Impressions after three weeks of learning Russian
1. Why am I doing this?
On the one hand I like Russian literature, on the other hand I saw a documentary about Austrian men who went to the East to find wives. Also, I have always associated Russia with vast spaces and adventure. A modern destination for explorers. And finally, I think the language sounds cool.
2. I understand almost nothing
When I click on Russian YouTube videos, I understand practically nothing. The Easy Russian channel is a welcome exception.
3. Busuu and DuoLingo
Busuu is pretty cheap for a year and I've known DuoLingo for a while. Other candidates as learning platforms were LingQ and Babbel. LingQ would probably be the best option in the long run because you can import interesting texts. I'm also a fan of Steve Kaufmann. But I don't like the interface of their website.
4. How I'm using Busuu
The system on Busuu seems like a good introduction to the language to me. After many lessons, one has to submit an audio recording or solve grammar exercises. I often use an online translator to jump over these hurdles until I have all the material for A1 and A2. Many rules and exceptions are incredibly complicated and if I went through the material as intended, it would take forever. The feedback from the community for correcting the pronunciation is valuable, though.
My plan is to get to the end of A2 and then repeat the material all the time, until it starts to stick.
The weakness of the system is that you learn very few words.
5. Other material
I have a booklet of 250 pages that is intended as a quick introduction to the Russian language for German speakers:
https://www.amazon.de/Kauderwelsch-Russisch-Wort-f%C3%BCr/dp/3894162937
I am also watching the YouTube channel EasyRussian, to get used to the sound of the language.
And I found some websites with lists of the most frequently used Russian words.
And finally, I keep doing short lessons on DuoLingo.
6. How long will it take to be able to communicate in very basic Russian?
Maybe a year or two. Who knows...
7. How does it feel?
It feels like a form of regular brain training, where the main demands are on the memory and where you have to think into an alien system. Many aspects of the Russian language (e.g. cases, grammatical gender) are familiar to native German speakers.
I do a lesson every once in a while like other people do sudoku.
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