How to learn to read Russian: worst and best ways

Once, in Thai class we were talking about reading rules in different languages and a Russian guy said, ‘My kid is 6 and now he is trying to learn to read Russian. Gosh, you should have heard him!’ That reminded me of myself 24 years ago, when I was learning to read. Though I was 5 I still remember what a nightmare it used to be for both my mum and me.

It was early summer, the last summer before I started school. My mum decided that we should spend an hour every day on reading in Russian. We would sit together and first she would read me a line from a kid’s book and then I would repeat it. In a couple of weeks the book would be covered and we would be a happy couple – a happy mother who had fulfilled her duty and a happy daughter who was totally prepared for school. Yup, if only it were so easy!

Learning languages is boring, isn’t it?)))

So we started. My mum read a line consisting of 3 words and I hardly repeated any of them. The letters all looked the same to me. We gave it another try. But the dolls were waiting, you know. But who would give up after only two attempts? So we read the same line again. Oh, and of course all I could think about was that today I was going to build our blanket cubby house with my friends! ‘Darling, can you concentrate, please?’

No.

I couldn’t. Neither after three minutes nor after three weeks. ‘Shall we start our reading exercises?’

Noooooo, mum, please no, not today!!!

We hadn’t made any progress at all. I was twisting my head around, looking here and there. I couldn’t concentrate and didn’t want to. I hardly learnt any letters. I would read a word correctly (by chance) but was unable to read it again one minute later. After the reading hour was over, both of us would be totally exhausted and breathe a sigh of an incomparable relief.

My poor mum was desperate. All the other kids we knew could already read simple words. Their parents were not using any special magical technique or anything – they all followed the same pattern! But they all could and I couldn’t. Mum discussed the problem with my granny all the time and they were trying to figure it out. She was very patient, which I admire. Still, after a month of unsuccessful attempts we decided to have a break and recap the alphabet a week before school. I was allowed to spend my summer as I wanted.

And so I did.

When this last week came, we sat on the sofa and took a book. We were prepared for the next upcoming battle with letters. But it didn’t come to it! I opened the first page and… began to read! Slowly but surely. Slowly but surely! I did it, I did it! I remember how excited we were. Now my reading was as confident as it had been hopeless in the beginning.

During the first year at school I was the best at reading.

And it remained so up to the last school year.

So that is my little story. First I taught my sister how to read in Russian and then 4 of my students (all the others already knew how to read when we started having classes together). Based on that experience, let me introduce three methods of learning how to read Russian: the hardest, the most common and the most effective ways. Each consists of three steps.

Learn to read Russian: the hardest way

1. Find a website where the Russian reading rules are represented. Download them for free and start learning.

2. Learn a minimum of one rule per day and practice it in secret so nobody can hear you and (God forbid) correct your mistakes. If you find it difficult to learn ALL the rules, may the thought that you got these reading rules for free be a consolation to you.

3. When your head is chock full of rules and you pick the right one in no time once you see a Russian word, you can consider the work finished – now you’ve learnt how to read in Russian, it didn’t cost you a penny, only thousands of hours and the certainty that you did it all with no mistakes… Because of course you never allowed anyone to hear you.

Learn to read Russian: the most common way

1. Find a website where the Russian reading rules are represented. Download them for free, but don’t open before you do the next step.

2. Find a Russian tutor. Ask him to help you with these rules.

3. Work together and succeed.

Learn to read Russian: the most effective way

1. Don’t bother to look for Russian reading rules or a Russian tutor. If you made it that far, why should you? That’s exactly why I am here for you. I know what you are struggling with and I will do my best to make this struggle less painful. The Russian language is more than worth it!

2. Relax. It won’t get away from you. All the new knowledge needs time to settle down in your head. So don’t push, don’t force, it will work – sooner that you even expect.

3. Don’t get over obsessed with Grammar too much. No Russian learnt a single reading rule and still we all read very clearly. Rules have way too many exceptions and are complicated for a beginner. My humble recommendation is to listen to more texts recorded by native speakers than to study more reading rules. You will succeed in learning how to read Russian sooner if you try to get used to the language sounds rather than to the language rules.

But still it’s all up to you. Each of these three ways will get you to the goal… Some quicker than others. Enjoy!