ОФФ. Учебники для изучающих русский иностранцев

[Pokki]

Привет. Порекомендуйте учебники на английском для людей, изучающих русский язык. Не обязательно учебники, вообще книги для изучения русского.

[johnstephenson]

There are many. Exactly which book is best for the person you're buying it for, depends on:

a) how much Russian they already know (eg none/some/more advanced);

b) exactly why they want to learn it (eg for holidays/writing to pen pals/conversation/serious study etc); and

c) whether they want to learn from a book, an e-book, a CD or a website.

In the UK, one of the best places to look for books is the Waterstones website: https://www.waterstones.com/category/language-reference/facet/367. Waterstones is a large chain of bookshops across the UK and tends to cover specialised subjects such as languages better than most other UK bookshops. You can also buy their books via their website.

However, you may get the book cheaper if you buy it from Amazon (if they sell it). Go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/site-directory?ref_=nav_em__fullstore_0_1_1_35

and click on: All [top left] > Shop by department: Books > Books > Foreign Language Study & Reference > By Language > Russian

There will also be similar bookshops in the US, of course -- but I'm not an expert and don't know any of their names.

See also the Wikipedia page 'Book-selling websites': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Book_selling_websites

[Rus_Land]

Уж не знаю насколько, но вдруг может пригодиться вот этот небольшой курс на Ютубе (20 уроков):

From zero to fluency – Russian Course For Beginners

Russian from zero to fluency. A Russian language course for beginners from a certified Russian teacher Daria Molchanova. Russian alphabet, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx1Hrg5Bg3xrnm30dNPZ5q2R9J6Zz2vUq

Училка, конечно, если глядеть с моей колокольни (или уж из моего куликового болота, пусть...) заходит не с того конца, но мало ли кому что надо...

[Rus_Land]

Да, ну и, само собой разумеется, сам ютубовский канал, где курс опубликован, может стать неплохим подспорьем (может, даже больше, чем сам курс )

[johnstephenson]

Rus_Land: That YouTube course looks very good. I've just watched the first 25 mins of Lesson 1. Imho a course like this is much better than a printed book alone. It also teaches you the sounds of Russian much faster than a book can -- almost like having your own, personal, tutor. We don't know which English-speaking country the asker's friend is in, though. If it's a poor country, they may not even have access to the internet.

(And the English term for the whiteboard губка that the presenter Daria asks about at 8 mins 55 secs in (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYRZupz6rdw#t=8m55s), is 'board rubber').

[Aiduza]

It's also called "whiteboard eraser".

[johnstephenson]

Aiduza +1

[4uzhoj]

[Aiduza]

In the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYRZupz6rdw#t=8m55s , Daria says "How do you call this stuff in English?", which is a common error of a Russian speaker. I believe the correct wording is "What do you call this stuff in English?"

[Aiduza]

By the way, Daria is the spitting image of Evan Rachel Wood!

[Aiduza]

4uzhoj: https://www.viking-direct.co.uk/en/p/3439554?sgt=GB-R21

[johnstephenson]

4uzhoj: Ha ha ha!

OFF: When I was at grammar school (=secondary school) in the late 1960s/1970s, the Russian and Physics teachers both used to throw their (wooden) blackboard rubbers/erasers at you if you weren't paying attention to them or were misbehaving in class -- exactly like the teacher in this brief clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3m1ZpT4-SA

Unfortunately the Russian teacher also played cricket for Lincolnshire, and so very rarely missed you. Ouch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zey5dE2qgLk

[Aiduza]

Correction: "… which is a common error that Russian speakers make".

[johnstephenson]

Aiduza: Yes, it's "What do you call ......". I suspect Daria's done a word-for-word translation in her head from the Russian "Как называется ......".

You wouldn't normally say "this stuff" in this example, though; it would be "this thing" or "this object", because her board rubber/eraser is a single, countable object. "This stuff" is used more for uncountable things such as liquids and substances. For example,

* a smoker's pipe = 'this thing', but tobacco = 'this stuff';

* a drinking glass = 'this thing', but the beer/wine in it = 'this stuff'.

'This stuff' is also used for collections of several things, as in:

* 'When my mother died (there was a lot of old stuff/there were a lot of old things) left in her house'.

'This thing' is also used for concepts, as in:

* 'this thing called love'; and

* 'art is a beautiful thing'.

Note: 'this thing' and particularly 'this stuff' are often used disapprovingly, as in:

* "We went to a restaurant and were served an awful meal. I asked the waiter: 'What's this stuff on my plate?' "

If you want to avoid sounding rude/disapproving, it's probably best to avoid saying "this stuff" and to think of some other word to use, eg "What's this meal on my plate?".

[snusmumric]

Beginner's Russian

https://ccle.ucla.edu/course/view/beginrussn