[Ghazban]

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I took three years of intensive russian in college, and i would not have considered myself a particuarly proficient speaker. it is a very difficult language with a pretty complex grammar (especially compared to english and spanish). My professor wrote what is apparently the leading textbook for introductory Russian (its called Golosa, fwiw) and I dont see how I could have done it without him. i think it would be difficult to learn a language like that w/o at least some kind of instructor to give you feedback.

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Thanks for your input. I have a friend I chat with on IM a lot who is a native speaker so I can practice on her and get some feedback but I don't want to put the burden of teaching me completely on her.