Suzannah Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 DS has done Latin since 3rd grade (he's 9th grade now). I insisted that he continue through at least one year of high school to get it on the transcript, but he's truly sick of it and really wants to do something else. All along I figured he'd probably go with a Romance language--Spanish being perhaps the most useful and easily supplemented or French since I studied it in high school and college. But NooOOOooooooo. He wants to do Russian. So I figured Rosetta Stone was probably the most realistic option since I have ZERO experience with it. CC classes are a possibility for perhaps 11th or 12th grade, but to start with, what should I know about Rosetta Stone and what other options are there? I've already checked a few items out from the library, an audio conversational Russian course (haven't picked it up yet and don't remember the name) and some children's books and videos in Russian. When I have studied other languages myself, I found that children's books were very helpful for practice (French, Spanish, Icelandic). This will be for 10th grade, next year, but I'm trying to scout out what's available and get a bit of a head-start on next year. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirstenH Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Don't have time to write much, but we have Rosetta Stone Russian. It's ... okay. Check out the reviews on Amazon; they give a pretty good idea of the program's strengths and weaknesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I really like Pimsleur. It's fairly painless, and gets you a lot of useful vocabulary and grammatical structures pretty quickly. It's not a grammar course, but I think it's a better start than Rosetta Stone that way. For the alphabet/ script, you can get a workbook at the bookstore (Barnes & Noble?)... and for a little more "something" than Pimsleur, I actually like the Penguin Course... It's not tremendous, but it will get you somewhere... and it's reading/writing, which complements the Pimsleur listening/speaking practice very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Would you say that RS Russian 1-3 would be appropriate for three years of high school Russian? Would you say that Russian 1 would be appropriate for 1 year of high school Russian? I don't really want to enroll my 10th grader in CC, especially since I would be solely responsible for his transportation and I have two other children to teach. But in a year or two that might be o.k. Online classes might work too if it's necessary to supplement or do it instead of RS. I'd just like to know how comprehensive RS is. Edited March 26, 2012 by Suzannah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirstenH Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Would you say that RS Russian 1-3 would be appropriate for three years of high school Russian? Would you say that Russian 1 would be appropriate for 1 year of high school Russian? I don't really want to enroll my 10th grader in CC, especially since I would be solely responsible for his transportation and I have two other children to teach. But in a year or two that might be o.k. Online classes might work too if it's necessary to supplement or do it instead of RS. I'd just like to know how comprehensive RS is. My instinct is that RS is probably not equivalent to three years of HS Russian. Russian grammar is extremely complicated and RS isn't a program that really covers it in depth. It seems more geared toward getting you reasonably fluent. I've only just started it myself, but many of the reviews I've read by both users and professionals say the same thing. I purchased a cheap little book called "Essential Russian Grammar" by Brian Kemple as a supplement. I have idea if that will be enough, but it gets good reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 I really like Pimsleur. It's fairly painless, and gets you a lot of useful vocabulary and grammatical structures pretty quickly. It's not a grammar course, but I think it's a better start than Rosetta Stone that way. Thanks. I've used Pimsleur for French with the kids. Our library doesn't have it in Russian, but they do have another audio, conversation course which I've reserved to look at and perhaps assign as "prep work" over the summer. I'll take a look at the Penguin Course. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Mr. G on Currclick.com is offering an Introduction to Russian course this summer. He's gauging interest with this class. If there are enough students interested, he will offer Russian I in the fall semester: http://www.currclick.com/product/70599/Introduction-to-Russian We love his French class- he is a wonderful teacher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 Mr. G on Currclick.com is offering an Introduction to Russian course this summer. He's gauging interest with this class. If there are enough students interested, he will offer Russian I in the fall semester: http://www.currclick.com/product/70599/Introduction-to-Russian We love his French class- he is a wonderful teacher! Thank you! I wasn't aware that they did online language classes although I've bought a few items over the years from Currclick. I'm not sure that our summer schedule would work with this class, but if it's offered in the fall that may be the way we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBCaroline Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My ds also wants to take Russian next year. I signed him up for Russian I at Landry Academy Online, but I also plan on hiring a tutor for weekly conversational practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 O.k., well maybe I need to find out what the online resources are. I'm generally a bit turned-off by the price, but if it's worth it, it's worth it. I've looked at The Potter's School and Landry's Academy. What other online resources are available for high school Russian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 All along I figured he'd probably go with a Romance language--Spanish being perhaps the most useful and easily supplemented But NooOOOooooooo. He wants to do Russian. My daughter has declared her love for your son. :D Okay, just kidding, but I am in the same boat. I plan on using The Potter's School though I'm interested in hearing anyone's experience with TPS or Landry as we are using Landry for Chemistry. Just wanted to let you know that you are NOT alone on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 My daughter has declared her love for your son. :D Okay, just kidding, but I am in the same boat. I plan on using The Potter's School though I'm interested in hearing anyone's experience with TPS or Landry as we are using Landry for Chemistry. Just wanted to let you know that you are NOT alone on this one. Hello, Dd is currently in Landry's Russian 1 class and really enjoys it. The class uses the Golosa textbook, the same as George Wahington Univ. I really like the way this text is put together plus it also has free internet audio of the Russian dialogues in each chapter, for extra practice if the student wants. The teacher is Mrs. Hackman, a U.S. army translator that has lived and worked in Moscow. Mrs. Hackman is very good and approachable, dd LOVES this class. I have gone ahead and signed her up for Russian 2 with Mrs. Hackman next fall. Highly recommended, best investment of money this year. PS. Before finding Landry, we also used Rosetta stone for Russian. I found it to be OK, not great only because you only learn the sounds of the words and vocabulary, not the cyrilic alphabet or how to read it. Lavender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Katharine Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 The Russian text I used as a Russian major in college was by Stillman and Harkins. It was a grammar-translation text that might be accessible to a motivated tenth grader, esp. w/ some Latin background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 The Russian text I used as a Russian major in college was by Stillman and Harkins. It was a grammar-translation text that might be accessible to a motivated tenth grader, esp. w/ some Latin background. Thank you, I'll look into it. Surely there's a Russian Major out there willing to part with their old copy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Katharine Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 If I had mine I gladly would! Someone else is in possession. FWIW, I was class of '85. I don't know what kind of changes have been made to the text since. Maybe none; maybe some . . . I don't know if you're looking for secular or religious, but it's a secular text. Just checked. Amazon seems to have it as published 1972 . . . expensive . . . highly rated . . . by Wiley, which meant nothing to me then, but they are a respected technical publisher. http://www.amazon.com/Introductory-Russian-Grammar-English-Edition/dp/0471007382 Enjoy! It's a beautiful, beautiful language, and Latin is a huge leg up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Katharine Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 . . . and one reviewer used it in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thank you! I wasn't sure how much help Latin would be for a non-Romance language. But in my own experience it has been useful to have learned a language (any language) when studying other languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Here's a free resource; it's from the Foreign Service Institute. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Here's a free resource; it's from the Foreign Service Institute. Regards, Kareni Cool! In the Student Text introduction they make a big deal about not giving the student access to the book but concentrating on listening and speaking. I looked at the first lesson and it's certainly intriguing. If it works for diplomats I guess it might be worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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