I have to admit I am somewhat baffled by people who seek to learn a new language without spending time learning how to read it. True I have used audio only learning programs myself, but always in conjunction with other study courses or classroom work  to insure I can read at a basic level.

Without question, if a person only has the time to do one, then obviously conversational skills are more important. But if you’re going to travel  extensively to Russian or any Russian Federation country, it would be prudent to learn to read Russian.  Cyrillic can be challenging but the reward will prove the effort worthwhile. The goal of any effective learning program should include the following elements.

The student should be ask simple questions relating to daily practical needs. The key here is the ability to know how to get something aocomplished and how to request any necessary information you might need. The ability to understand key words in the answers to your questions is of course another key issue.  The ability to work with numbers such as prices, phone numbers, addresses, etc.  is also critical .

The other key area that any Russian language should concentrate on  is the ability to read and understand street signs, signs in the metro, and other forms of transportation, in stores, hotels, etc.  Reading menus, instructions for guests in hotels, rules for using public transport, hours of operation of various establishments is also of key importance.

If you need to learn to read Russian, then be sure to visit FSI Dgital FAST Russian Course.

Also be sure to check our out post on Learning Russian Fast with FSI Russian FAST.