Complete Russian Beginner to Intermediate Course: Learn to read, write, speak and understand a new language (Teach Yourself)

I really like the complete series for teaching the basics, I’ve used these in other languages, but so far the Russian one has been my favorite. I like the focus on getting Cyrillic down before you move on. It’s nice that there is a short text in the second chapter, it really made me feel accomplished and motivated.

I've been using this book in conjunction with Duolingo and they make an amazing pair. Highly recommend.

Excellent

Seems like it has really good information in it. The audio that goes along with it online is great however, I wish there was more audio more information. I’m currently learning Russian with Babbel Duolingo and using this accommodation seems to be good.

great book ! the best i met for learning Russian.

Text is ok but the app is clunky. Spend so much time navigating the app it takes away from the learning.

I have bought courses for this series in the past and they always included cassettes or CDs. This time, the audio is online but you cannot download it so you have to have internet access to hear it. Not always convenient.

This Course, like so many others, starts with an explanation of the Cyrillic alphabet used in the Russian language. This is fine. But it is followed by a heavy emphasis on grammar and pronunciation. The ensuing lessons are marred by an emphasis on words and vocabulary spelled in the Cyrillic alphabet, and the "discovery" method touted by the book is frequently the laborious task of deciphering the words. The CD with the course is OK but suffers from two point of view: 1) it is not enough spoken Russian to gain a feeling and knowledge of the language, and 2) it is often difficult to correlate the several "tracks" of the CD with the lessons in the book. This is less a book for beginners then it is for students who already have some exposure to the Russian language, either in a more modest beginner's course or in a more complete, extensive audio course. In short, too mauch written material to digest and not enough audio backup.