learning russian

[steph_traveler13]

so i'm heading to russia soon for spring break and i was curious how many people speak english there? would i benefit trying to learn russian before my travels?

[Andrey_Z]

Originally posted by steph_traveler13
so i'm heading to russia soon for spring break and i was curious how many people speak english there? would i benefit trying to learn russian before my travels?

You definitely would as there are not so many people you will speak English to. You know, almost all of us have been taught for quite a long time but finally nobody knows anything. I don't know why it happens in my country, because it seems to me that in any other place people get decent results more quickly.

[Voyager13b]

Steph,

Refer to my reply to your other post. You will survive Moscow without knowlege of Russian, but it will be much more rewarding if you learn the basics. You will not only earn some respect from the locals, but many will respond by remembering long forgotten English well enough to make the conversation work.

Russia is an awesome place to visit. Remember that you are a guest, and it is your responsibility to be able to bring conversation to the people you meet there. If you meet them half way by showing effort, they will fill in the blanks, enjoy your company, and point you in the right direction to have the time of your life.

That's the key. Give it your best to learn the basics in the time you have, and you will be honored by the response you get from the native population. Also, don't be shy about speaking what you have learned just because you think it isn't up to par with native speak. It won't be up to par for many years, if ever. That doesn't matter though, as it's the effort that counts for Russians, not how well you pull it off. Do your best, and you will feel like a celebrity. Have a great time in Russia!

Voyager

Originally posted by Andrey_Z
You know, almost all of us have been taught for quite a long time but finally nobody knows anything. I don't know why it happens in my country, because it seems to me that in any other place people get decent results more quickly.

First of all, I'm glad to see you again, Andrey.

I think the problem with foreign languages in Russia is absence of practice. No matter how well you were taught, you can forget anything. I studied English only at school, but since I have some practice, I think my posts are understandable... My friends didn't use English after school at all, so now they aren't often able to understand it.

[Andrey_Z]

Originally posted by Alex_Ivanov
First of all, I'm glad to see you again, Andrey.

I'm glad to know that you are good and sound and keep posting here
I hope that everything is OK in your life

I've been really busy lately as I changed my job and still need to work harder than usual. Hope I will have more spare time soon.

Originally posted by Alex_Ivanov
I think the problem with foreign languages in Russia is absence of practice. No matter how well you were taught, you can forget anything. I studied English only at school, but since I have some practice, I think my posts are understandable... My friends didn't use English after school at all, so now they aren't often able to understand it.

I agree, you can forget everything you were taught without practice. But in my school like in many others we were not taught in a decent way. We didn't know how to say the simpliest things sometimes. I think, that was the main problem - they didn't teach us to speak. And you won't be interested in studying a foreign language unless you have no opportunity to speak in it.