Learning Russian

[Ghazban]

I'd like to learn Russian, both speaking and reading but honestly reading/writing is more important to me.

I already know Spanish fairly well and a bit of German. Obviously this won't help me directly with Russian but it does help in the sense that I've had some success learning languages before and am comfortable learning new syntax and grammar and things (everybody says the first new language you learn is the hardest and it just gets easier after that-- I definitely had that experience when I started to learn German after knowing Spanish).

Anyway, what's the best way to do this short of moving to Moscow? I learned Spanish and German in classroom settings and, while it was good to have regular interaction in the language, I felt the classes moved slower than I would've liked. I could hire a private tutor but I'm a cheapskate and would prefer something cheaper if I'm not giving up too much. I found a thread in EDF from a while back by private joker asking about learning Chinese ( here ) and there's some good general advice there but I thought I'd see if anybody has any other suggestions.

I've kind of started on my own and just learning the cyrillic alphabet is really really hard.... I haven't learned an alphabet in like 27 years [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[kutuz_off]

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I'd like to learn Russian

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Why?

[johnny_park]

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Je5mYI9ERHrIAAqw6jzbkF/SIG=12h8c9g6m/EXP=1195787656/**http%3A//www.gmrmedia.com/dolph/gallery/pictures/dolph-m175.jpg[/img]
I must break you.

[Ghazban]

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I'd like to learn Russian

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Why?

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I like Russian literature, Russian music, and Russian opera. Reading stuff in translation has always irritated me. I'm going to Moscow in a couple weeks so that's gotten me more interested in the language, too. I'm obviously not expecting to learn much between now and then.

I'd like to learn French, Arabic, and Chinese too but one thing at a time.

[kafkaFan1]

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[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to learn Russian

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Why?

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I like Russian literature, Russian music, and Russian opera. Reading stuff in translation has always irritated me. I'm going to Moscow in a couple weeks so that's gotten me more interested in the language, too. I'm obviously not expecting to learn much between now and then.

I'd like to learn French, Arabic, and Chinese too but one thing at a time.

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lol yeah me too : ). get a private tutor, it's worth it. knowledge is worth a lot, it's an investment. what also could work just as well is if you found a Russian person who wants to trade lessons with you, you could teach them english, spanish or music or whatever you ahve to offer (sex?)

[kutuz_off]

Livejournal is very popular in Russia; it has a pretty decent community of people trying to learn the language.

[Burdzthewurd]

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I'd like to learn Russian

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Why?

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Wish there was a Russian foreign language program at my HS back in the day, large Russian/Ukranian population and even the hottest Eastern European girls got absolutely NO love from any American guys [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[runningmarvel]

CIA listening into this thread

[AlexSem]

Learning Russian is incredibly hard. It is a language you can only learn by being immersed in it. Speaking it is hard enough - writing... boy...

[Ghazban]

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Learning Russian is incredibly hard. It is a language you can only learn by being immersed in it. Speaking it is hard enough - writing... boy...

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I'm a very visual person; reading and writing languages has always been easier for me than speaking/understanding. I know it's going to be wicked hard; I'm just looking for a good way to get into it. I know a whopping 100 words/phrases right now (learned from a friend who is a native speaker and thrown into an Excel spreadhseet) but nothing about grammar, structure, etc.