Golosa: A Basic Course in Russian, Book I

I stydy russian language for some years, and recently I re-started, using the volume 2 of Goloca. I became so found of this method that decided to have the number 1 also, despite my russian to be more for the second or even third. But I want to have both due to its beautiful language, contemporary texts, grammar and up-to-date approaches. I really reccomend it for those interested in studying this inteligent language. For those that are just starting with russian, it will surprise that a so complex language can be quickly understood and give fast confidence in its use.

I used this textbook in an intensive Russian class I took in college. It follows the standard textbook format: Each chapter introduces a grammatical concept and new vocabulary. There are a few short dialogues and several exercises to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary. There are also exercises at the beginning to practice cursive in the cyrillic alphabet. At the end of the book there was a grammar reference so it was easy to review and brush up on previous lessons. It was a perfectly good textbook to use as part of a class. In this case I also used the workbook and tape set. The workbook has additional exercises for each chapter in the book. It helped, but isn't necessary since things are covered in enough detail in the book. The tapes were helpful for picking up on how to pronounce. Russian pronunciation is very tricky. Basically they contain spoken versions of the dialogues in the text and a few simple exercises. I would just try to repeat after them to pick up on how to pronounce. The tapes are only useful as a supplement to a class, and not to teach you Russian on your own. This and Golosa Book 2 is a good textbook set to use as part of a class. I used it in college but it would also work for highschool. It did a pretty good job of explaining things and covered the concepts adequately. Teachers will want to know that there is a third edition out now. If you are trying to learn Russian on your own: Don't try to use this as a tape and book set. It isn't designed for this and unless you have superhuman amounts of natural aptitude for Russian it isn't going to work. Instead find a good tape and book set specifically designed for studying on your own. If used copies of the Golosa books are on sale dirt cheap then consider buying them for the exercises and to use as a grammar reference, but don't expect to learn Russian from them alone.

I recently finished an accelerated Russian "101" course. We went through the whole book this past semester. Wow! I speak French and Spanish, so I understand more than the average student. I had never studied Russian before. By the end of the course, my Russian was good. This book/course work, in conjunction with constant conversation practice, allowed me to develop an impressive level of Russian. I surprised several Russian exchange students with my abilities. Not knowing all of the rammifications of the language, please consider that my review is from a STUDENT'S standpoint. I am not a linguistic scholar. Book 1 covers all of the cases, while enforcing basic vocabulary and common expressions. Book 2 I will see next semester! I am aware of two other modern Russian college texts: "Nachalo" and "Troika." I hope that my review has helped!

This book series, in my experience, is the best way to start learning Russian. It is more helpful in conjunction with the workbook, and most helpful when combined with the written exercises in the workbook and oral exchange with other people (there's a tape series that goes with this, but if you have people who are learning with you to talk to, the tapes aren't really necessary). It covers all the basic conversational topics like greetings, weather, telling time, etc. And for the most part, the phrases in the book (even the colloquialisms) are still in use today. So if you want to start learning Russian, order this book and the workbook right away!