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Title: Ultimate Russian: Basic-Intermediate (Living Language Ultimate. Basic-Intermediate Series (Manual & Cassettes)) by Nancy Novak, Living Language, Crown Publishing ISBN: 0517700042 Publisher: Living Language Pub. Date: April, 1998 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4
Rating: 4
Summary: Good layout but too many mistakes
Comment: I bought this as a review text since I've been away from Russian for several years and needed to improve my verbal fluency. While I like the layout of the lessons (dialog first, break down of dialog next and finally an examination of grammar point by point), I have been disappointed to find that in virtually every chapter there are mistakes, either spelling (nedlyu instead of nedel'yu-i.e. accusative singular of the word for week) or persistent errors such as ubirat' v komnati instead of ubirat' komnatu. (This mistake was made 4 times in one chapter). In some languages, spelling errors are not a big deal because the word doesn't change form depending on its usage (English is an example of that). In Russian with its 12 case endings and many words which significantly change form depending on case, spelling errors can be very misleading (and ultimately defeating) to the beginner. For my purposes, as a review text, this has been great. Hence, the 4 stars. But, I can't recommend it for someone taking his first steps into the mind-boggling complications of Russian.
Rating: 4
Summary: Comprehensive
Comment: I am studying Russian five days a week, six hours a day, from an almost complete beginner (I knew Cyrillic, basic pronounciation and about 50 words). I am moving to Moscow for a year and want to be able to speak the language before arrival.
However I am not new to Moscow having spent 6 months there last year (hence the basic knowledge).
I did have a look at the Linguaphone course, this is probably slightly more comprehensive (and a lot more expensive) and unlike other Linguaphone courses is not available on CD (but neither of course is the Ultimate Russian), nor has it been updated since 1970. I found when I opened the course manual and saw a line illustration of a 1960's propeller aircraft that maybe something more contemporary was in order. Hence the Ultimate Russian Course.
The Ultimate Course is excellent, with carefully structured and graded lessons. It is very strong in grammar (like the Linguaphone and most of the comprehensive courses) and the cassettes are clear although I agree with other reviewers, the speakers are much too fast and sometimes I have to rewind a number of times and even then I cannot "get" the word.
There are cultural sections, and when the author states that "sheremetyevo-2 is like many international airports" I had to laugh. If you have ever visited Moscow you will know nothing could be further from the truth. This surely must be Russian bias! I am reading the cultural sections now with an open mind!
Why 4 stars instead of 5? I have been studying this course now for four weeks on a daily basis. Sometimes vocabulary is introduced into examples with no pre discussion of its meaning. Also I feel slightly uneasy learning phrases parrot fashion without understanding the individual components and grammar. Some of the grammar explanations are also somewhat long-winded and/or could have better explanation.
An excellent companion to this book is "Teach yourself Beginners Russian Grammar". Coupled with a good Dictionary you'll have a complete language lab at your disposal.
Rating: 4
Summary: Could be better (but could also be worse)
Comment: I'm thoroughly impressed with this Russian course, as well as with all the other Living Language Ultimate courses. They're more modern, streamlined, and complete than any other commercially available self-study language courses on the market.
So why did I give it only a four-star rating? Why not five? Because it's really nothing more than an extended version of Living Language's own Complete Russian Course. The Ultimate course follows along the same trite "listen and repeat" lines as the Complete course. The main differences are: The Ultimate course assumes the student has at least a basic grasp of the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet, and how each letter is pronounced. As a result, whereas the Complete course begins with names and personal words to "baby-step" the student into how Russian sounds and works, the Ultimate course's lessons begin with a dialogue to get the feel of the language. I guess this is a theoretically better approach to language learning, but it will likely leave the student with no idea of how to pronounce the language lagging a bit behind at the start.
When it comes time to repeat the words, there isn't much time to say it (you get what seems like just one second of silence to voice your response), especially on the cassettes designated for listening "On The Go." I'd advise the beginning student to make frequent use of his cassette player's pause button while enduring these exercises. When a reasonable proficiency is achieved, it might be worthwhile to simply let the cassette play and see if he can speak the correct response in that short silent interval.
All things considered, it's still one heck of a way to learn Russian, or any of the other languages available in the Ultimate course series. Just keep an open mind and maintain your enthusiasm--and you'll succeed.
FYI, as an alternative self-study course, I'd recommend "Just Listen n' Learn Russian," published by Passport Books (NTC Publishing Group).
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Title: Living Language Ultimate Russian: Advanced by Living Language, Ana Suffredini, Crown ISBN: 0517702371 Publisher: Random House Audio Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $75.00 |
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Title: The Oxford Russian Dictionary: Russian-English English-Russian by Della F. Thompson ISBN: 0425160130 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $2.67 |
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Title: Master the Basics: Russian (Mastering the Basics) by Natalia, Phd Lusin, Susan Follett Lusi ISBN: 0812091647 Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title:Instant Immersion Russian 2 CD-ROM Set (Jewel Case) ASIN: B00005RIQ5 Publisher: Topics Entertainment Pub. Date: 29 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.99 |
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Title: 501 Russian Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses Alphabetically Arranged (501 Verbs Series) by Thomas R., Jr. Beyer ISBN: 0764113496 Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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