Preface: to the students

Summary

The course

The authors hope that you will enjoy studying Russian and using this textbook. It is the result of many years' work and has been piloted in three educational centres over the last ten years. It has thus passed through many students' hands, many of whom have gone on to become professional Russianists.

The course is primarily intended for use in a classroom situation. Indeed, one of its main aspirations is to provide learners with the motive and opportunity to explore and use Russian as a tool for communication. This is not to suggest that classroom work alone will make you proficient; experience has shown that the students who make the best progress normally spend an hour in private study for every contact hour with a teacher. Classroom tasks and activities provide you with the opportunity to interact with other learners and your teacher in and about the language; private study, be it reading, organising your notes, organising your vocabulary, doing exercises to reinforce grammatical concepts or working with the tapes, allows you to consolidate what you have learnt in class, to take stock of your progress and to monitor your learning.

Remember that learning a language is not easy. Textbooks that suggest you can do so in three months are only misleading the gullible public. A language reflects a culture, its history and its way of viewing the world. Avail of any opportunity that arises to practise your Russian and to acquaint yourself with Russian life, past and present. You will find the experience broadens your horizons, develops your curiosity and makes you look at the world and how we talk about it with a more open mind.