Thread: Throwing in the Towel, Sort Of

My husband and I have relunctanty decided that we won't be taking the class at church after tonight. We're finding ourselves getting more and more behind, especially since we had very nasty colds for two weeks in February.

And frankly, the way this class is run just isn't quite working for us, especially me (since I'm deaf). We need a more personalized, "one to one" approach than the group approach that this class employs. For instance, the teacher has us say the dialog all together. When we start doing the dialog, it takes me a while to catch on to the fact that we're doing it now and I get lost sometimes. And of course, we work, so it's a struggle to find the time to fit studying into. My husband has a demanding which he begun this year so he's been preoccupied with learning the skills and routines needed.

I'm really disappointed that we have to do this, because I so badly want to learn Russian. But it seems the right thing to do at this point.

I've been checking Craig's List to see if I can find tutors in the DC metro area but none that suit our needs at the moment. We live 25 miles from the city in a suburban setting, and most of the listings that I've found are located in downtown DC. I'm going to put up another ad to see if I can turn up anything.

Have any of you found yourselves in this situation? If so, how did you resolve your dilemna?

I figured that I had become fed up with it for now so I didn't do anything with the language for a couple months, but then I was interested again and I started again. No shame in quitting. BTW, has anyone ever noticed that sometimes you seem to have a better grasp of something after quitting it for a while?

I studied French for 3 years in high school and I got straight As. Then one day, I was at Grand Central station in NYC and a Frenchman was lost and was asking me for help. I could not understand one word what he was trying to say. I failed.

I studied Russian for 6 months on my own without a teacher. When I went to the Ukraine and I was able to communicate on a basic level. I was able to order food at restaurants, negotiate taxi fares, shop for clothes or groceries, buy train tickets, buy bus tickets etc. This test I passed.

What I am saying is that you do not need a teacher, exams, or grades to learn a language. On my way to work, I listen to my language CDs and Russian Music CDs. I carry my pocket textbook and dictionary with me wherever I go. When I am bored or waiting in line, I pull out my textbook and start studying. When I see something that I don't know the Russian word for, I pull out my dictionary. At home I have a satellite TV and I watch Russian TV. And of course, the MasterRussian website is the best resource of information.

If you want to learn Russian, then keep studying. That's all there is to it.

Right on, kwatts59.
I self studied Russian, then one day I decided to go take a college course in Russian. The students who rely on the course with teacher to learn can not even have a small conversation in Russian. I mean it is pathetic. It seems that the formal classes waste your time by teaching you so much boring and useless information that you will not need right away and neglect to teach you communication skills. Just go look at the rediculous format that GOLOSA uses. Like, do I really want to know how the Education system works in Russia and how each dapartment is called before I can even ask for a glass of water in Russian?........I don't think so!

True true, guys, I also believe the self-learning method is underrated. But I'm saying if you're fed up with it for now, by all means give it up and come back later.

kwatts

man how can u understand russian in ukraine. Their accents are so horrible. I can't undertand anything anyone says to me who is from ukraine. Its like when i finally hear a russian accent its not raping my ears.

In my opinion there is only so much you can learn by your own. You lose a whole aspect of Russian, and that is proper pronounciation and speaking practice. Keeping your nose in a book for a year, might help you with basic stuff like kwatts59 did in the Ukraine, but if you want to have a conversation in Russian you need practice. Speaking forces you to access the information fast and use grammar instantly.

Grammar and vocab you can study on your own, but you should get someone that you can direct questions to and teach you proper pronounciation. My literary Russian is pretty good, but my speaking sucks (just ask DenisM).

People who study Russian at school have a huge benefit over those of us that don't. The reason why they suck and we don't is that we have a strong desire to learn the language, while I suspect they are lazy bastards . If they studied as hard as us, they would kick our ass hands down. But I guess that it also depends on the teacher. The best teaching method varies from person to person, but many say that a one-on-one lesson is much preferable, since it adapts to your pace. I perfer high-level classes, since it forces me to study up to the class of the level.

I completely agree with Vinnie. I'm totaly self-taught (so far), and while I can read newspaper articles or even contemporary novels with only occasional reference to a dictionary, and I can easily follow conversations in Russian between natives, I can't speak it worth a damn. I am certain this is entirely down to lack of practice, because the biggest jumps in progress I make by far are during the two or three trips I make to Russia each year, during which I am forced to speak it.

What? Somebody actually agrees with me? Scother, you must not have understood my post. I will let this one pass, but thanks for initially agreeing!

You are both assuming that there will be someone in your university class that could actually speak Russian to you. So far I have not seen anyone except for the Ukranian girl that sits behind me.

The point is that you can get to a speaking level on your own faster than if you just rely on your class. A family member of mine did three years of Russian in highschool and she still can not talk to me. This has nothing to do with being lazy, she even took the trouble to travel to Russia. It has to do with teaching techniques. On the other hand if University classes were totally 100% useless, I would not have taken them.

I agree, DDT. I am sure there are some classes which could teach an average person better than the best autodidact could on his own, but the majority of classes are large and have to find some kind of middle ground; you may be held back by the slow progress of such classes. Language-learning is a very individual thing; I imagine the best way to learn would be to have your own private tutor who is very experienced in teaching; of course, such tutors are probably hard to come by.

Originally Posted by DDT

You are both assuming that there will be someone in your university class that could actually speak Russian to you. So far I have not seen anyone except for the Ukranian girl that sits behind me.

What about the teacher?

You can get to the basic speaking level on your own, I agree. But to be able to hold a conversation with a Russian is impossible without actually practicing speaking in Russian to Russian speakers.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

... Grammar and vocab you can study on your own, but you should get someone that you can direct questions to and teach you proper pronounciation. My literary Russian is pretty good, but my speaking sucks (just ask DenisM). ...

kalinka_vinnie, don't be so strict to yourself! As a matter of fact, your speaking is rather good. I was surprised when you told me that you studied russian only for a few years. Yes, your intonation is off time to time and sometimes you use wrong cases but you're able to keep a fluent conversation on many topics in russian and that's what's important!

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

What about the teacher?

Yes, I can talk to the teacher but I am the only one in the class who can and that is because
I taught myself. The sad thing is that my teacher refuses to let me utter one word that has not already been taught in class. All the class does at this point is help me to understand several of the cases. I get my "speaking with native Russians" practice socially, not in class, except with the Ukranian girl when the teacher is not looking. hehe!

As for my family member that I mentioned. She could not speak with any Russians when she went to Moscow because for three years she had only heard her teacher and classmate's pathetic accents and could not understand a real Russian.

Well there you are, DDT. You are the student who actually studies the language with passion, and therefore are much better than your peers. Doesn't that just prove what I said:

If they studied as hard as us, they would kick our ass hands down

And you are kicking, baby!

Of course every person is different and poeple like Mr. Pravit can become fluent in any language within 20 full moons!

don't be so strict to yourself! As a matter of fact, your speaking is rather good. I was surprised when you told me that you studied russian only for a few years. Yes, your intonation is off time to time and sometimes you use wrong cases but you're able to keep a fluent conversation on many topics in russian and that's what's important!

DenisM: Thank you for the flattery, but I wouldn't use the word fluent. More like the word crappy, as in "you're able to keep a crappy conversation"

Of course every person is different and poeple like Mr. Pravit can become fluent in any language within 20 full moons!

I'm not so great at learning languages; V actually learned Russian in about 9 moons, and Jasper not much longer than him. And I agree that contact with actual speakers is the best way to develop listening and speaking skills.

Hi OP,

If you want to find a tutor in your area, check out George Washington University's Slavic tutor page. Some of the tutors are in DC, but many are in VA and MD. You just have to email them and ask.

http://www.gwu.edu/~slavic/#tutors

Also, you might want to check with the Russian Cultural Center of DC. They offer classes and tutoring in DC, and may know of teachers in your area.

http://www.rccusa.org/

Best of luck!

Exchange students help me learn.
I love it, I just hope I don't get a Turkmen accent...or something.