There can be many reasons to learn Russian. Perhaps you are visiting Russia for business, or maybe your significant other is from the country. Or perhaps you simply love this beautiful language. Regardless of what has driven you to begin learning Russian, the biggest obstacle for many people is not having enough money to pay a tutor or take classes at a school. Fortunately, there are quite a few free options to learn Russian for free!
In this blog post, I will tell you about the best free resources to learn Russian on your own. I will also tell you about tips and tricks that will help you to master the art of Russian.
First of all, let’s clear up a common misconception: It is possible to learn Russian by yourself! You do not have to attend weekly classes or pay a tutor – all that is needed is motivation and some time.
Of course, learning on your own may not be as pleasant and exciting as attending classes with others, but it is definitely possible to do so on a budget. So let’s get started.
How to start learning Russian for free:
The first and most important thing to do when learning Russian is to know what you want. Do you need to learn the basics of the language in order to visit Russia? Are you interested in talking to your significant other? Or maybe you simply want to be able to read a book in the original version.
Whatever it may be, it’s important to start with a clear picture of what you want to achieve. Once you figure this out, it’s time to choose your resources.
Use the internet to learn Russian:
Start by browsing the Internet for free Russian courses. There are plenty! For example, try searching Google for “free Russian lessons” or “learn Russian online”. You will find many websites where you can learn the basics of Russian for free.
Here are some free online courses that I recommend:
This website offers videos that will teach you the Cyrillic alphabet and phrases, to begin with. It also provides listening comprehension exercises, word-for-word translations, grammar lessons, quizzes, and more!
This website is for absolute beginners. The good thing about this website is that you can adjust the speed of your lessons. This way, you can go at a pace that suits you and your needs best.
This website offers a great course for learning Russian online. The lessons contain grammar explanations, vocabulary and pronunciation exercises as well as interactive Russian-English translations. And all of these lessons and courses are free! So if you are a beginner then you should also try this amazing free resource to learn Russian.
This website offers a lot of resources for learning and practicing the language. You will find free Russian courses with audio, Russian texts & dialogues with audio, Russian phrases with audio, and Russian grammar and exercises. The website is free, but it also provides advanced courses with audio subtitles if you want to access those. The website mainly focuses on spoken Russian, but it also offers the basics.
4) Rosetta Stone:
This website offers a great course to learn Russian with state-of-the-art learning technology. The course is so popular that it has already reached over one million users! It contains four different levels. The best thing about Rosetta Stone is that it adapts to your needs, so you will always be learning the material that you struggle with. You can access this website on your computer or on your phone as well. This website is not free. However, you can get free trials.
5) Duolingo :
This is one of the popular language-learning websites across the globe. It has courses in Spanish, French, German and many other languages. But there are also Russian courses to choose from! It offers lessons for beginners and more advanced students. Duolingo is free, but it also offers premium subscriptions that The website is free, but if you want to get access to all app features you will have to pay for it. The best thing about Duolingo is that it offers speaking activities. This way, you will learn to speak Russian while completing online courses.
Learn Russian for free with the help of Youtube:
Another way to learn Russian for free is by using Youtube. There are many channels that offer free lessons in Russian, including grammar explanations and vocabulary lists!
Here are some of my favorite YouTube channels:
1) Real Russian Club:
This youtube channel is run by a beautiful and professional language instructor Daria from Moscow. She teaches Russian to non-native speakers from all over the world with her free youtube videos. You can find lessons on each and every aspect of the language. For example, she has made videos on Russian from zero to fluency, Russian pronunciation, Russian speaking lessons, Russian vocabulary, tips on learning Russian, weekly Russian reading lessons, and much more. The good thing about Daria is that her method of teaching is really impressive. The English subtitles on the videos also help the understanding of the language easier. Her English pronunciation is really good and this is what makes her favorite of English learners of Russian.
2) Be Fluent in Russian:
This YouTube channel has a lot of video lessons to offer so you can learn Russian for free. They have daily videos on Russian pronunciation, learning words and phrases. What I love about this channel is that they also have podcasts available for download. This youtube channel explains the basics of Russian step-by-step and in an easy-to-understand manner. You will also learn a lot about Russian culture as there are videos too on Russian culture.
3) Learn Russian TV:
This is another good youtube channel that has free Russian videos to watch. The video lessons are well-made and there is a variety of topics covered in them. Whether you want to learn simple phrases or grammar rules this youtube channel will teach it to you fluently!
This Russian language learning channel is run by Stacy with more than 17 thousand subscribers. Russian learners will also find this channel really helpful in their Russian journey.
4) Cafe Russian:
Another gem for Russian learners. This channel is run by a blue-eyed Russian instructor namely Kris from Russia. She offers lessons on the Russian language basics, pronunciation, speaking, grammar, culture, and more!
So these were the free online resources. You can consume these resources but one thing is important to learn any language and that is practice. If you don’t practice your language skills it will be really hard to get fluency in any language. Now let us find out the most effective ways to practice your Russian skills.
Practice your new language skills with a native speaker online:
In this age of social media platforms, it is really easy to find a native Russian speaker to practice your language skills. You can take advantage of Facebook groups, pages, and other social media platforms. You just have to surf the internet and find the most appropriate groups that offer language exchange opportunities. There are many such pages, groups, and platforms offering Russian language lessons for free.
Typing practice:
This is another easy way to practice your new skill in Russian. Typing in Russian is kind of difficult and you need to practice it a lot because the Russian letters come from different alphabets. This makes typing in Russian hard as there are 33 letters! You can use the Google transliteration tool to type your messages, words, phrases, etc which will be displayed in the Russian alphabet. There is also a lot of typing practice websites that offer Russian typing lessons and exercises to improve your language skills.
Attend free conversational classes for adults in your area :
You might be wondering how to learn Russian in your area when you are staying far away? This is possible now even if you stay in the other end of the world. Thanks to modern technology that makes it much easier for people to gather and learn. something online or offline! You can find many free conversational classes in your city, town, village, etc. If you have a computer with an internet connection, laptop, or tablet, you can attend these classes remotely. To find out whether there are free conversational classes in your area refer to this website that has listed down the free conversational Russian language courses for adults.
Watch movies and TV shows that are subtitled or dubbed in Russian :
This is a really fun and interesting way to learn Russian. To improve your listening skill in Russian, you can watch movies and TV shows in Russian. The best part about watching movies or TV shows in any language is that you learn new words from different fields while still enjoying the entertainment! You have access to all kinds of movies and TV shows on Youtube and other streaming websites.
Conclusion:
To conclude, there are many ways to learn Russian for free even if you don’t have money or travel to Russia where people speak Russian as their first language. You can easily learn Russian online and by attending free conversational classes in your area. So start learning the Russian language right away and be a part of one of the largest communities of Russian language learners!
Related post: Common Russian words for travelers.