Thread: Russian words for her / she question

Originally Posted by laxxy

Originally Posted by TATY

Pimsleur doesn't work because it confines the user largely to certain mundaine conversations. Since grammar is overlooked the learner can't think out the spectrum of expressions taught to them.

You will get to Russia, won't know how to read signposts and simple texts, and natural Russian speach will be so unfamiliar to you. And then the perosn you are conversing with won't say stuff in the unnatural way they do and won't stick to the script.

It does not quite work as advertised, yes, but it is not useless.
A lot of people seem to agree that the pronunciation it gives is quite good and superior to that from most other methods. It teaches a small vocabulary, and drills its' expressions pretty well, which is a good thing, which is going to come especially helpful when a textbook (that should be used in parallel) comes to those expressions too.

Of course it works only when the expression is correct, which is not always, otherwise it's detrimental. I still remember listening to a randomly selected lesson and hearing absolutely horrid things like "ja hochu est' koe-chto".

Maybe most importantly for many people, it does not rely on any book and allows one to effectively utilize the commute time. I've done all 3 parts of Pimsleur Japanese while commuting, time otherwise spent less productively. It might be worth its' price just for that factor alone.

But there is no doubt that Pimsleur alone will not take you anywhere.

It's for lazy people. And it is also quite patronising, thinking people will never grasp the concept of cases and will run in fear from words like "subjuncitve".

Originally Posted by scott

Thanks Laxxy for all your advice. I use Pimsleurs for all the reasons you recommend and find it useful for the same reasons. I am also studying the New Penguin text but find memorizing all the different rules and exceptions to grammar a little difficult.

There is probably no going around that if you plan on getting anywhere. You really have to just sit and do it at least on a basic level. At the very least, learn to recognize cases and parts of speech, so that you could understand a Russian text. Also you need a lot more vocabulary than Pimsleur teaches.

and can make out a lot of what they are saying. I guess the next best step I can take is to find a Russian friend or speaker. Do you have another suggestion for a beginner, motivated learner?

I'd suggest trying to start reading as soon and as much as possible, maybe beginning with graded readers, and proceeding to more interesting material. Seeing that you are actually able to read real Russian stuff should help your motivation.

I am in the Southern New Hampshire area of the USA. Scott

If there is a university nearby, try contacting their international student office, they'll often forward your email to their students (this is the best way imo, as they'll often speak a better language compared to many local, especially American-born, Russians).

A cursory look at Google suggests that Russians are actually the 2nd largest minority group after Latinos in Manchester county
http://www.nhhealthequity.org/downloads ... repare.pdf
This report lists a few Russian groceries at the end as contact points -- you may just consider going to one of them and talking to a person working there, they might help you find someone who would meet with you for a modest fee. These stores will usually have a stack of the local free Russian newspapers somewhere near the exit, pick one of those and consider placing a classified ad.

There are lots of online groups/forums for expatriate Russians, some ppl from NH are bound to be there, maybe PM Lampada here, she seems to know about such forums.

Wow!!! Thanks so much Laxxy for such a researched and extensive answer. That helps me tremendously. I never thought of the options you present. It happens that I live not far from the Siberia market. I will definately go there and talk with them. I will also email the local university. All great ideas. I have doing a small amount of reading in the New Penguin text. I will expand that also as you suggest. If you dont mind another small question? Where do I get graded readers in Russian. Is this something I can purchase at a local bookstore or online? Thanks once again for your time and effort. It is much appreciated. Scott

Originally Posted by scott

Where do I get graded readers in Russian. Is this something I can purchase at a local bookstore or online?

I would suggest something like Burns'n'Noble or Borders Books and Music... Try the bookstore at the nearest University... They can even order some for you, however, it might be for students only... The other thing to try to hear more spoken Russian is to rent Russian videos... They ussually have subtitles which could help tremendeously... Check foreign section in the Blockbuster, but I don't think that they have much though (I've noticed Canada is better in this respect)... Check Russian stores for rentals... However, most vidoes in those stores don't have English subtitles but some of them do, and they could have Russian subtitles as well... Here is the quick link to some of the Russian stores in States: http://www.rususa.com/business/business.asp-typeid-181

Кто ищет, тот обрящет...

Originally Posted by scott

Wow!!! Thanks so much Laxxy for such a researched and extensive answer. That helps me tremendously. I never thought of the options you present. It happens that I live not far from the Siberia market. I will definately go there and talk with them. I will also email the local university. All great ideas. I have doing a small amount of reading in the New Penguin text. I will expand that also as you suggest. If you dont mind another small question? Where do I get graded readers in Russian. Is this something I can purchase at a local bookstore or online? Thanks once again for your time and effort. It is much appreciated. Scott

n/p, you are welcome. I don't know much about Russian graded readers myself, but I think I've seen some of them discussed on this forum, I am sure some people must be using them. There should be a few available both online and in the local bookstores (I think even a tiny used books' store next to my place has one or two of them).

I find that reading is one of the the best way to immerse oneself in a language outside of the country, but everything in Russian is too hard. Thus my question:

Is there any way to find pirated graded readers on the internet for downloading?