Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Assimil vs The New Penguin Russian Course

  Tags: Assimil | Russian
 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
15 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
FromSpain
Diglot
Newbie
Spain
Joined 3899 days ago

20 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: French, Russian

 
 Message 1 of 15
30 July 2014 at 1:54am | IP Logged 
Hi everyone! First of all, I'd like to say that I've never written anything on this
forum, but I'm a frequent reader, so this is my first post. I'm learning many interesting
things about languages on this forum, as I'm also passionate about foreign languages like
many of you. I'm going to start learning Russian and some doubts on how to approach this
language come to my mind. I'm thinking about studying Russian with Assimil or with The
New Penguin Russian Course. I've read several reviews about these methods on the
internet. However, I don't know which one might be the best. Could a more experienced
Russian student give me a piece of advice? Thank you very much for your attention!

Edited by FromSpain on 30 July 2014 at 1:56am

1 person has voted this message useful



apache güero
Diglot
Newbie
United States
Joined 4388 days ago

12 posts - 18 votes
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Russian, German

 
 Message 2 of 15
30 July 2014 at 2:34am | IP Logged 
FromSpain wrote:
Hi everyone! First of all, I'd like to say that I've never written anything on this
forum, but I'm a frequent reader, so this is my first post. I'm learning many interesting
things about languages on this forum, as I'm also passionate about foreign languages like
many of you. I'm going to start learning Russian and some doubts on how to approach this
language come to my mind. I'm thinking about studying Russian with Assimil or with The
New Penguin Russian Course. I've read several reviews about these methods on the
internet. However, I don't know which one might be the best. Could a more experienced
Russian student give me a piece of advice? Thank you very much for your attention!


Get both. You will need audio to learn how to pronunce the Russian language correctly and Assimil does a great job.   However, if you really want to understand the language, you will need a good grammar book, which the New Penguin Russian Course is. I am currently on Lesson 26 of Assimil and Chapter 5 in the Penguin course. They work well together.

Edited by apache güero on 30 July 2014 at 2:35am

7 persons have voted this message useful



Arnaud25
Diglot
Senior Member
France
Joined 3843 days ago

129 posts - 235 votes 
Speaks: French*, English
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 3 of 15
30 July 2014 at 7:41am | IP Logged 
apache güero wrote:

Get both. You will need audio to learn how to pronunce the Russian language correctly and Assimil does a great job.   However, if you really want to understand the language, you will need a good grammar book, which the New Penguin Russian Course is. I am currently on Lesson 26 of Assimil and Chapter 5 in the Penguin course. They work well together.

Same opinion.
The russian grammar is too complex to be absorbed by "Assimilation": you need to work on it actively by understanding the rules and making simple and repetitive exercices.
Perhaps a little boring, but you'll see the reward in the long run.
The russian pronunciation is also difficult and subtle (lot of consonant clusters and palatalisation, lot of vowel reductions and a mobile tonic accent): working without audio would be a complete nonsense.

Choose the lastest edition of Assimil Russian by Victoria Suchet or the old one written in the 70's. Don't use the one written by Dronov (or use it to revise, not to learn: its progression is too erratic).

Another good option would be to start with Michel Thomas Russian: it will give you the basics of grammar and pronounciation, and with that you can continue easily with Assimil + a grammar book.

I would also advise that you keep that document (or its English equivalent, if it exists) in your pocket wherever you go to check the right declensions when you speak to yourself in your head, or when you read Assimil or another book in the bus/metro/spaceship :)
5 persons have voted this message useful



FromSpain
Diglot
Newbie
Spain
Joined 3899 days ago

20 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: French, Russian

 
 Message 4 of 15
30 July 2014 at 11:59am | IP Logged 
I also think that's the best thing I can do. I'll use both methods. It will be
challenging, but I'm looking forward to learning this language. I can already read in
Russian (very slowly) and I also know the Russian alphabet. Thanks to both of you!
Spasibo!

Edited by FromSpain on 30 July 2014 at 12:05pm

1 person has voted this message useful



fabriciocarraro
Hexaglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
Brazil
russoparabrasileirosRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4716 days ago

989 posts - 1454 votes 
Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishB2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French
Studies: Dutch, German, Japanese

 
 Message 5 of 15
30 July 2014 at 7:10pm | IP Logged 
I agree 100% with the colleagues above.

My "prescription" would be:

1 - Start off with Michel Thomas Russian. Michel Thomas is an amazing course, and it will give you a good gist of language, which is just what you need at the beginning.

2 - A mix of Penguin and Assimil.

3 - Try to chat or Skype with natives online, make friends, look for penpals, watch movies, listen to music, etc etc...

This is, IMHO, the best way to get to a good intermediate level in Russian.

Edited by fabriciocarraro on 30 July 2014 at 7:10pm

2 persons have voted this message useful



FromSpain
Diglot
Newbie
Spain
Joined 3899 days ago

20 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: French, Russian

 
 Message 6 of 15
31 July 2014 at 1:56pm | IP Logged 
I've started to study my first Assimil lesson! I'll need a lot of motivation during my
learning process, as memorizing words will be pretty hard. Anyway, I hope I will stick to
it without giving up. Thank you!
2 persons have voted this message useful



FromSpain
Diglot
Newbie
Spain
Joined 3899 days ago

20 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: French, Russian

 
 Message 7 of 15
31 July 2014 at 2:00pm | IP Logged 
By the way, I don't why, but I notice a few similarities between Russian pronunciation
and Spanish pronunciation...
1 person has voted this message useful



Arnaud25
Diglot
Senior Member
France
Joined 3843 days ago

129 posts - 235 votes 
Speaks: French*, English
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 8 of 15
31 July 2014 at 5:46pm | IP Logged 
FromSpain wrote:
By the way, I don't why, but I notice a few similarities between Russian pronunciation and Spanish pronunciation...

Oh, there are more than "a few" similarities. There is a lot in common with the so-called "romance" languages, as russian is an Indo-Europeen language and has "pumped" a lot of words in the Dutch/French/Italian vocabulary during the 18/19th century (and even now for french and English).
Just try to note the prosody of the phrases on the audio, the russian is very melodic with the phrases going up and down a melodic scale when they talk.


2 persons have voted this message useful



This discussion contains 15 messages over 2 pages: 2  Next >>


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.4531 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.