Ultimate Russian: Basic - Intermediate [Russian]

I already have a relatively good command of written and conversational Russian, but chose to start with the Beginner-Intermediate course in order to solidify my grasp of the language's very difficult grammar and learn up-to-date idioms. This is definitely the best self-study course for those who are serious about wanting to achieve a high level of Russian ability. For once, the description on the package is not an exaggeration. The contents of the course really are "Equivalent to two full years of college-level study."That said, it would really behoove the authors and editors of this course to re-edit it with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, as there are many mistakes and omissions, especially in the keys to the exercises. Sometimes entire parts of exercises are missing in the keys. And sometimes the exercises ask the student to translate phrases that are not presented until the following lesson. Especially vexing is the fact that the all-important stress on the proper syllable is often misplaced.If these errors are corrected in future editions of the course, I would say that it would then fully deserve a "five-star" rating.

I bought this as a review text since I've been away from Russian for several years and needed to improve my verbal fluency. While I like the layout of the lessons (dialog first, break down of dialog next and finally an examination of grammar point by point), I have been disappointed to find that in virtually every chapter there are mistakes, either spelling (nedlyu instead of nedel'yu-i.e. accusative singular of the word for week) or persistent errors such as ubirat' v komnati instead of ubirat' komnatu. (This mistake was made 4 times in one chapter). In some languages, spelling errors are not a big deal because the word doesn't change form depending on its usage (English is an example of that). In Russian with its 12 case endings and many words which significantly change form depending on case, spelling errors can be very misleading (and ultimately defeating) to the beginner. For my purposes, as a review text, this has been great. Hence, the 4 stars. But, I can't recommend it for someone taking his first steps into the mind-boggling complications of Russian.

I am studying Russian five days a week, six hours a day, from an almost complete beginner (I knew Cyrillic, basic pronounciation and about 50 words). I am moving to Moscow for a year and want to be able to speak the language before arrival. However I am not new to Moscow having spent 6 months there last year (hence the basic knowledge).I did have a look at the Linguaphone course, this is probably slightly more comprehensive (and a lot more expensive) and unlike other Linguaphone courses is not available on CD (but neither of course is the Ultimate Russian), nor has it been updated since 1970. I found when I opened the course manual and saw a line illustration of a 1960's propeller aircraft that maybe something more contemporary was in order. Hence the Ultimate Russian Course. The Ultimate Course is excellent, with carefully structured and graded lessons. It is very strong in grammar (like the Linguaphone and most of the comprehensive courses) and the cassettes are clear although I agree with other reviewers, the speakers are much too fast and sometimes I have to rewind a number of times and even then I cannot "get" the word.There are cultural sections, and when the author states that "sheremetyevo-2 is like many international airports" I had to laugh. If you have ever visited Moscow you will know nothing could be further from the truth. This surely must be Russian bias! I am reading the cultural sections now with an open mind!Why 4 stars instead of 5? I have been studying this course now for four weeks on a daily basis. Sometimes vocabulary is introduced into examples with no pre discussion of its meaning. Also I feel slightly uneasy learning phrases parrot fashion without understanding the individual components and grammar. Some of the grammar explanations are also somewhat long-winded and/or could have better explanation. An excellent companion to this book is "Teach yourself Beginners Russian Grammar". Coupled with a good Dictionary you'll have a complete language lab at your disposal.

I'm thoroughly impressed with this Russian course, as well as with all the other Living Language Ultimate courses. They're more modern, streamlined, and complete than any other commercially available self-study language courses on the market.So why did I give it only a four-star rating? Why not five? Because it's really nothing more than an extended version of Living Language's own Complete Russian Course. The Ultimate course follows along the same trite "listen and repeat" lines as the Complete course. The main differences are: The Ultimate course assumes the student has at least a basic grasp of the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet, and how each letter is pronounced. As a result, whereas the Complete course begins with names and personal words to "baby-step" the student into how Russian sounds and works, the Ultimate course's lessons begin with a dialogue to get the feel of the language. I guess this is a theoretically better approach to language learning, but it will likely leave the student with no idea of how to pronounce the language lagging a bit behind at the start.When it comes time to repeat the words, there isn't much time to say it (you get what seems like just one second of silence to voice your response), especially on the cassettes designated for listening "On The Go." I'd advise the beginning student to make frequent use of his cassette player's pause button while enduring these exercises. When a reasonable proficiency is achieved, it might be worthwhile to simply let the cassette play and see if he can speak the correct response in that short silent interval.All things considered, it's still one heck of a way to learn Russian, or any of the other languages available in the Ultimate course series. Just keep an open mind and maintain your enthusiasm--and you'll succeed.FYI, as an alternative self-study course, I'd recommend "Just Listen n' Learn Russian," published by Passport Books (NTC Publishing Group).

I'm only part of the way through it, but it appears to be a good investment for someone wishing to actually learn the language and the culture, not just parrot back some words and phrases. The tapes are clear and lively, with a mild sense of humor. One drawback is that you only have one chance to repeat the Russian word or phrase, and don't hear it again. But this allows for more material per tape. Half the tapes are Russian only, with all the language covered on the tapes in bold print in the book, making it easy to follow along with the book, or to check spellings later if you listen in the car. The four bilingual tapes contain grammatical information with the examples. The book contains some typographical errors in the cyrillic text, which are obvious even to a beginner like myself. Hopefully, these will be corrected in future editions. There is also a second level package. These will get you well beyond most of the other "travel talk" material available.