Ive hit a bit of a plateau with my language learning at the moment...

since i decided to start learning russian... (about 11 months ago now...) i really threw myself into it...

I spend AT LEAST 1 hour a day studying from books, night courses once a week, listen to russian radio ALL DAY at work, watch russian movies at least once every couple days aaaand... every evening for at least two hours i speak to russian friends on messenger using... only russian...

the progress... (for only having studied for 11 months) has been really really good! my level at the moment is 'upper intermediate' ...

i feel quite confident when it comes to writting / reading / understanding spoken russian...

but when it comes to speaking.... hrmmmmmmm....
I can do it fine and class.... but whenever i go to russia to see my friends i always feel scared to talk. they compliment me on my accent when i do... but i lack the intense practice that i have with all the other aspects of the language...

i keep hearing all these good reports on pimsleur as a 'listen and then repeat' type thing...

those who have used it... do you think someone like myself would benefit?
and is it really necessary to start with level 1 if you allready have a solid understanding of the language?

does anyone have any other recomendations for more advanced audio course type thing?

(soooo bored of books at the moment!)

thanks!