Thread: Really confused on gender of words....

Aha, I suspected it was written by a Russian. Is that the book required for your course? If so -- bad choice.

Originally Posted by chaika

Aha, I suspected it was written by a Russian. Is that the book required for your course? If so -- bad choice.

It is not required. I've been homeschooled since 4th grade (public schools in Texas are not good). I like the book, it is clear for the most part, except for a couple of places. It has 2 audio tracks with it, translations, Russian to English dictionary and an English to Russian one too. It also has pronunciations.

Why would it be a bad choice? Also, wouldn't the fact that it was written by a native speaker make it even better?

Originally Posted by bellabob

It is not required. I've been homeschooled since 4th grade (public schools in Texas are not good). I like the book, it is clear for the most part, except for a couple of places. It has 2 audio tracks with it, translations, Russian to English dictionary and an English to Russian one too. It also has pronunciations.

Why would it be a bad choice? Also, wouldn't the fact that it was written by a native speaker make it even better?

A lot of people think that non-native speakers are better at explaining how to learn a foreign language than native speakers of that language. Of course there are exceptions, but to the native speaker everything is just natural and "hard to explain why it is like that...". Whereas a foreign person who has learnt the language himself is more aware of what the challenges and confusing bits are.

We can see the same thing here in this forum with English. The best explanations about English as a foreign language are sometimes given by a guy who is German, or by Russians who speak English well.

Russian books are sometimes more "academic" and more concise, whereas American books are more chatty and have more colour and repetition - explaining things in more than one way. Some people (me included) find the American style a bit more accessible. But it's a personal choice. Some people might prefer the no nonsense style of Eastern European school books.

If you like the book you should continue to use it, of course! Then when you have finished it you can shop around a bit and see if you don't want a different style...


Interesting to hear that you are home schooled and that you chose to study Russian!

Originally Posted by Hanna

A lot of people think that non-native speakers are better at explaining how to learn a foreign language than native speakers of that language. Of course there are exceptions, but to the native speaker everything is just natural and "hard to explain why it is like that...". Whereas a foreign person who has learnt the language himself is more aware of what the challenges and confusing bits are.

We can see the same thing here in this forum with English. The best explanations about English as a foreign language are sometimes given by a guy who is German, or by Russians who speak English well.

Russian books are sometimes more "academic" and more concise, whereas American books are more chatty and have more colour and repetition - explaining things in more than one way. Some people (me included) find the American style a bit more accessible. But it's a personal choice. Some people might prefer the no nonsense style of Eastern European school books.

If you like the book you should continue to use it, of course! Then when you have finished it you can shop around a bit and see if you don't want a different style...


Interesting to hear that you are home schooled and that you chose to study Russian!

I've always liked Russia and their language. I think I chose Russian because it's unique and more difficult to learn than others. Plus, everyone does Spanish or French. I like how easy the alphabet was (took about 3 days to learn, but I studied everyday more than once a day).

As for the gender thing, I got it now.