Fears of Learning Russian

by Liudmila
(Chishinev, Republic of Moldova)

Original Text: Fears of Learning Russian

• Russian Alphabet often becomes the first fear to learn the Russian language. Russian Alphabet is different but not so difficult. Here are a few tips how to learn Russian Alphabet effectively.
First select the letters which are the same in English, like these: С, М, Т … еtс.
Then learn different characters, making sound associations:
Б - Book, Я –YOUng, Д – Day…
Simply listen to Alphabet recordings. Listen again and repeat after native speakers. Be sure, you need a couple of days to learn Russian Alphabet. Once you’re familiar with the cyrillic letters, you will be able to read in Russian!
• Don’t be afraid to look ridiculous! I remember my first “live” English language experience when I asked a cup of coffee. I felt afraid of communicating with a stranger, as I simply didn’t feel my English was good enough. But I had to ask: “May I have a cup of coffee?” It was a huge relief when my cup of hot coffee appeared!
• Start small. It’s important to start with something small and manageable, such as common phrases “privyet”( hello).And work your way up from there. Read short stories and work towards applying gradually more of what you learnt. But be sure to start simple.
• Speak to other non-native speakers. One of fears of speaking foreign languages is the problem of interacting with native speakers as they speak very fast! I still feel more comfortable speaking English to non-native interlocutors. They speak slower and are easier to understand. Besides, their vocabulary usually isn’t very extensive. So, if you picked up the basics of Russian try speaking with others more advanced non-native speakers first before talking with native Russian speakers.
• Become free to make mistakes. Have you ever had an opportunity to speak to someone in a foreign language out of fear that you would make a mistake? To cope with this fear accept and admit making mistakes. Mistakes are normal in any learning process. When you are not worried what others think about you, you will show you confidence. Learn Russian and be confident that making mistakes can be fun. And learning is value that makes your life better. Good luck!

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Revised Text:

• The Russian alphabet is often the first fear to learning the Russian language. The Russian alphabet is different, but not so difficult. Here are a few tips on how to learn the Russian alphabet effectively.

First, select the letters which are the same in English, like these: С, М, Т … еtс.
Then learn the different characters, making sound associations; Б - Book, Я – YOUng, Д – Day…

Simply listen to Alphabet recordings. Listen again and repeat after native speakers. To be sure, you need a couple of days to learn the Russian alphabet. Once you’re familiar with the Cyrillic letters, you will be able to read in Russian!

• Don’t be afraid to look ridiculous! I remember my first “live” English language experience, when I asked a cup of coffee. I felt afraid of communicating with a stranger, as I simply didn’t feel my English was good enough. But I had to ask: “May I have a cup of coffee?” It was a huge relief when my cup of hot coffee appeared!

• Start small. It’s important to start with something small and manageable, such as the common phrase “privyet”(hello) and work your way up from there. Read short stories and work towards gradually applying more of what you have learned. But be sure to start simply.

• Speak to other non-native speakers. One of the fears of speaking foreign languages is the problem of interacting with native speakers as they speak very fast! I still feel more comfortable speaking English to non-native speakers. They speak slower and are easier to understand. Besides, their vocabulary usually isn’t very extensive. So, if you have picked up the basics of Russian, try speaking with other, more advanced, non-native speakers first before talking with Russian native speakers.

• Feel free to make mistakes. Have you ever avoided an opportunity to speak to someone in a foreign language out of fear that you would make a mistake? To cope with this fear, accept and admit making mistakes. Mistakes are normal in any learning process. When you are not worried what others think about you, you will show your confidence. Learn Russian and be confident that making mistakes can be fun. Learning is a value that makes your life better. Good luck!

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