Неожиданно

[schneefink]

I didn't expect to wake up today thinking "what was the other form of возвраща́ться again?" or to have dreamt of taking Russian lessons again at all, but it was surprisingly fun! It's been a few years. After I returned from my exchange semester in Moscow (which was nine years ago now, wow) I signed up as a language buddy for Russian exchange students at uni for a few semesters, then I stopped entirely, and the past few years every few months or so I decide to read a Russian fic for practice and usually either give up soon or don't continue after the first one.

Then a bit over two weeks ago I had the great idea to check YouTube. Turns out there are videos for Russian learners there! Who would have guessed, apparently not me. Anyway, I found the Easy Russian channel, which is a pretty good fit for my level: I understand most of it but I have to concentrate a lot so practice is great, I get reminded of words I almost forgot and there's also some new vocabulary every time. The videos are quite short and I've been watching one a day for the past two weeks. I'm enjoying it, and I think it's already been beneficial as a language refresher. Hopefully I can keep it up, maybe watch a few Russian movies with subtitles when I'm done with this channel (I saw that there are several animated children's movies with subtitles, for example), and maybe one day I can even read Russian fic (or books! or watch movies!) for fun instead of just practice, that would be nice.

(In other news, turns out Hades is on sale on Steam. ...I told myself I have to at least finish the first draft of my Yuletide fic first.)

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

Thanks for the YouTube channel link.

I studied Russian in college but am very very rusty.

[sallymn]

I sometimes think that I ought to learn some Russian and Japanese, since most of the great skaters are currently from those countries and it would be easier to follow them... and then I look at the soap opera that is the English version of Russian skating news and I think "nyet".....

[nnozomi]

I didn't expect to wake up today thinking "what was the other form of возвраща́ться again?"
This is delightful :)

Good luck with your Russian! YouTube is an unexpected and terrific resource. My patience for actual learning-intended listening practice videos is minimal, but I've somehow acquired a huge bookmarked list of "Chinese content I am interested in," which is surprisingly helpful.

[sheron]

Oh I wonder if I can do something similar with French, which I have been forgetting and really want to learn more of.

Also lol at the progression of you definitely not playing Hades :D

[schneefink]

You're welcome, I hope you enjoy it :) (And if not this one, perhaps another channel.)

[schneefink]

Heh, probably wise xD

[schneefink]

That does sound helpful :)
For Russian, I haven't found much to watch (though I haven't looked that hard.) There are many Russian Nirvana in Fire fics that sound very interesting, but reading them is difficult (you need so many words! And I can read Russian, of course, but it's still a bit slower.)

[schneefink]

I'm sure there are similar channels for French!

...look it was D's fault okay, she told me about the sale, that clearly means this is totally on her *nods*