✨ Tips for Independent Russian Learners ✨
This is my entry for @haxyr3‘s weekly challenge: three tips for independent language learners, that is, learning without the aid of a teacher or a classroom environment. I’ve seen a lot of general tips so far, so I’ll contribute some that are specific to the Russian language. I’m a native Korean speaker, learning Russian for around 5 years now.
#1: Don’t neglect the stress (ударение) while learning new words!
This is SO IMPORTANT. Every time you learn a new word, learn where the stress falls within it! Don’t make the mistake I did of thinking ‘oh well… it’s being able to read the word that matters’, because this will come back to bite you during listening comprehension 😂 If you have auditory processing issues like me, this goes twofold, as I’ll illustrate below:
This is a production of Chekhov’s Вишнёвый сад (The Cherry Orchard). I know this play quite well. I read two English translations of it, wrote an essay on it while I was at university, etc. However, the first time I listened to the original Russian dialogue, this was all I could make of it (from 2:25):
Лопахин: ········ слава богу. Который час?
Дуняша: Скоро два. Уже светло.
Лопахин: ···········опоздал поезд? Час···· два, по ·········· ре. Я···· хорош, какого дурака свалял! Нарочно приехал сюда ······ станции вст···· вдруг проспал… Сидя уснул ·············· ты меня разбудила.
Stress isn’t just important for pronunciation purposes - it’s the thing that marks where the words are amidst all those syllables. If you can’t hear where the stresses fall, you won’t know what words you’re dealing with, even if you understand them on the page. The above lines are comprehensible once written out, and with added stress marks, I can finally follow the dialogue:
Лопахин: Пришёл по́езд, сла́ва бо́гу. Кото́рый час?
Дуняша: Ско́ро два. Уже́ светло́.
Лопахин: На ско́лько же э́то опозда́л по́езд? Ча́са на два, по кра́йней ме́ре. Я-то то́же хоро́ш, како́го дурака́ сваля́л! Наро́чно прие́хал сюда́, что́бы на ста́нции встре́тить, и вдруг проспа́л… Си́дя усну́л. Доса́да… Хоть бы ты меня́ разбуди́ла.
I often get lost with spoken Russian, and I believe this is largely because I neglected to learn the stresses with much of the basic vocabulary. Don’t be like me and fall into the trap of thinking you don’t need it, just because textbooks/online resources/some language apps don’t mark it.* Look up your words on the dictionary, listen to it on Forvo**, make notes as to when and if stress shifts between grammatical forms (e.g. вода́ - во́ду). In fact, I’d advise not relying on apps when it comes to stress at all. You’re better off listening to music, watching shows, whatever lets you hear how native speakers talk.
There’s no shortcut here. You just have to learn it, since there’s no universal rule for where the stress falls in any given Russian word. For an independent learner this is likely to be one of the biggest pitfalls, so don’t give up - but proceed with caution!
* For example: Drops is a great vocabulary aggregator, but stress is not marked; Duolingo does not generally mark stress, except in Tips sections. Memrise courses may or may not mark them, but I wouldn’t rely on it. Making your own notes is always the best way to do it.
** Even if not Forvo, always go for audio that was spoken by real people! AI-generated content is often misleading, if not outright incorrect.
#2: Consider your methods for typing in Russian.
There’s a lot of writing involved in learning, and being acquainted to the Russian keyboard will help greatly. I suggest one of those critters:
Keyboard stickers! (Mine use three languages, hopefully yours won’t be so crowded.) Or an entire Russian keyboard, if you prefer. If you’re on a tablet or mobile device, the Russian keyboard is already there, and you won’t even need anything extra to use it.
Get familiar with where the letters are, is what I mean. Unless you’re making notes 100% by hand, some degree of typing is unavoidable, and if you don’t already have Cyrillic on your keyboard it’s hard knowing where anything is. It’s possible to obtain a phonetic layout (e.g. so that the Russian В corresponds to where your English V is), but the average Russian keyboard doesn’t use it, so it’s best to get used to the latter from the beginning. I took up Russian with the intent to write fiction in it eventually, so this was very important 😌
#3: Learn to read the Russian cursive.
This is an odd one. I can both read and write the Russian cursive, but I’m not actually sure if learning to write it is necessary; if you share physical correspondence with a penpal, or you’d like to take handwritten notes quickly, sure. But most things are typed nowadays, so I can’t imagine it’s a disadvantage to not know how to write in cursive.
What I specifically recommend is the reading. You might not need to produce any cursive, but it’s very possible you’ll be subjected to other people’s handwriting, whether in a letter or notes on a text or a fancy menu or something. Being able to interpret those is better than not being able to read it at all, you know? Russian cursive looks sufficiently different from block letters that it warrants separate attention to read. Not something you need to learn from the onset, but it helps if you can do it.
I learnt to read and write cursive from The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas J. Brown, a truncated sample of which is above. There are better resources for writing, imo, but this book actually explains the distinctions between confusing letters, as well as tips re: loops or strokes that aren’t immediately obvious. Please check it out sometime!
I hope this is helpful to someone. Happy learning 💖
