Quote Originally Posted by Valda View Post
impulse may have exaggerated but he is also close to truth. A "couple of months" is enough to learn the basic grammar rules and all the important words. But no way can you reach near-fluency in "months". 1 year of immersion will certainly get you faster to your goal but even with such crazy immersion we're still talking years (plural) before you can claim near-fluency.

But my final point will make you happy. Russian is incredibly FUN. There are very few exceptions and the spelling rules are pretty straightforward. Words sound how they are spelled mostly. It's an extremely rich and beautiful language. Go at it step by step, enjoy the journey, not the end-goal, and you'll see how you become near-fluent without worrying about a time-frame.

I say all that provided you don't know any Slavic language...otherwise you can get near-fluent in a year.
Thanks for the very encouraging advice!

How would you recommend I learn as much as I can within these next 2 months? Should I ignore grammar for now?