Russian for Beginners and Advanced Learners
According to the manufacturer, the Rosetta Stone method is "the fastest way to learn a language". Rosetta Stone language-learning solutions are widely used especially in the USA. The U.S. marines learn foreign languages with Rosetta Stone. The award-winning software is also used at schools. The secret of success is simple. Students learn a new language the way children learn their mother tongue. The language-learning software Rosetta Stone is available in more than 31 languages.
We were curious if it is possible to learn the Russian language more easily using the Rosetta Stone method and gave it a try. The Russian language course is available in three levels (from beginners to advanced learners).
The complete course of Rosetta Stone Russian including levels 1, 2 and 3, costs about 480 dollars. This might seem expensive. But the software offers about 150 hours of Russian language lessons. This equates to approximately one-year course in a language learning school with 3 hours of Russian classes per week.
Learn Russian through all senses
What makes the Rosetta Stone method special is that the software simulates a natural language-learning situation. From the very beginning, learners find themselves in a Russian speaking world. They are surrounded with Russian words, phrases and the voices of native speakers. There is no translation. So it doesn’t matter if students speak German, English, Spanish or any other language. The method can be used by all foreign language learners, irrespective of their mother tongue. It is only possible to select English (or one of the other 8 languages) as the user interface language to be able to make settings, select exercises, etc.
The Rosetta Stone method is based on pictures. It teaches to think in a new language from the very beginning. Vivid images in real-life contexts convey meanings of Russian words and phrases. Rosetta Stone describes this method as Dynamic Immersion®. Students hear single words and sentences in Russian, see them written and associate them with pictures. By getting immediate feedback, users know at once if they understood the meaning properly. The program begins by introducing single words and simple phrases gradually progressing to sentences, dialogs and complex structures. Each lesson builds on what has been taught previously, so one learns Russian naturally, step-by-step without much effort.
Rosetta Stone Russian: How it is made
The software is easy to install. It is possible to create different user profiles. So various students can learn Russian at their own pace and adapt the course to their learning objectives. One can choose the recommended course, or focus on particular skills like reading and writing or speaking and listening. The settings can easily be changed lately.
Beginners, who are not familiar with the Russian alphabet, can learn it separately. One can access the alphabet any time using the Help menu. It is possible to click on each Russian letter to master the pronunciation.
The Rosetta Stone is delivered with a microphone headset. Each user can set up the microphone for themselves and learn to speak correct Russian.
- Select Russian Course
- Set up Microphone
Learning Russian with Rosetta Stone
Each of the three stages of Rosetta Stone Russian consists of four units with four lessons and a so-called milestone.
Each lesson consists of following types of activities:
CORE LESSON (approx. 30 minutes)
The Core Lesson introduces new Russian words and phrases combining various activities.
PRONUNCIATION (approx. 10 minutes)
This activity focuses on training the Russian pronunciation. Students repeat words and phrases after native Russian speakers imitating them. This helps develop the correct pronunciation in Russian.
Examples of excises for mastering the Russian pronunciation:
- It is very helpful that words are broken down in syllables which makes it possible to refine the pronunciation of particular sounds.
- Students can also practice the pronunciation of a particular Russian word or phrase thoroughly comparing their speech pattern with that of the native speaker.
GRAMMAR (approx. 10 minutes)
Rosetta Stone explains the grammatical structures of the Russian language in a simple manner. There are various types of exercises. First, the structure is being visually presented. In the next step students must apply the rule and check if they understood the pattern.
Examples of Russian grammar excises:
- The rule: The ending -A changes to -У.
- Those who understood the rule can choose the correct form of the word.
VOCABULARY (approx. 5 minutes)
With this activity, students learn not only single Russian words, but also phrases and complete sentences. Here, again, the real life pictures illustrate the meaning. A combination of reading and listening exercises makes it easy to remember and recall new Russian words and structures.
Examples of Russian vocabulary excises:
- Students hear a word and associate it with an image.
- After having learnt the vocabulary one can easily answer the question in Russian.
READING (approx.10 minutes)
This activity focuses on single Russian letters and syllables. Students learn to read in Russian and understand spoken language. It helps establish a connection between spoken and written Russian.
Examples of Russian reading excises:
- A Russian speaker says the complete word, and then the syllable that is going to be trained. After hearing the sound unit again, one shall be able to choose the right syllable from similar combinations of letters.
- The task here is to recognize and choose the proper letter combination.
WRITING (approx. 5 minutes)
The Writing Activity is important to get used to the Russian alphabet. This exercise helps correct small errors that might have crept in. For example, students might not be aware of pronouncing an ending of a word wrongly. But when writing one has to spell the words properly and would notice any discrepancy between spelling and sound. Rosetta Stone provides an on-screen Russian keyboard.
Examples of Russian writing excises:
- A Russian speaker dictates the word shown on the screen. The task is to write it out properly.
- Listening to the Russian phrases and copying them also helps learn grammatical structures.
MILESTONES
At the end of each Unit, students learn to use Russian in "real-life" situations. A series of pictures slide across the screen telling a story and presenting different characters. So one has the impression to actually talk to people in Russian. Students learn to ask appropriate questions and give responses.
Sample conversation in Russian:
- The answer is already displayed on the screen. Once a student has formed the right question, it is pronounced by a native speaker. ("Is this your family?" - "Yes, this is my family.")
- Here one has to respond with the answer that fits the context. ("Do you want to drink?" - "Yes, I want to drink.")
Rosetta Stone Audio Companion for CD and MP3 Player
Each level of Rosetta Stone Russian includes the so-called Audio Companion. It consists of 4 CDs per unit (one CD per lesson). The Audio Companion follows the format of Rosetta Stone software. It is not an additional Russian language course. It shall be used after one has learnt with the software and understood the meaning of the vocabulary introduced in the lesson. Practicing with the Audio Companion helps reinforce the skills one has learnt on the computer. It is easy to transfer audio files to an MP3 player and learn Russian on the road. The sound quality is very good. The Russian native speakers speak very clearly. It also very good that Rosetta Stone works with different speakers. This gives one the opportunity to listen to various voices and speech patterns.
Rosetta Stone Russian: CONCLUSION
Learning Russian with Rosetta Stone is fun. One can easily get addicted to it and keep learning for hours. It’s because the method teaches the language through play. One has a feeling of discovering a new world. As students repeat Russian words and phrases again and again, there is no need spending extra time memorizing vocabulary. Sentence structure is gradually getting more complicated which allows learners to pick up Russian grammar slowly but surely. Carefully selected pictures convey the meaning not only of single words, but also of longer sentences. Beginners, who are not familiar with the Russian alphabet, might have difficulties matching written text and spoken words at first. It gets better with practice, though. To make the start easier, it might be a good idea to learn the Russian alphabet separately.
It is possible to learn Russian in a pleasant and easy way. But it is still necessary to keep at it. Only students who don’t give up even if it gets tough and practice on a regular basis will success at mastering the Russian language.
Rosetta Stone is worth its money and an excellent way to learn Russian for everyone who can discipline themselves and stay motivated.
Rosetta Stone Russian: System requirements
Windows (32-bit editions only) 2000, XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5
512 MB RAM; 600 MB free hard-drive space (per level)
16-bit sound card; 800 x 600 display resolution (1024 x 768 recommended)
Rosetta Stone Russian: Levels and Topics
Rosetta Stone Level 1 Russian for Beginners
The images used above are from this course.
Unit 1: Language Basics
Unit 2: Greetings and Introductions
Unit 3: Work and School
Unit 4: Shopping
Rosetta Stone Russian Level 2
Unit 1: Travel
Unit 2: Past and Future
Unit 3: Friends and Social Life
Unit 4: Dining and Vacation
Sample exercises from Rosetta Stone Russian, Level 2
- Unit 1: What time does your plane arrive? / My plane arrives at seven twenty three. / What time does your train arrive? / My train arrives at six fifty four.
- Unit 2: Did you go to this restaurant last week? / No, but I am going to go there next week. / Are you going to play tennis next week? / No, I played tennis last week.
- Unit 3: Whom are you calling? / I am calling my wife. / Whom are you talking to? / Choose one of the options: "I am talking to my wife." vs. "I am calling my wife."
- Unit 4: What did you do today? / Today I went shopping. / First, I went to a household store. / Then I went to a bookstore. / Then I went to a grocery. / After that I went home.
Rosetta Stone Russian Level 3
Unit 1: Home and Health
Unit 2: Life and World
Unit 3: Everyday Things
Unit 4: Places and Events
Sample exercises from Rosetta Stone Russian, Level 3
- Unit 1: What's happened? - Mother has washed your sweater. / What's happened? - I‘ve been dancing for three hours last night. / What's happened? - I went to the beach.
- Unit 2: First, my plane left Mexico. / Then my plane arrived in Great Britain. / Then I went south by train, to France. / Finally, I went East by car, to Germany.
- Unit 3: He sails in a sailboat with his wife. / He walks in a park with his girlfriend. / She shops with her husband. / She is skiing with her boyfriend. / Husband and wife are cleaning their house. / A man meets his girlfriend to have breakfast together with her.
- Unit 4: Mexicans dance. / Germans watch a game. / Russians vote for their president. / Americans carry flags. / Italians play football. / He wants the French to win the game.
