Publisher's Synopsis
The Easiest and Fastest Way to Learn Russian
Whether you want to travel, communicate with friends or colleagues, reconnect with family, or just understand more of what's going on in the world around you, learning Russian will expand your horizons and immeasurably enrich your life.
- Quick + Easy - Only 30 minutes a day.
- Portable + Flexible - Core lessons can be done anytime, anywhere, and easily fit into your busy life.
- Proven Method - Works when other methods fail.
- Self-Paced - Go fast or go slow - it's up to you.
- Based in Science - Developed using proven research on memory and learning.
- Cost-effective - Less expensive than classes or immersion, and features all native speakers.
- Genius - Triggers your brain's natural aptitude to learn.
- Works for everyone - Recommended for ages 13 and above. What's Included?
- 30, 30-minute audio lessons
- 100 minutes of reading instruction to provide you practice reading Russian
- In total, almost 17 hours of audio, all featuring native speakers
- a Reading Booklet What You'll Learn
Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleur's Russian Levels 1, 2, and 3. You'll be speaking and understanding Russian with near-fluency and with considerable skill. In Level 4, the pace and conversation moves more rapidly, making way for even more substantial mastery of vocabulary and structures. Some topics included in Russian Level 4 are:
- Activities - the course starts with getting downtown from the airport, and includes summer vacation travels and visiting the Black Sea. You'll learn to ask for recommendations, give advice, and make appointments. Other activities include - yoga, sports discussions, going to a film festival, attending a parade, dressing up, shopping, cooking, exploring the countryside, and overnight train rides.
- Culture - you'll learn about the Russian school system, Russian weddings and gift giving, holidays such as New Year and Christmas, visiting a Russian home and giving housewarming gifts.
- Expressions - improve your conversations with native Russian speakers with useful, daily expressions such as, "Congratulations!," "Thank God!," or "Everything will be OK!" You will also learn how to express your physical wellness and inquire the same of others, as well as giving friendly reminders like - "Don't forget ..." "Don't worry!" "Get better!" to name a few.
- Other topics include: colors, family, renting an apartment, describing rooms, and public transportation. Reading Lessons in the form of a short story are included. These lessons, which total over an hour and a half, are designed to give you practice reading Russian, to provide vocabulary, and improve pronunciation. Before you know it, you'll be reading Russian with the ease and flexibility of a native speaker. The Readings start on CD 14 after Lesson 28. The Pimsleur Method
We make no secret of what makes this powerful method work so well. Paul Pimsleur spent his career researching and perfecting the precise elements anyone can use to learn a language quickly and easily. Here are a few of his "secrets" The Principle of Anticipation
In the nanosecond between a cue and your response, your brain has to work to come up with the right word. Having to do this boosts retention, and cements the word in your mind. Core Vocabulary
Words, phrases, and sentences are selected for their usefulness in everyday conversation. We don't overwhelm you with too much, but steadily increase your ability with every lesson. Graduated Interval Recall
Reminders of new words and structures come up at the exact interval for maximum retention and storage into your long-term memory. Organic Learning
You work on multiple aspects of the language simultaneously. We integrate grammar, vocabulary, rhythm, melody, and intonation into every lesson, which allows you to experience the language as a living, expressive form of human culture. Learning in Context
Research has shown that learning new words in context dramatically accelerates your ability to remember. Every scene in every Pimsleur lesson is set inside a conversation between two people. There are no drills, and no memorization necessary for success. Active Participation
The Pimsleur Method + active learner participation = success. This method works with every language and every learner who follows it. You gain the power to recall and use what you know, and to add new words easily, exactly as you do in English. The Russian Language
Russian, one of the six official languages of the United Nations, is the official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Krygystan, with an estimated 150 million native speakers around the world. Pimsleur's Russian uses speakers from Moscow and St. Petersburg, which accounts for slight pronunciation differences between speakers, but accurately depicts contemporary spoken Russian. Tech Talk
- CDs are formatted for playing in all CD players, including car players, and users can copy files for use in iTunes(R) or Windows Media Player(R).
