Preparing for Graduate School in Russian
Normally, I write about writing on this blog. Today I’ve picked an oscure topic: how to prepare for graduate school in Russian…especially if you’ve never had the opportunity to go to Russia. It’s tough to bump your language skills up to the next level on your own, so here are a few suggestions to improve your fluency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Russian Motion Verbs for Intermediate Students. ISBN 0-300-06413-6. Even if you are an advanced speaker, this is a great review of motion verbs, which are tricky in Russian. Plenty of examples and exercises and explanations of different cultural connotations of motion verbs. Mastering these verbs is a must for graduate students of Russian.
От текста к речи: Advanced Russian From Reading to Speaking, Book 1 and 2. ISBN: 978-0-89357-375-1, Book 1; 978-0-89357-376-8, Book 2; 978-0-89357-374-4, both books plus online code. This is a great resource that combines short stories with grammar, vocabulary, writing exercises, and speaking about those stories. By the end of each chapter, you will have used the new vocabulary so much that you will already know it. The online code is good for two years and gives you access to the stories read aloud, video clips, and other multimedia. Book 2 comes with an answer key and extra grammar exercises to go with the chapters in book 1. It’s a little pricy but well worth it.
Advanced Russian Through History: Дела давно минувших дней. ISBN 978-0-300-10947-4. If you’re going to graduate school for Russian, pretty soon you’ll encounter Russian history. This book has articles on Russian history beginning with Киевская Русь all the way to the current day. Difficult words are glossed, but you’ll probably have to look up a few more yourself anyway. Free online exercises help with reading comprehension.
News from Russia. ISBN 978-0-300-10437-0. Good source of political vocabulary and exercises.
Other tips:
Find a native speaker to practice with you. Exchange students from Russian-speaking countries love making extra money by working as a conversation partner.
Take advantage of lax Russian copyright laws to watch endless Russian movies on Youtube.
Listen to Russian music in your car.
Set goals, study regularly, and be realistic; you don’t become fluent overnight. Slow and steady does it.