Are you interested in learning Russian but don’t know where to start? Online Russian tutors can help. Russian is a complex language and not especially easy for English speakers, but if you undertake the endeavor with an online tutor who can give you personalized attention, you have a very good chance of succeeding.
What Are Good Online Resources for Learning Russian?
Eurekly.com is a great online resource with a large selection of Russian tutors (and tutors in a huge variety of other languages and subjects). These tutors can help you with everything from basic Russian to reading the great literary classics like War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
Eurekly allows you to search for Russian tutors via different filters, including price, location, languages spoken by the tutor, availability, and more. Each tutor is rated (out of five stars) and includes a small paragraph about their background. All Russian tutors on Eurekly are native Russian speakers but are also fluent in other languages, namely, English.
Why Learn Russian?
While Russia and the U.S. have a difficult history together, that hasn’t stopped the U.S. from allowing Russian immigrants to settle within its borders. According to ameredia, there is a Russian American population of 2.9 million people today in the United States; Learning Russian can help you communicate better with your Russian-speaking neighbors or family members.
Learning Russian can also be helpful if you live in an area with a high population of Russian speakers and you work in education, the healthcare industry, the service industry, and more. Being able to communicate with students, patients, clients, etc. can improve relationships and boost business.
Knowing Russian can also come in handy if you plan on traveling to Russia. While now might be a less-than-desirable time to travel due to the current war, if you plan on traveling to Russia in the future, learning the language can certainly help make your trip more enjoyable.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Russian?
Russian isn’t considered an easy language for English speakers to learn, though it’s certainly possible. According to the Foreign Service Institute, Russian is a Class III language (meaning, it’s relatively difficult for native English speakers to learn) and can take 1100 hours of study to reach fluency. The good news is, it’s not a Class IV language like Arabic or Cantonese, which are some of the hardest languages to learn.
While 1100 hours may seem like a staggering amount, remember that it can include your own practice time as well as lessons. If you have Russian-speaking friends or family, you can have conversations with them that can count as time spent learning the language. While it’s important to learn the basics, including the Russian alphabet, speaking is essential to becoming fluent in Russian.
What Are the Benefits of Learning Russian With an Online Tutor?
Speaking Russian informally with friends and relatives is a good way to practice the language. But before you get to that point, you’ll need someone to help you with the basics. The Russian alphabet is quite different from the English one and can take time to memorize. An online tutor can help you with the basics and stick with you as you advance.
Additionally, learning Russian with an online tutor has many advantages that you’d be hard-pressed to find when learning in a college/adult education course or with a local tutor in person.
Learning Russian with an online tutor allows you to learn whenever you want, wherever you are. You don’t have to travel or commute to a local course, you can just pick up your phone or open your laptop, log into Eurekly, and start learning.
Online Russian tutors also offer one-on-one attention that you can’t get in the classroom. You can set the pace, along with your tutor, and not be bound by a teacher’s curriculum or the challenges of other students.
Learning with a tutor from Eurekly has several particular advantages as well. The rates are generally competitive. Eurekly tutors often charge less than local private tutors, not because they’re not qualified but because they know they need to stay competitive. Additionally, Eurekly allows you to book trial sessions with your tutor, so that if you don’t “click” with one particular tutor, you can try another one, free of charge.
Learning Russian May Be Hard, but You Can Do It
Russian is a hard language to learn, so even if you hire a tutor from Eurekly, you won’t become fluent in the language unless you put in the effort. In addition to learning sessions with Eurekly tutors, you’ll need to practice speaking and reading in order to improve your proficiency. And though it may be hard, you can certainly do it! You just need to decide that this is something you want to do. Once you commit to learning Russian, the tutors at Eurekly can help you achieve your goal.