Feel confused by all the fragmented stuff and controversial tips on learning Russian online? I totally get all of that! ⁠

Let’s dive into the exact steps you need to give your Russian the right direction!⁠

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STEP ONE. DETERMINE YOUR MOTIVATION💡⁠

What’s your initial impulse which led to this decision - to learn Russian? Try to visualize your goals, cut the big boss goal into smaller easy achievable more practical goals. Think of all the good and pleasant things you will do/achieve if you are fluent in Russian one day!⁠

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STEP TWO. SET UP THE TIME⏱️⁠

First, I urge you to think how much time are you ready to dedicate for studying Russian on a daily basis. Yes, the key word here is - EVERY DAY. Our brain in this case performs the same as our stomach - it digests small bite-sized “snacks” much better than a big high-calorie dish. So, 20 minutes every day is better than 2 hours a week.⁠

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STEP THREE. LEARN HOW TO READ🅰️⁠

Not just separate letters but rather long words like преподаватель, здравствуйте etc. Pay attention to 2 things first - word stress and reduction of vowels. Fluency in reading and preferably in writing will build a solid base and save your energy further on. Writing will help you to speed up the process in cementing a new alphabet in your brain.⁠

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STEP FOUR. FOLLOW THE TEXTBOOK📔⁠

You heard that right - not Duolingo, random videos on YouTube. You don’t need 100 Russian phrases, you need the structure and the system with practice to learn HOW to build those phrases by yourself. Intense memorizing without understanding will be of no use in unless you are planning to parachute a remote Russian village and will need those phrases immediately to survive.⁠

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STEP FIVE. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS 📈⁠

Keeping a learning diary will help to measure what you’re putting in and getting out—measuring the time you invest and seeing just where you are on your language journey.