Learning Russian with Songs
One of the most challenging parts of learning Russian is, without a doubt, training your ear to recognize spoken Russian. Naturally, immersion is one of the most effective ways to learn any language. However, for those unable to access an authentic Russian immersion environment, immersion can be artificially created by exposing yourself to Russian audio input. Learning Russian with songs, movies or other content can easily be done on the internet: here are a few ways to get you started!
There are podcasts for Russian learners at different levels, with popular ones such as Russian with Max, Slow Russian etc. On YouTube, you can find a multitude of videos, cartoons, and movies in Russian, best suited for Russian learners at a pre-intermediate level or higher.
You should also consider learning Russian through songs, regardless of your level of proficiency. Songs help you to get to know Russian pop culture, and I think one of the biggest benefits of learning languages is discovering new artists that you would have never known otherwise. (Personally, I am a huge fan of Polina Gagarina and think she’s one of the best singers alive.) With songs, you can increase your vocabulary, improve your pronunciation, and learn grammar and sentence structure. It’s particularly effective because songs are catchy, and you naturally repeat vocabulary and sentence structures while listening to them. Here are some sites to learn Russian songs from:
1. YouTube:
Naturally, YouTube has the one of the largest repositories of Russian songs to learn from. If you search for “Songs to learn Russian” on YouTube, you will find a variety of songs along with their lyrics and translations.
On this website, you can search for translations of Russian songs and even request translations that are not yet available. The translations are arranged line by line, making it intuitive to follow along while listening to a song. It’s an open, collaborative space where anyone can contribute translations. One of its advantages is that you can search for translations not only in English but also in any other language. The link attached is set to filter for Russian songs, but I definitely recommend exploring the site to see what else it can offer.
3. LyricsGaps:
Learning Russian on this website is very fun, and is almost like playing a game. While listening to a song, you try to fill in the blanks in the lyrics from a selection of words. You can also click on any word in the lyrics for its translation, and the site offers different levels of difficulty to choose from. However, the selection of Russian songs available on the site is very limited and not frequently updated. Nonetheless, you should still check it out for a new, interesting method to learn Russian.
Enjoy!
Yeap, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz Riga
(Photo credits to pexel.com)
