Talk Russian (Book + CD): The ideal Russian course for absolute beginners

The reason for purchase was to better my Russian pronounciation as it has been many years since I have spoken it so need to brushing up. Being ethnic Russian and having Ukrainian girlfriend still in Ukraine who speaks Russian seems a good idea.The delivery was on time as stated and on a Sunday during Coronation party. The postage packaging was in tact. The design of the cardboard case for Talk Russian is simple and informative as to what it is. In side the CDs are securely fixed into a pressed plastic holder (not sure if recycale no indication it is). The course book is well laid out and easy to follow. Gives you the Russian spelling and phonectical pronounciation as well as the English meaning. There is a good use of graphics that adds depth rather than just pages of text which can become boring.My two thoughts about this product is firstly the course books binding. To fully view the pages one has to break a strong binding I hate doing this as it damages the book over time. The alternative to a type of ring binder but this would increase the cost of the product or lessen its profitability to the producer. Secondly, while this is about learning to read and speak Russian, it would have been nice to include the shape of written Russian so the learner could read written Russian too. There again, you can obtain writting tutorials on Amazon too.A note to English speakers just starting out learning Russian: become very accustomed to the Russian alphabet as there are several 'latin' letters that are the same in English. For example B is not b in English but Russian 'v' - so the English VERY is not spelt BERY ))))

The pack arrived in a couple of days in excellent condition There's quite a bit of information in this, and it covers the essentials of obtaining rooms, travle and other practical aspects quite nicely. For most of the time the actors are speaking Russian slowly, whereas in situ in Russia one needs to be able to process information spoken more quickly. Some people may disagree on this. Overall its excellent for beginners, especially if you've done some languages work before. A little variety in the music signalling the end of the unit or section, etc. would be nice. Excellent though and good value for money.

Not a bad buy, as far as language course packs go, and as a simple beginners multimedia Russian 'phrase' pack. The BBC likes to consider it's products as of very high quality, well that's really up to the individual user/buyer, as there are a lot of other well know Russian phrase books/multimedia packs out there. Personally, as I'm attempting to go a little further with learning Russian, the New Penguin 'Russian Course' was highly recommended by a native speaker in Waterstones, and with me this has proved to be correct.

I originally borrowed this from the library to see what it was like and was so impressed that I bought it. It is the best 'teach yourself' course I have ever used and I have tried many times to learn various languages with a notable lack of success!It follows the usual sequence of greetings, ordering a drink, finding places, etc and reinforces words and phrases used previously. The Cyrillic alphabet is introduced in the first four units with the corresponding pronunciation written in English letters but from Unit 5 onwards you have to use the Cyrillic alphabet! This may sound horrendous but if you are visiting Russia, even just Moscow, you will find a working knowledge of the shapes and sounds of the letters invaluable.It is important to make sure that you get the CDs as well as the book (they come as a neat package) so that you hear the correct pronunciation. I found the CDs easy to navigate (I used them on a laptop) and you can repeat tiny sections as many times as you need to. There are useful snippets about Russia and it is most encouraging to know that you will make yourself understood even if you do get the endings of words or agreements wrong! In the newer version (mine was published in 2015) there is a section on the basics of grammar but this was missing in the older version that I borrowed from the library.Well worth the money, now I just need to practice!

This book is not for beginners. The instructions are very fast. You need to listen over and over again and my Ukrainian friend still had problems understanding. I would avoid. Arrived in post quicky and in great condition.

Like millions of others, I was casting around for something to do during lockdown/furlough and being a fan of Russian opera, decided on Russian.This course is well structured and even with much repetition and relistening, I got to a reasonable standard within a couple of months of less than an hour's work a day. The chapters are geared to getting by in a number of different situations (transport, asking directions, booking rooms in a hotel etc). I would have happily pressed onwards and learned some more, but the course stops short of getting too entangled in what seems to be (from the pages devoted to it in the text book) some extremely complicated grammar involving all sorts of noun declensions in different cases for which we don't have an equivalent. Nevertheless, I now feel I would have a reasonable chance of getting by if I was sent to Moscow for the week. Unfortunately, as no one in any opera I have ever come across askes the way to the post office, orders beetroot soup or needs to know which trolleybus goes to the Hermitage museum it hasn't helped too much with that!Recommended.

Love this product !! It’s in perfect condition and not even use !! One of the CD has a mark on it, I hope it will work tho but beside that everything is in really good condition, I recommend this seller.

This is an excellent book and CD for getting you to learn Russian almost with out realising it. The voices are clear and the book forces you to start learning to read in Russian and really forces you to speak the language but also by its nature builds up your confidence. I can really recommend this book for its clarity and consice format. Definately a good package for beginners and travellers.

Das Buch ist vielleicht nicht schlecht aber es wurde falschlicherweise mit CDs angeboten, die aber nicht dabei sind

Not much use without the audio.

great book ... well structured for a beginner. it would be good to have a mp3 version of the cds, something like when you buy the book you can download the tracks from bbc site

It did not include the CD making the book useless.

Im Buch ist immer wieder von Hörtexten die Rede. Habe aber keine CD oder MC oder solchesgleichen vorgefunden.Das Buch richtet sich definitiv an Anfänger der Russischen Sprache. Für mich jedoch eher nicht zu gebrauchen. 4 Sterne gibts aber deshalb, da die Lieverung wie beschrieben ist, und ausserdem schneller als erwartet war.