Advice for people learning Russian

Who are you?
A beginner. Without a teacher
A beginner. With a teacher
Not a beginner. Without a teacher
Not a beginner. With a teacher
Find a teacher or a class
Learn via Skype


Most beginners working without a teacher opt for the Ruslan 1 e-version. Here you have all the course dialogues, animated video cartoons, vocabularies, sound, explanations and hundreds of interactive exercises for all popular Internet platforms. You can try the Alphabet Introduction and Lesson 1 here: www.ruslan.co.uk/ebook.htm .

Alternatively, or alongside the Ruslan 1 e-version, consider using the Ruslan 1 Course Book plus the Ruslan 1 Workbook for additional exercises and reinforcement. This has worked well for many beginner learners. As well as or instead of real books, you can find pdf files of Ruslan 1, 2 and 3 on the Classoos platform.

A large number of the exercises in the course book and workbook are now also available as free online audio drills . Use those as a supplement and to practise your pronunciation.

The audio for both books is free at www.ruslan.co.uk/audio , or there are audio CDs.

If you do not use the e-version mentioned above, you can still obtain the Ruslan 1 video cartoons of the dialogues, reading passages, songs and poems on DVD, "Better than the Simpsons". See www.ruslan.co.uk/ruslan1cartoons.htm .

For a fast start with the Russian Alphabet try the "Russian Alphabet Starter". Great value! See the webshop and use the presentation at www.ruslan.co.uk/alphabetstarter .

Some people like to have a set of Russian vocabulary "Linguistickers" to put around the house and turn their home into a living dictionary. Very useful if you have Russian visitors and want to speak Russian with them!

If you want to study grammar in greater depth, check out the Ruslan Russian Grammar at www.ruslan.co.uk/ruslangrammar .

If you are a beginner and you are going to be working with a teacher take advice from your teacher about what you will need for the classroom. Then check the section above to see if there is any additional material that will suit your ways of learning.

If you already know some Russian and you will be working on your own without a teacher, first check your level. You can do this with the first lessons of all three Ruslan levels which are free as pdf files at www.ruslan.co.uk/demos

For many learners who are not complete beginners it will be appropriate to start with the e-version of Ruslan Russian 2 from www.ruslan.co.uk/ebook . These e-versions contain all the course dialogues, vocabularies, sound, explanations and hundreds of interactive exercises in programs that can be used on all popular Internet platforms.

If you will be working with books and CDs then you can find these on the Ruslan webshop page .

If you already know some Russian and you will be working with a teacher, then take advice from your teacher about the books you need and check out anything else from the Ruslan webshop and from www.ruslan.co.uk/ebook . that you think will be useful.

Additional materials:
 The "Ruslan Russian Grammar" will give you very thorough grammatical support for all three levels of the Ruslan course and beyond.
The "Ruslan Russian Songbook with CD" contains 24 popular and folk songs for learners with texts, vocabularies, translations, and excellent recordings.

The Ruslan beginner / intermediate DVD "Moscow for You!" - 47 minutes of survival situations shot in Moscow in 1997 - even though it is now out of date, will give you a lot of extra listening practice. Please use the Ruslan webshop for your order.

To find a class
Most adult Russian classes start in September or early October. Telephone your local College or Adult Education Service or look for information in your local Library. Click here for a list of centres who are or have recently been using the Ruslan Russian course in their classes.

To find a teacher
To find a teacher in the UK or Ireland, please send an email to info@ruslan.co.uk. We keep a list of nearly 300 teachers using the Ruslan course who give both group and individual tuition.

Learn Russian via Skype
Click here for a list of teachers using the Ruslan Russian course to teach via Skype. Ideal if you have difficulty getting to classes, or if you cannot find a teacher locally.


John Langran
January 2019