Over the past few weeks, several of my students have shared their frustration with me: “I’ve been studying Russian for so long and I still can’t use basic vocabulary! When I asked what kind of vocabulary they were referring to, they mentioned specific cooking verbs (e.g., verbs for cutting ingredients in different ways), words describing
Eight Things Wiktionary Teaches for Free
Wiktionary is an invaluable source of linguistic information. In this article, I’ll show you how to use it wisely.
Wiktionary is an invaluable source of linguistic information. In this article, I’ll show you how to use it wisely.
Language as a Performing Art
A few years ago, I explored one of the popular online learning platforms, and found two music courses. I don’t remember the exact names of the courses, but one was called something like “Developing Your Musicality”, and the other was titled “The Basics of Music Theory” or something like that. The first course was designed
A few years ago, I explored one of the popular online learning platforms, and found two music courses. I don’t remember the exact names of the courses, but one was called something like “Developing Your Musicality”, and the other was titled “The Basics of Music Theory” or something like that. The first course was designed
Studying in Russia: Part I Learning Russian in Russia
According to the official Russian statistics, in the academic year 2019-2020, the number of international students in Russia was slightly short of 300,000 people. This is almost twice as many as in 2010. The most recent statistic is unavailable, because of “damn ‘rona”, but, most likely, the trend will persist for the next few years.
According to the official Russian statistics, in the academic year 2019-2020, the number of international students in Russia was slightly short of 300,000 people. This is almost twice as many as in 2010. The most recent statistic is unavailable, because of “damn ‘rona”, but, most likely, the trend will persist for the next few years.
How to Improve Your Russian Using Online Tools
Learning a new language is always a demanding task. There are so many things you need to cover, from grammar to conversation skills. The same goes for the Russian language, which has so many difficult segments we need to master. Those segments are writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Each one is challenging in its own
Learning a new language is always a demanding task. There are so many things you need to cover, from grammar to conversation skills. The same goes for the Russian language, which has so many difficult segments we need to master. Those segments are writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Each one is challenging in its own
Suddenly Dumb
Embarrassing Story When I moved to Canada, my fluency in English was confirmed twice by IELTS. I had been studying English for decades, since I was twelve. I had ten years of experience working in an international company where English was the only spoken language. I was pretty confident in my speaking abilities, when one
Embarrassing Story When I moved to Canada, my fluency in English was confirmed twice by IELTS. I had been studying English for decades, since I was twelve. I had ten years of experience working in an international company where English was the only spoken language. I was pretty confident in my speaking abilities, when one
Synonyms: How to Tell the Difference
Synonyms are a blessing and a curse for language learners. How can a language learner know the difference between two words that mean the same thing? How do you know when to choose one word, and when to choose the other? Can they be used interchangeably, or does each word have a specific niche and belong to a certain context? I will try to answer those questions in this article, and I will share a few practical tips on how to make synonyms your friends.
Synonyms are a blessing and a curse for language learners. How can a language learner know the difference between two words that mean the same thing? How do you know when to choose one word, and when to choose the other? Can they be used interchangeably, or does each word have a specific niche and belong to a certain context? I will try to answer those questions in this article, and I will share a few practical tips on how to make synonyms your friends.
What Makes Russian So Hard: Perfective and Imperfective Verbs
In the previous two articles, I talked about Russian cases and how words agree in a sentence according to their gender, number, and case. With the cases, the hard part is memorizing all those endings. The concept of grammatical cases is relatively easy. Perfective and imperfective verbs do not create too much extra work for
In the previous two articles, I talked about Russian cases and how words agree in a sentence according to their gender, number, and case. With the cases, the hard part is memorizing all those endings. The concept of grammatical cases is relatively easy. Perfective and imperfective verbs do not create too much extra work for
What Makes Russian So Hard: Cases
Speaking a language is a practical skill, almost like driving a car or cooking. Understandably, most language learners want to start using their target language as soon as possible. When I approach a new language, I feel the urge to say something meaningful from lesson one. However, as a language teacher, I know that for
Speaking a language is a practical skill, almost like driving a car or cooking. Understandably, most language learners want to start using their target language as soon as possible. When I approach a new language, I feel the urge to say something meaningful from lesson one. However, as a language teacher, I know that for
What I Learned Using Duolingo
Duolingo is undoubtedly one of the most popular language learning applications, if not the most popular one. Cute and simple interface; gamified learning script; ongoing competition between users; learning materials given in small, chewable pieces; audio with pronunciation of the words; achievable goals — all that makes Duolingo a very attractive and addictive application. But
Duolingo is undoubtedly one of the most popular language learning applications, if not the most popular one. Cute and simple interface; gamified learning script; ongoing competition between users; learning materials given in small, chewable pieces; audio with pronunciation of the words; achievable goals — all that makes Duolingo a very attractive and addictive application. But