Learn Russian: Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Box Set, Lessons 1-55

Beginner Russian #8

By: Innovative Language Learning

Narrated by: RussianPod101.com

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Start speaking Russian in minutes, and grasp the language, culture and customs in just minutes more with Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Box Set, a completely new way to learn Russian with ease! Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Box Set will have you speaking with proper pronunciation from the very first lesson and arm you with cultural insight and other information to utterly shock and amaze your Russian friends. This Box set includes our Learn Russian - Introduction to Russian and Learn Russian – Gengo Beginner Russian audiobooks. 

Why are the audio lessons so effective? 

• Syllable-by-syllable breakdown of each word and phrase so that you can say every word and phrase instantly 
• Repeat after the professional teacher section so that you can practice proper pronunciation 
• Quick cultural tips in each lesson will help you navigate your way even better 
• Above all, fun and relaxed approach to grasping a lot of information quickly and easily 
• Effortlessly learn from a bi-lingual and bi-cultural host as they guide you through pitfalls and pleasures of Russia and Russian 

You see, unlike other audiobooks, we actually teach Russian and Russian culture. With each lesson, you will master a target phrase and key vocabulary. This is a complete lesson taught by a professional, bi-lingual teacher! Listen to the preview now! 

This is NOT a vocabulary audiobook with just words and their translations. These short and effective audio lessons will allow you to: 

• Speak Russian within minutes of your first lesson 
• Understand the culture, customs, and people of Russia 
• Order the food you want in restaurants 
• Travel in taxis, trains, buses, and cars with confidence 
• Master manners, etiquette, and customs 
• Use surprise phrases and tips that will leave your guests wondering where you learned them 

The first course in this box set is Learn Language - Introduction to Language. This audiobook will take you through the basics of Russian with Basic Bootcamp, All About and Pronunciation lessons.The five Basic Bootcamp lessons each center on a practical, real-life conversation. At the beginning of the lesson, we'll introduce the background of the conversation. Then, you'll hear the conversation two times: One time at natural native speed and one time with English translation. After the conversation, you'll learn carefully selected vocabulary and key grammar concepts. Next, you'll hear the conversation one time at natural native speed. Finally, practice what you have learned with the review track. Repeat the words and phrases you hear in the review track aloud to practice pronunciation and reinforce what you have learned.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Innovative Language Learning, LLC (P)2011 Innovative Language Learning, LLC

Enjoyable in car, but PDF helps

First off, the format is a podcast and a little corny....but I think that helps remember the material. I find myself driving and listening to this wishing I could read the PDF at the same time, Together they are a wonderful resource but definitely need each other. Overall I think this helps supplement my work with other ways to help learn Russian.

I liked it and felt like I learned more Russian

the radio show format was a little corny but I liked it anyway. I really appreciated that they said things at a normal speed instead of 2 quickly and then they went back and said many of the things at a slower speed and enunciated. I felt like that really helped to learn the pronunciation.

SO ANNOYING

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

different teachers

Has Learn Russian: Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Box Set, Lessons 1-55 turned you off from other books in this genre?

pretty much yes

How could the performance have been better?

the teachers are so annoying couldn't even get past the first couple minutes

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

there was a pdf attached

Great for serious learners.

If you want to learn a few phrases, this is the wrong course. If you want to be fluent in 2 months, you're kidding yourself. If you have a realistic perspective of language learning, have learned the Cyrillic alphabet (not necessary but you'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you do) then the next step is this course.



The course has set a fantastic groundwork for you to build your language learning up on. This course isn't audio only and the accompanying PDF files are massive so I'd recommend you use this course with a tablet or be willing to print 600-odd pages.



Narrators are very casual to try and relax things, and the PDF document goes into the language and notes some points on grammar. It also aids in immersion.



I strongly recommend this course along with setting your facebook and phone to Russian (Русский(RU)) and use Oxford's Russian Dictionary (ISBN: 978-0-19-957643-2 available on Amazon) to aid in the immersion/language learning process.

Terrible

This is awful! The female narrator is good but the male narrator sounds robotic and for some reason is switched out twice with no explanation within the same lesson. Additionally, the ‘banter’ between the two of them is dire. I only managed to get to lesson 3 before I had to turn it off and purchase another audible book.

great verbose Introduction to Russian

I feel I've gained quite a lot from this audio book and it has been a valuable supplement to my ongoing Russian studies

Always good to learn a language

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I find the presentation of this very unprofessional. I'm finding it difficult to get past the fake jollity. The first three hours of this is pointless, not so much for the information but the presentation style makes it almost unbearable. Could we have a more professional presentation style please, your listeners are not morons.

What was most disappointing about Innovative Language Learning’s story?

The presenters think they are teaching five year old children.

Would you be willing to try another one of Innovative Language Learning’s performances?

Yes if the production wasn't so moronic.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It's always good to learn a language and seeking help anywhere is useful.

Any additional comments?

This is a competitive market, don’t lose your place in it by trying to palm people off with this.

Very poor introduction to Russian.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A lot of the first half of the course is rubbish, with essentially no Russian being actually taught. Instead, the hosts just sort of talk about Russia. While it's obviously useful to get context and insight into the culture when learning a language, there's virtually no tying it to the actual language. When lessons do actually start properly, they do a very poor job of breaking down the language. Russian is very different to English, with lots of very lengthy words, which are just thrown at you with very little explanation, making it almost impossible to retain anything. By the time I gave up, I was around ten lessons into the "survival Russian" phase and felt like I'd retained no more knowledge than how to say hello.

Would you ever listen to anything by Innovative Language Learning again?

Possibly. I originally purchased this because I used Innovative's Japanese course when studying that language and found it to be pretty effective. It's entirely possible that some of their other language courses are as good as the Japanese, or as bad as this is.

What didn’t you like about RussianPod101.com’s performance?

The format of the lessons consists of a native Russian speaker (a Ukrainian woman who does a decent enough job all things considered) and a native English speaker. For the first couple of lessons this role is filled by an American, who does a decent enough job and sounds fairly natural, but he's soon replaced by an Englishman whose performance is terrible.

He's so stiff and unnatural that for the first few lessons he was there I had trouble discerning whether he was a real person or a text-to-speech program, it was only when a flub wasn't edited out that I realized it was an actual person. He speaks in monotone, in the kind of stilted delivery you get when you listen to a child recite lines they've learned for a school play, and it's impossible to concentrate and maintain focus when you have to listen to something like that. The content of the lessons might be perfectly fine, but I wouldn't know, because his delivery is impossible to pay attention to. His pronunciation of Russian also seems to be pretty poor, and often words sound totally different coming from him compared to the native speaker.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Learn Russian: Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Box Set, Lessons 1-55?

Most of the first half of the audiobook.

If you are an unusually patient person...

The bad:
It is tiring that the man constantly says the woman's name.
He constantly praises her every time she has said something or is going to say something in Russian.
Like this: "excellent Oksana", "can you repeat that, Oksana", "again, Oksana", "so, Oksana",
"okaaay, can you read these numbers Oksana".
He is clearly American and seems impressed that a Russian speaks Russian perfectly ...
I hate that he speaks to the listeners and to her as if everyone is stupid or incomprehensible children.
He seems arrogant.
I have a hard time listening to him in some of the chapters,
he sounds like he is teaching English and it gets a little monotonous.

The good:
You learn a lot if you survive...
If you are an unusually patient person who is extremely dedicated to learning Russian,
then there are a few grains of gold in this material.
The woman has a good clear voice.
Her pronunciation and the dialogues are a great help to anyone who has just started in the Russian language.
All in all, it's good material to learn from.

Use it like this:
Do not print the PDF, which is over 400 pages.
Use a tablet or computer. Learn a little at a time, leaving bookmarks in both the PDF and the audiobook.
Work your way slowly through the material, use the pause button and repeat what is being said.
Combine with other materials,
Talk with a teacher / native at least twice a week.
There is a slow learning curve for Russian if you come from English, so it is common that you do not see progress in the beginning ..
Do not give up!
Russian is an exciting language and the Russians are friendly people with good humor :)

Good as an add-on but start somewhere else first

To any buyers: If you are starting from scratch I would advise a different book. This goes over the basics (eventually) but non-native instructors are used, which will really hinder the effectiveness of your pronunciation and listening skills. While basic vocab and phrases are covered, I would advise this be used as an add-on to an already existing knowledge of basic Russian, rather than rely on this as complete beginner.

To the authors: Replace the English instructor. His delivery in both English and Russian is awful and detracts from the lessons.