Pimsleur Russian Conversational Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-16 CD: Learn to Speak and Understand Russian with Pimsleur Language Programs (1)

I got this course for my teenage son because my previous efforts to teach him Russian by providing him with a Russian mom (ME!), trying to have him meet other Russian-speaking kids who live in the US, and even hiring an American teacher with near-native fluency in Russian and a great sense of humor, failed miserably.So, we read the reviews and decided to try. A few minutes in the car each day seemed like a possibility with his busy schedule at school and tons of homework. We're about half way through these disks, and he is learning to say basic things and is getting more comfortable saying them. Of course, Russian is hard. Really hard. But what this course does well is that it ignores a lot of grammar issues and focuses on conversation. Russians slur and mumble the endings of their words, so perfect grammar might not be appreciated, especially if the circumstances of your Russian conversation are the same as these disks create.Now we get to the fun part. The first couple of lessons focus on the general tourist stuff: where is the Red Square, where is the metro, where is the ticket office, stuff like that. But by about lesson three, I was getting a little worried because most of the conversations go something like this (remember, I bought this for a teenage boy):"Imagine that you just met a Russian woman. Ask her what she would like to drink. Ask her where she would like to drink it. Ask her if she would like to go to a restaurant."My son and I were both laughing.When a later lesson was all about the "your place or mine" discussion, I wondered if I struck a bargain with this one. A Russian course and sex education wrapped all in one. Definitely worth the money.Our current lesson focuses on telling time. And, as my son put it, "it's amazing how many things you can learn, and all of them started with getting a drink."A profound point and a great cultural insight. If you ever go to Russia, you'll know what I mean.But seriously, a good course. Yes, it's repetitive, but there's no way to learn a foreign language without repetition. And you will impress your friends at your next party when you ask them in Russian if they prefer beer or wine.

If you want to start learning Russian while driving your car this is probably the best system available. It is completely audio and gives you 6 hours of very well-designed tutorial. You hear the English first, then the Russian, two or three times times, then you repeat it. Another sentence. Then the first one again. Amazing how quickly you forgot. But by the mix of new things and repeating, it starts to stick. The lessons are very well paced - at least they were for me - so that you only rarely have to stop the CD to go back, while it is also rare for it to feel slow or boring. The Russian is spoken by two native speakers giving you a good idea of correct pronunciation (intriguing how sometimes they pronounce the same word differently!). By the end of the course you have learned about 150 words and can speak and understand several dozen everyday sentences. There is even a little bit of grammar here and there. What you don't get: anything about the alphabet or the written language. Please do realize that the strength of this program is also its weakness: The 8 hours of teaching can very easily be accomodated, one 30-minute lesson at a time, on a daily commute. But doing that means you will be done in 3 weeks (they don't recommend more than one lesson a day). And then what? The program is so good that you have, in fact, learned all there is on these CDs and so repeating them is pretty useless. I guess you'd have to buy the next course...But all in all, this was the perfect introductory course for me wanting to learn while driving to work. Hope it works for you, too!PS I read some negative reviews here that say you only learn to say one or two things over and over again. That's hogwash. I suspect they only listened to the first lesson.

I think it is important to learn a few key phrases of any country I visit, and I find this program to be one of the best to help you have a conversation with someone. You do repeat a lot of the same phrases throughout the sessions, but I think it's useful and helps the new language "stick." Some words are easier to hear and understand than others, but this language also has sounds that you don't normally say in English. Sometimes I listen to a lesson at least two or three times before a new word or phrase finally kicks in. The key is to continue trying until you can understand and say it correctly.One thing to know is that you are learning the formal way of speaking the language, not the casual or informal way of speaking to friends. For example, you will learn to say, "Wouldn't you like to have something to eat with me?" Instead of "Want to grab dinner with me?"The only complaint I have is that the male voice is slightly harder to understand than the female's. I wish I had the option to just hear the female voice.I also have the beginner versions of Pimsleur for French, Mandarin and German. I thought they were all a great way to learn some basic phrases. The best thing is that local speakers actually understand you!I would highly recommend this program as a way to start learning the basics. I'm almost ready to order Russian level two.