Learning Russian
I was looking for promising career opportunities abroad. In the course, I learned that chances of one getting good jobs or being selected for excellent positions in reputed companies increase manifold upon mastering foreign languages. My search took me closer to information about my dream job in a multinational company based in Russia. An in-depth study about the requirements of the position I desired made me realize that it would be beneficial for me if I attained proficiency in the Russian language.
I began gathering information about the language that I was planning to learn, Russian. The information was as follows:
- Russian is an East Slavic language. It is native to the Russians in Eastern Europe. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. It is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages alongside and is a part of the larger Balto-Slavic branch.
- Russian is an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is used widely throughout the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to some extent in the Baltic States. Many Russian speakers are residents of other countries like Israel and Mongolia.
- Russian was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 26 December 1991. Russian is used in an official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states.
What led me to learn Russian?
What makes the above information more relevant to individuals planning to learn Russian is the language’s far and wide reach in the world and the scope that one gets upon mastering it.
- Russian is the largest native language in Europe and the most geographically widespread language in Eurasia. It is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, with over 258 million total speakers worldwide.
- The Russian language is the second-most widespread language on the internet, only after English.
- Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is the seventh-most spoken language in the world by the number of native speakers.
- It is also the eighth-most spoken language in the world by the total number of speakers.
Apart from landing you in a good role in a Russia based multinational company, learning Russian can get you the below opportunities/positions also:
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Foreign delegate to Russia
- Office in external affairs ministry
- International trade operations
- Joint military operations
- Global business strategist
- Advertiser/marketer
- Representative to an international organization
- International NGOs
- Russian language instructor
- Writer / editor
- Proofreader, etc.
Online course:
Upon learning of the wide scope that I could get after mastering Russian, I made up my mind to learn Russian and found out some really good online Russian learning courses. I found it to be particularly reliable and competitive from an edtech platform named Multibhashi (the meaning of the name being ‘speakers of many languages’).
https://classes.multibhashi.com/courses/live-Russian-classes-online is the link that I followed and found the course details to be really interesting.
- The fee was indeed reasonable.
Other features such as:
- Personal tutor (which meant one-to- one personalized sessions),
- Flexible timings,
- Access to their online notes, etc.
Were indeed what I seriously needed in the face of my hectic and tiresome schedule. They taught Russian right from the basics straight up to the advanced levels. The basic level began with acquainting a student with the Russian alphabet.
Russian is written using the Cyrillic script. It distinguishes between consonant phonemes with secondary palatal articulation and those without the so-called soft and hard sounds. Almost every consonant has a hard or a soft counterpart, and the distinction is a prominent feature of the language. Another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Unpredictable stress is not normally indicated orthographically, though an optional acute accent is used to mark stress, distinguish between homographic words, or indicate the proper pronunciation of uncommon words or names.
Gradually a student catches pace in learning Russian and progresses towards being a fluent Russian speaker. They even help students prepare for the TORFL (internationally recognized test of proficiency in the Russian language meant for non-native speakers).
Mine was an excellent experience of learning Russian with them. Audio-visual learning sessions, clear Russian pronunciation by the instructor, and regular pre-in-post session assignments all worked wonders for me. I prepared for the TORFL, passed it with an excellent score, and am currently in Russia, where the sky is the limit for my career growth.
