I've two years to become acquainted with the Russian language to the point where I can engage in at least semi-complex conversation, before I go to college in St. Petersburg in an effort to immerse myself in the language. I've planned a cirriculum that I will adhere to over this period of two years, of which I will share with you so that you may offer suggestions and make commentary for my benefit.

Before I begin, you should know that I'm already very comfortable with using the Cyrillic Alphabet, and can employ basic phrases, such as greetings/farewells, and asking for certain things (directions/food).

Over the course of the summer, I'll be taking the Pimsleur audio course (I,II,III) in order to develop some conversational skills that will be of assistance later on in my study process.

Once the school year begins, and I've a proctor available, I'm taking High School Russian I via Brigham Young University's online high school course program. (Details found here: http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/catalog/selec ... subject=88 )

In addition to this, I'll also be hiring a private tutor, of whom was a Russian instructor in Moscow for 40 some odd years, to help me with the material in my Russian course, pronunciation, as well as to assign additional work and exercises. The thing about this, however, is that she doesn't speak a word of English... which is why I'm endeavoring to take the Pimsleur courses before I begin with her. Hopefully the language barrier won't be an object...

I will also purchase a frequency book, so that I can improve my vocabulary on a daily basis:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0415137 ... eader-link

My best friend, Vadim, of whom is fluent in Russian, will also be helping me with developing my conversational skills all the while.

After I've completed Russian I, I'll progress to Russian II, which is the last high school level course available. Seeing that I take the course at leisure (no time commitments, set examination dates, etcetera), and learn very quickly, I can in all likelihood complete both Russian I and II before the allotted one year completion period for two semesters.

... So, tell me what you think.