borrowed. The pronunciation guide was very helpful, as was showing the cursive alphabet. I also ordered the tape, not received yet, because it will be useful to hear the oral portion instead of bothering relatives all the time.

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.

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.

Book is very good, maybe a little bit too easy for me because of working in Russia couple of years, but very good book to learn basic Ukrainian. Not enough exercicies and not enough grammatics.

I bought this book when I was an exchange student in Ukraine... I did not have any previous experience with the language. I found the book to be immensely helpful, but gave up on the cds. I found the reader spoke too quickly to comprehend, I couldn't keep up. Just so you know, another exchange student (to Czech Republic) had the same problem with the Czech cds. Otherwise, a good (although your only) choice.

Good introduction to pronunciation of alphabet. However, lacking in basic conversational skills, for example, expressing simple things such as "I'm sorry, I don't speak your language"; "do you speak English". Of course, by the end of the book and a couple of tapes, you can figure out how to say these things.

It's content was obviously prepared well however:

1. the type size is too small, especially for the Cyrillic characters that are boldfaced; this suggests that...

2. the book dimensions are too small; although it's obviously intended for portability, still...

3. the authors should've been more helpful with tips and such about the learned ability of reading Cyrillic, and...

3. the explanation of the grammatical terms are insufficient (e.g., how many people know what "instrumental case" means without consulting reference material?), and finally...

4. the index is too brief.

It still gets four stars though simply because of its excellent and comprehensive content.

WHOA! The first chapter teaches 33 sounds/letters in lower case type and then shows the same 33 in cursive? That's 66 different symbols to absorob before one has even gotten to page 12. Way too crammed and frustrating.
Also, the use of two different fonts (New Times Roman and another thicker font) on the same page are not helpful; the letters do not resemble one another enough. Now we're up to 33 printed letters, 33 cursive 33 in one font and 33 in another. Might seem picky but not if one's trying to differentiate between a Ukrainian "L" and "P: I found myself wishing for a magnifying glass and I don't even wear glasses.

I'll use this text as a weak reference (glossary is irritatingly incomplete.) I've learned more on line in 2 hrs.with a headset than I have dilligently studying the first chapter of this text for about 20 or more hours.

PS:
I'm a veteran English teacher, have heard Ukrainian spoken most of my life by fluent grandparents and believe I communicate adequately in French and Spanish.

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.