This is a course for people who have never studied Russian. The focus is on speaking and the atmosphere is relaxed. Participants will be given a first taste of the language and they learn some essential words and phrases to greet people, ask about nationality, count and order food and drink. They will also begin to learn the Russian alphabet. The course is not exam-based.

This course is aimed primarily at participants who have taken Beginners' Russian. It continues to be a communicative course with a focus on the practical skills of listening and speaking. Participants will also increase their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation so that they feel more confident when communicating in Russian. Practice continues to be with simple real-life situations, working in pairs and small groups to encourage plenty of listening and speaking practice. The language of instruction will be Russian with some English where appropriate for explanation.

This course follows on from Beginners' Russian 2. The focus continues to focus on real-life communication with students working in pairs and small groups to encourage plenty of listening and speaking practice. Participants will consolidate and build on what they have learned in Part 2, developing vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, as well as writing short phrases and sentences in Russian.

This real-time online course is designed to cater for complete beginners who would like to learn the basics of the Russian language and culture in a fast and fun way. If you would like to travel to Russia, you will find it very useful with the course focus on travel phrases and oral communication. Some of the topics include self-introduction, numbers, telling the time, asking for the way, eating out, shopping, booking a hotel room and dealing with communication problems. The students will practise the language in an interactive way, whilst at the same time learning more about the culture of the Russian-speaking world. The course takes place via Zoom.

Why Russian?

• Learning Russian will allow you to communicate with more than 250 million people worldwide.
• Russia is home to some of the world’s finest art traditions such as ballet, theater, literature and music.
• The Golden Ring is a popular tourist route through Russia, which threads its way through key Medieval towns and cities which have been left mainly undisturbed by modernity and industrialization.
• There are more than 25 UNESCO World Heritage sites throughout Russia, which is home to spectacular and diverse nature reserves.
• Russian architecture, as apparent in St. Basil’s Cathedral, is intricate and monumental, reflecting the rich history of the country.