Independent “study” without textbooks
The best translator from Russian is the one in your head. He will not only help out in different situations, but also open up new opportunities in life. It is necessary to study foreign words effectively, taking into account the frequency of their use. Frequency dictionaries can be found on the Internet.
About 90% of all conversations are conducted by foreigners using only about 1000 phrases! And if you master even some of them, you will be able to communicate confidently in many situations. Grammar is the foundation of a solid mastery of the Russian language. There are not many basic rules, although there are many exceptions. Therefore, first get acquainted with the basics of grammar.
You can achieve the level of a translator from Russian in your head on your own and completely free of charge, you just need to work a little. The main thing is to train little by little and regularly. The main skills are to read, listen, and speak, which must be mastered in this order. There are three most effective ways to develop these skills.
Three Ways to train your Translator
Method 1. Reading books, newspapers and magazines
The method of parallel reading of Russian-English texts, especially at the beginning, brings tremendous results. He develops several important aspects of the language at once: the use of grammatical constructions, the development of vocabulary, and the understanding of context.
Reading itself develops the following skills:
· Books – vocabulary and fluency of language. With the help of books, you will be able to learn the subtleties of using different words.;
· Newspapers – brevity, because the news format is aimed at giving as much information as possible briefly;
· Magazines – the ability to describe events and people, as well as improve the brightness and versatility of statements.
And reading with listening (voicing the text) teaches the correct pronunciation of whole phrases. It is important that the text corresponds to your level of knowledge of a foreign language.
The advantages of parallel reading are:
· Improving Russian in practice;
· Comparative analysis of words and constructions;
· Contextual memorization of whole phrases.
Be sure to read what is really interesting and brings you pleasure. In the future, turn on listening to memorize the correct pronunciation. For good results, it is better to read paragraphs and at least three times.
The first reading. Context, grammar and vocabulary
The task of the first reading is to grasp the general meaning. You may not know the meaning of individual words or phraseological units, or you may not fully understand grammatical constructions.
The second reading. Parsing unknown words, phrases, and grammatical constructions
The task of the second reading is to ensure that all phrases and obscure constructions are understood. It is advisable to have the Internet with similar online resources at hand.
The third reading. The integrity of speech, the meaning of the subtext, humor
The task of the third reading is to understand the subtext. There is usually no subtext in periodicals. But in classical literature it is almost always there.
Is it really free?
Yes. There are a lot of websites on the Internet where there are educational materials.: texts, videos, cartoons, and others. Works written more than 50 years ago are not copyrighted, so they are freely available.
Tips for working with texts:
· Keep a dictionary of unknown words and add new expressions there;
· Work with texts very carefully, try not to be distracted;
· It is best to read at home in a comfortable armchair, but not on the subway or on a trip.
Train your translator from Russian every day, reading at least 1-3 pages of text for 20-30 minutes, but no more than 1 hour a day — otherwise the attention will drop significantly and the result will suffer.
Method 2. Watching movies on video
To develop listening skills, this method works just fine if used correctly. The method improves several important aspects of the Russian language at once:
· Listening comprehension and understanding of the interlocutor;
· Understanding abbreviations, slang, and dialects;
· Perception of live speech, which is used now.
Watching a movie with subtitles is somewhat like working with text. Therefore, this method is suitable even for people who do not fully perceive speech by ear. You need to work with each line separately in order to fully hear how it sounds. Of course, you have to stop the movie many times, but this is learning.
Watching without subtitles is already a higher level of training. But in order for learning to bear fruit, you still need to learn to fully perceive speech by ear. When viewing, it is not necessary to know the translation of all the words. It is much more important to learn how to perceive the context of speech.
Method 3. Websites for translator training
There are websites on the Internet where you can learn a foreign language in a playful way. The main advantage of this kind of training is that the system points out mistakes. Specialized websites improve all aspects of the language. You need to choose one website that will be the most pleasant and convenient for you to use. It is best to use websites in combination with the two previous methods — texts and films. Together, the results are remarkable.
To practice well, you need to surround yourself with Russian wherever possible, even at your leisure. You need to read books in Russian, listen to songs, watch various cartoons and videos on topics of interest, and then your favorite movies and TV series. Another way to train will be to attend free press meetings, presentations and other events in Russian.
