Free Language

Primary links

Learn Russian Online Now, Free!

Start learning Russian free right now!

Busuu Russian offers learners a dynamic combination of online lessons, language exchange and mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android.

You Make Language Happen

Free Language Newsletter

Discover the magic of learning languages.

Subscribe to the Free Language Letter.

Ask Questions, Get Answers

Ask anything about learning and teaching languages! Share your language questions.

View questions that have been asked and answered. Together we are creating a collective knowledge base for effective language learning and teaching. You can help!

learn russian for travel courses

RussianPod101: Learn Russian Quickly Online and Mobile with Audio-Video Lessons, Apps & Fun Exercises

Proven Course Teaches Russian Quickly with Audio, Video and Mobile Apps

Beginner and advanced levels alike will enjoy RussianPod101, an excellent online and mobile way to learn Russian quickly.

RussianPod101's fun method and modern platform immerse you in the Russian language, giving you just what you need to achieve your goals for travel, business, family and other needs.

RussianPod101 is web and mobile based, giving you a custom Russian Learning Center anywhere. Download podcasts on your iPhone, Android, iPod Touch, iPod or any mp3 player and take them with you for practice and learning on the go.

High-Quality Content for Learning Russian

A key aspect to learning a language is quality content. RussianPod101 creates a steady flow of fresh content covering everything from cultural aspects of Russian to tidbits about navigating in Russia, plus practical information to help you get by.

Beyond Audio and Video

Engage in a combination of audio and video lessons, lesson notes and checklists, transcripts, PDFs, vocabulary training with flashcards and quizzes plus a Russian dictionary, grammar bank, a verb reference, social network and plenty more.

It's simple to get a free lifetime account.

Posted Fri, 2012-05-11 11:05

1 comment
Read more
468 reads

bab.la: Free Dictionaries, Vocabulary, Quizzes, Games, Conjugations, Phrases, Survival Guides, Forum and More for 20 Languages

Outstanding Language Resource Localized in 20 Languages

Bab.la offers free dictionaries, vocabulary sets, flash cards, quizzes, games, conjugation tables, phrases, travel survival guides, a forum and, yes, even more.

The website is localized in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto (!), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish and Turkish. Wow!

What does "localized" mean?

"Localized" (localised in British English) means that Bab.la's interface is available in all these languages, so speakers can surf the site in their native tongue. This can be useful for intermediate and advanced learners who want the challenge of surfing in their target language.

Learning Resources for 20 Languages

All the above languages also have learning resources available!

Of special note on Bab.la are the free Survival Guides, downloadable PDFs for quick access to phrases and language essential for travel conversation, complaints and computers. Chatting, computing and complaining has never been so simple!

The phrasebooks available are also of special note, as they cover quite a lot of ground that is often not covered in traditional phrasebooks. These are separated into four main categories: Application, Academic, Business and Personal, and are available for all the languages above - quite a boon to anyone needing quick access to phrases used commonly in application processes and academic, business and personal settings.

To give a quick example of this, you can quickly find useful common phrases for email communication, invoicing, reference letters, announcements and invitations, reservations and more.

Dictionaries, Vocabulary Sets, Quizzes, Games and Conjugation Tables

The dictionary area of Bab.la offers quick and easy translation between all the languages above.

The vocabulary section offers vocab sets for job, school & university, travel, self-study, fun & hobbies and official exams.

The quizzes and games are fun for children and can even help keep teens and adults entertained while learning.

The conjugation tables are quite useful for the appropriate languages, which currently include Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Portuguese. Some of these are also offered in sets, such as Polish <> German or French <> Italian, for the polyglots out there who like learning another language via a foreign language they already know :)

Tools: Broswser Plugins, Webmaster Widgets, Mobile Apps

All in all, Bab.la offers an amazing amount of material for free! There's even more that hasn't been covered here which is included in their Tools section. This includes dictionary toolbars and plugins for common browsers, dictionary widgets for websites and mobile dictionary apps (the apps are not free).

Posted Wed, 2011-10-19 21:26

Learn Russian Online: Easy, Quick, Fun (Plus Apps!)

Have Fun Learning Russian Fast

Busuu Russian offers Russian learners a dynamic combination of online lessons, language exchange and mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android.

Busuu offers many of their features for free :) This includes picture-based vocabulary training, writing exercises, reading comprehension exercises, video chat, interactive exams and a bustling community for social exchange in Russian.

The Busuu system allows you to keep a track record of your Russian studies and mark your progress as you complete each lesson. You can work through your lessons at any time, enabling you to fit your study schedule into your daily life however you choose.

Find Friends and Practice or Exchange

Finding friends is easy in the Busuu community! Quickly search and contact other Russian learners to practice with as well as exchange partners to share and trade with. Plus, there's a free video chat function for easy access to language exchanges right in the same interface you're using to learn.

Stay Motivated in Style

In order to keep you motivated, Busuu has created a beautiful interface which allows you to grow and visualize your own language garden as you make progress learning Russian. If you are interested in learning more than one language, you will have a tree for each language that sprouts and shoots to the sky as you progress through the lessons and levels. It's quite a thrill to see this grow and know it's a visual representation of your language skills!

Free Russian Mobile App for iOS and Android

Busuu offers free mobile apps for learning Russian on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android. The free app takes you through the basics for getting around, and is especially useful while traveling.

Posted Thu, 2011-09-15 07:49

1 comment
Read more
2759 reads

Free Russian Phrasebook

Learn Survival Russian

Wikitravel users have collectively created a free Russian phrasebook with the goal of making it possible for travelers to "get by" while traveling in areas where Russian is spoken.

Wikitravel phrasebooks are available in many languages and each one varies in depth and detail. Most of the phrasebooks include a pronunciation guide, a general phrase list, information about dates and numbers, a color list, transportation-related phrases, vocabulary for shopping and phrases for eating and drinking. Some are even more in depth, and all are free!

From Website

Posted Sat, 2011-02-19 17:04

RussianPod101.com RussianPod101 Learn Russian Podcast with Audio+Video Lessons, Flashcards, Quizzes, Cultural Info, Learn Center

Summary

From beginner to advanced levels, RussianPod101.com is an excellent, all-around online environment for learning Russian. The Pod101 platform, method and technology provide the necessary tools to get you immersed in the Russian language and achieve the goals you desire and/or require.

Since RussianPod101.com is web-based, you can access your personal Russian Learning Center from anywhere, and it's really easy to download the podcasts and put them on your mp3 player (iPod, Zune, etc) or mobile phone to take them with you for practice and learning on the go.

One of the most important things when learning a language is good content - and RussianPod101.com has this, and a steady flow of it. This constant flow of fresh content regards cultural aspects of Russian you will want to know, interesting tidbits about navigating in Russian society (whether on vacation or living abroad), practical information about getting by and much more.

Your Russian Learning Center brings together audio podcast lessons, lesson notes and checklists, transcripts, PDFs, video lessons, vocabulary training with flashcards and quizzes plus a Russian dictionary, grammar bank, a verb reference and plenty more.

And if you enjoy asking questions and learning from and helping other learners, a forum is available for all users.

It's simple to try it for free and upgrade if it works for you.

From Website

At RussianPod101.com, our goal is to make learning the Russian language easy and fun, while also incorporating culture and current issues into our lessons. We believe that the more you speak, the quicker you learn, so we have designed our program to get you speaking right away. Situational Russian is heavily stressed, and our team role plays various situations to demonstrate the proper form of Russian to use when speaking with friends, customers, executives, and so-on. Knowing the proper form to use separates good speakers from great speakers.

RussianPod101.com was developed with the hope of showing the world how fun and easy learning Russian can be. Here at RussianPod101.com, we truly believe that learning can be fun, while at the same time convenient. We know how busy you are and that each day brings unexpected surprises. That is exactly why we bring the lessons to you and let you decide when they start.

Our innovative, fun, and easy to use language learning system is designed to get you speaking and interacting from the very first lesson. Learn Russian at your own convenience and pace with short, effective, fun daily lessons and a comprehensive, state-of-the-art Learning Center that provides you with the tools to take your Russian to the next level! Our interactive learning system consists of free daily audio podcast lessons, accompanying PDF materials, a Premium Learning Center, and a vibrant user community.

Our Method

RussianPod101.com offers a unique learning experience that cannot be found in conventional classrooms. In addition to offering lessons that can be completed on your own time, we approve all of the content we release through a government certified Russian teacher. Here are just a few of the revolutionary advantages of our method:

Exposure to native speakers and many different kinds of voices and speaking styles…

RussianPod101.com aims to have you speaking Russian after just one lesson! Our lessons focus on pronunciation and listening comprehension, so that you can start practicing what you learn from our professional teachers. Inside the PDF you will find the necessary tools for reading comprehension, and thorough explanations of phrases and key grammar points, in addition to segments on cultural insight. To address speaking practice, we have state-of-the-art software to allow you to record your own voice so you can compare your pronunciation to our teachers and continue to refine your speaking skills.

When all the aspects of RussianPod101.com are put together, this program provides students of Russian with ultimate self-study learning course. In addition, we often provide conversations between three people to more closely simulate real-life situations.

Fresh, up-to-date content...

Many Russian teachers who live overseas have been out of the country for a long period of time and can be “out of the loop” on current words, culture, etc. This is another major gap that we fill. Lessons are carefully crafted to include current events, words, celebrities, and so-on. This is very dynamic content.

Borderless education on-demand...

We also fill a definite demand in remote locations. Our lessons provide you with a mobile classroom, as we bring you Russian on Demand. Russian lessons wherever you may be.

RussianPod101.com offers our listeners a unique learning experience that delivers cutting-edge, dynamic content to be accessed at your convenience. With the inclusion of our lesson notes and Learning Center, we offer a full solution that provides the material, guidance, exercises, and testing to really make the knowledge your own. And it doesn’t even stop there - our vibrant and extremely helpful community provide each other not only quick answers to questions, but also give each other a sense of encouragement and motivation that is often lacking.

We focus on Russian, and Russian only...

Just Russian! All we do is Russian. RussianPod101.com is not a generic package language learning course, such as some of the other big name language learning programs out there. Many other programs “scale” their solutions across several languages, simply recycling the same material over and over - the same pictures, the same conversations, just in a different language. But each language is unique, and at RussianPod101.com we pride ourselves on developing a system that’s only about the Russian language and Russian culture!

One stop studying...

Have you ever found yourself lost on the information highway? Sometimes it’s like trying to drink from a fire hose! Hundreds of bookmarks, all with varying levels of quality and credibility. You finally find a great site, but it only updates once a year! RussianPod101.com offers users one stop studying. The learning center has been carefully designed to provide you with the resources you will need to take your Russian to the next level.