• Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5

  • Learn to Speak and Understand Russian with Pimsleur Language Programs
  • By: Pimsleur
  • Narrated by: Pimsleur
  • Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (461 ratings)

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Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5  By  cover art

Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5

By: Pimsleur
Narrated by: Pimsleur
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Publisher's summary

The Pimsleur® Method: the easiest, fastest way to learn a new language. Completely portable, easily downloadable, and lots of fun. You'll be speaking and understanding in no time flat!

Each lesson in Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5 provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Each lesson contains practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons. The emphasis is on pronunciation and comprehension and on learning to speak Russian.

©2001 Simon & Schuster (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Pimsleur programs provide plenty of positive reinforcement that will keep learners on track, and we found that Pimsleur gave us more proficiency and confidence in speaking the new language than any of the other language programs we reviewed." ( AudioFile magazine)

What listeners say about Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not consistent

What aspect of Pimsleur’s performance would you have changed?

I find that the Russian speakers are not consistent in their pronunciations. A word will be broken down, the last syllable being a "oo" sound, and then when the word is put back together, the ending is "oh" or "ah". A question is intoned differently in Russian, but one example sounds much more like the way an English question would be pronounced than the previous examples had demonstrated. I like the way the course is structured, but the speakers just don't seem precise. If there is some reason the pronunciation changes, I'd like to know why. I'm not sure that I am going to buy the next set of lessons.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Effective

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Make it a bit less repetitive and give more time to answer back.

Would you be willing to try another book from Pimsleur? Why or why not?

Yes! I have tried other learning tools but only Pimsleur teaches me the language to a point where I can impress native speakers and have functional conversations. Russian is the 3rd language I'm learning using these audiobooks!

Have you listened to any of the narrator’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Consistent

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Only because there are few

my fiance and her family speak Russian and Ukrainian obviously I wanted to learn. this course is good in theory but poorly presented. the individuals speaking the native tongue do not enunciate properly nor slowly enough. Luckily for me I do have my fiance and she can correct any mistakes this book may have taught me.
unfortunately for anyone wanting to learn Russian there are very few audible books available so choose wisely.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

narrator talks and talks and talks in English

I will cancel and return the free book
I want to learn Russian no listening for hours a English speaker

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Get the free sample or all of Level 1, not this.

Any additional comments?

If you just want to try this, there is a free lesson available. If you decide to go for it, save up and buy the whole Level 1, Lessons 1-30. I bought this first, then I bought Level 1, thinking I could just get a refund for Lessons 1-5, since I have also paid for them in Level 1. Unfortunately, Audible doesn't allow this. I don't know why this is an exception to their return policy, but I feel much less comfortable buying from Audible now.

As it is, Lessons 1-5 won't give you enough Russian to get very far, and it's more expensive to buy them 5 at a time. It's a great method, and a great recording. The problem is really with the way it's sold.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Wow, I really picked up Russian quickly!

What made the experience of listening to Russian Phase 1, Unit 01-05 the most enjoyable?

I do not consider myself good at language acquisition but Pimsleur changed my mind. I was able to learn the most important words and phrases quickly and retain them during a 3 month stay in Moscow for work. I plan to re-learn Spanish with Pimsleur and I think it will be fun and easy.

Has Russian Phase 1, Unit 01-05 turned you off from other books in this genre?

Rosetta Stone was not helpful for learning Russian and was a total waste of money.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Great for learning to speak and listen!!

I've always enjoyed dabbling in foreign languages, and this series is simply fantastic! It's very repetitious and allows you to learn phrases in a way that becomes second nature to anyone who actively listens to these lessons, and that is something that is rather difficult when studying languages on your own without the guidance of a fluent speaker.
Though, I will say that in Russian the spelling of a lot of words isn't very intuitive, and this series doesn't really help with that on its own since it's strictly audio, so I use Google Translate a lot to help out with that (which I highly recommend since sometimes it's difficult to hear the sounds they're making. Sometimes "n" sounds like "m," or "guh" sounds like "duh").
My own method (which may or may not work for you) is to listen to each lesson twice (once one day, then again the next day), take plenty of notes the first time through, and then let the info really sink in during the second play-through. And I've made it a part of my daily routine.
I've learned so much more with this series in a few months than I had with years of studying any other language!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Okay for a brush up

This is okay for a brush up if you are a little familiar with Russian. what would make this guide solid is if there was a booklet or PDF outlining what the speakers are saying so you can follow along. At times it can be overwhelming and back-and-forth with the phrases they drop on you

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not worth it

Just listen to the free stuff on YouTube. It just isn't worth the price in my opinion.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

No voice

What would have made Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5 better?

I couldn't listen to it. I lost my credit

Would you ever listen to anything by Pimsleur again?

only if I get a free audiobook of Russian language

How did the narrator detract from the book?

no voice

What character would you cut from Russian Level 1 Lessons 1-5?

no voice

Any additional comments?

no voice

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4 people found this helpful