Hello Listeners,

There are two halves to learning Russian.

No, no. Not grammar and vocabulary. Not reading and speaking. Think bigger.

The first half is your learning material and your methods. This includes your RussianPod101 lessons, your lesson notes, your textbooks, workbooks, apps, and so on.

And the second half? It’s you. It’s how much you care to learn the language. It’s your actions – past, current, and future – that determine where exactly your language progress is going. Actions like…sleeping less to study more, consistently putting in a specific amount of time regardless of how little it is, ignoring everything around you for the sake of focus, and studying language that’s beyond your capability just so you can break through and improve.

Audio lessons, textbooks, apps. All of these, despite their limitations, give value that other forms lack. For example, audio lessons can get you speaking but aren’t grammar focused. That’s where textbooks provide value. The first half has already been done for you. The material is there.

The second half is you. Are you there?

One listener from our sister site, KoreanClass101.com, is definitely bringing his half to the table.

Here’s one of the most powerful success stories we’ve received to date. We hope it inspires you as much as it inspires us too!

It has been about just under three years that I have been a premium subscriber to Koreanclass101.com, and a very serious user for one-and-a-half years and counting after living in Korea.

To-date I have completed about 580 lessons, giving myself a goal of studying at least one lesson per day, and making up for missed days later. I have never spent a penny on taking any formal Korean classes and have never consorted with other foreigners in Korea, only having regular conversations with my friends in person or via mobile messaging. I have been able to speak, read, and write with a lot of confidence!

This site has offered me so much more value than any formal classes would have given me, and most certainly much more than I have paid. They are fun, organized, and the facilitators are highly attentive to students and always answer questions. The repetition as well as scaffolding really reinforces all of the grammatical and vocabulary comprehension! In addition, any issues or complaints are always dealt with swiftly and professionally as well, really showing that the customers are valued.

Of course, this wasn’t easy. In order to maintain my independence and not seek help from others, I have been studying every night using this site for about five hours at a time, getting four hours of sleep every day before having to head to the office for a grueling 12-hour work day.

It definitely requires you to be self-motivated and dedicated, and that’s what you have to be if you really want to get good value out of everything this site has to offer!

Thank you!
Colin C

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Colin! Have a great story to tell?
Click here to leave a testimonial & tell us your story!

To your fluency,
Team RussianPod101