The Lull After Rosetta Stone

I did all 3 Pimsleurs and while they were a great learning tool they only take you so far.

Then I did both Rosetta Stones (online) which was the best language course I have ever tried (and I try them all!!!!)

I also have New Penguin which is nice but I feel a little down now that I don't have any more Rosetta Stone to do.

So my question is , what next? Is there any other good course to try ? (I have Living Language Advanced but I dont really like it because the conversations are boring)

I have an Alexandra Marinina book on CD but it is too hard for me.

I am reading Harry Potter along with the English version but I have heard that it is a terrible translation??

What else can I do??

Write something in Russian or record us something so we can see where you are. I would suggest you continue on with New Penguin so you can gain a better understanding of the grammar. Try reading some of the classics - Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and others...

Biancca,

I am currently using the Pimsleur tapes, and I would like to know if utilizing the Rosetta Stone program would be worthwhile after I finish Level 3. Are you learning the same basic phrases with Rosetta you learned with Pimsleur? How did it take you beyond where you were? I have heard great things about Rosetta, but for the money I want to make sure it enhances and/or takes me to a higher level in my Russian skills than I would have been with just Pimsleur. :?:

I just sent you a message about this.

Rosetta Stone is WAY better and you learn a ton more vocabulary than with Pimsleur.

I have tried all kinds of language programs in Russian French and German, and I learned the most vocabulary the fastest with Rosetta Stone with Pimsleur comming in second-- mostly because there isnt as much vocabulary in Pimsleur.

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Originally Posted by Biancca

I just sent you a message about this.

Rosetta Stone is WAY better and you learn a ton more vocabulary than with Pimsleur.

I have tried all kinds of language programs in Russian French and German, and I learned the most vocabulary the fastest with Rosetta Stone with Pimsleur comming in second-- mostly because there isnt as much vocabulary in Pimsleur.

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Thank you very much for your insight. I really like Pimsleur alot, because what vocabulary you do learn is with perfect pronunciation, and the way their course is done the words stick in your memory. But since you are raving about Rosetta, I will utilize them too. :D Can't hurt to use as many learning sources as possible, right?

Sorry to question you twice, but I didn't know if you check the board often. :oops: 8)

I loved Pimsleur too, I think you need both. It is hard to find Russian materials so I am willing to try whatever I can find.

What is your favorite Russian music?
Какая ваша любимая русская музыка?

Post the lyrics and we can translate them into English for you.
There are a whole bunch of classic songs here:
http://masterrussian.net/mforum/viewtopic.php?t=4492

There are also many pop songs here:
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/

You can find the lyrics of most songs here
http://www.miditext.ru/

It is easier to learn a song rather than a boring exercise. I think my vocabulary improved much faster by listening to music than anything else.
When I read a poem or book, I tend to look up the words I do not know, and then forget about them. Then when the story is over, my vocabulary is the same as it was before.

Any suggestions for good Russian music?

I sometimes listen to руки вверх and земфира but I dont realy like zemfira.

This is my favorite group
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/person. ... &orderby=0

I have the lyrics and translations to almost all their songs if you want them.

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Originally Posted by Biancca

Any suggestions for good Russian music?

I sometimes listen to руки вверх and земфира but I dont realy like zemfira.

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Земфира is the first artist I've liked to far in my quest for appriciating Russian music.

Can anyone recommend any similar music?

To be fair to Земфира I really like some of her songs. I guess I am just tired of the CD I have. I don't know of any musicians similar though.

Have you ever tried the linguaphone courses?
i used a phillips language system years ago that used a mother tongue techniqe instead of translational. it was also interactive as it came with a tape based system that let you compare your voice(not bad for at that time - pre cheap PC/internet).

I notice that linguaphone just changed the course they supplied to include the computer based CD that they had sold seperately. perhaps then the other courses, that you have mentioned are better. correct?

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Originally Posted by Biancca

Any suggestions for good Russian music?

I sometimes listen to руки вверх and земфира but I dont realy like zemfira.

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What English or American music do you like?

Green Day, Lincoln Park, Weezer, 3 Doors Down, Metallica, Cake, Staind, Silverchair, etc. etc. etc.

Unfortunately I haven't heard of these groups (except Lincoln Park and, of course, Metallica ;) ). I can give you some Russian groups who, I think, are good. But I usually listen rock and metal, and my opinion is very subjective. They are: Ария, Алиса, Машина Времени, Кукрыниксы, Король и Шут, Чайф, Кино, Сектор Газа, Беломорс, Ленинград. The last three use obscene language. :) The main pop-groups are Звери, Руки Вверх, Иванушнки-Интернешнл, Тату of course, Дискотека Авария, Катя Лель, Корни, Фабрика etc. (There are so many pop-groups of the same type! :) )

а как же Верка Сердючка? Maybe the greatest female/male singer in Russian history!

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Originally Posted by Biancca

Green Day, Lincoln Park, Weezer, 3 Doors Down, Metallica, Cake, Staind, Silverchair, etc. etc. etc.

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What is CAKE doing there?

:roll: :roll: :roll:

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

а как же Верка Сердючка? Maybe the greatest female/male singer in Russian history!

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Yes, of course! But she (or he? :) ) is Ukrainian singer ;)

Whats wrong with Cake? They're not may favorite but their songs are funny.

Pranki--I liked some of the music from those groups you posted but the vocalists are a little hard to get used to . Those deep voices with all the vibrato...still I might get some of those CDs. Music is really helping me build my Russian vocabulary.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Biancca

Whats wrong with Cake? They're not may favorite but their songs are funny.

Pranki--I liked some of the music from those groups you posted but the vacalists are a little hard to get used to . Those deep voices with all the vabrato...still I might get some of those CDs. Music is really helping me build my Russian vocabulary.

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Ok good... give me some song titles from cake so I can try 'em out 2 see if they're funny to me

My favorite Cake song is Long Line of Cars on this CD:

(you can listen to part of it here ...song eight)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... c&n=507846

I think the music is funny.

Download some Russian books here
http://www.fictionbook.ru/

Listen to Russkoe Radio at http://www.rusradio.ru

When you hear a song that you like, write down a phrase or two from the lyrics and use http://www.rambler.ru to find the full lyrics on the web. The lyrics page will also identify the song and the artist. When I did this I went to http://www.allofmp3.com and I bought the album containing the song that I liked. In many cases, you hear newly released songs and they are only available on a collected hits album.

The other thing to do is to buy lots of Russian films and DVDs. To start with, get DVDs with English subtitles. Then graduate to DVDs with Russian subtitles. After that, branch out into whatever types of films interest you. This is almost as good as visiting Russia.

Every day, read the news on the web at sites like http://www.1tv.ru and http://www.izvestiya.ru and http://www.kp.ru
At the beginning, try to read stories about news items that you are familiar with because that way you can learn new words from the context without the dictionary. After a few months you will find yourself using the dictionary less and less because the vocabulary of news stories is somewhat repetitive. You can become fluent at reading the news much sooner than you can become fluent at reading novels.

Also, look for graded readers. These contain abridged versions of Russian texts along with a glossary in the book. It is less hassle to look up words in a glossary than in a dictionary. Also, because they are graded to a certain level, you normally only need to learn one or two new words in any single sentence. This means that the rest of the words in the sentence give you context and this context is often enough to tell you the meaning of the word.

Harry Potter is the right idea. I have learned French and German by reading books for 10-14 year olds because they are edited so that new words are explained by the context. You might try Tanya Grotter and the Magic Contrabasoon. Also, fairy tales because you may already know the stories.