About Us

Dear Students and Russophiles (connoisseurs of everything Russian!), welcome to my website, Listen2Russian.com!

My name is Jonathon and I'm a clinical psychologist from Melbourne, Australia .. you know, that big island at the bottom of the world? :))

Jonathon - Minsk Metro 2012, Belarus

Each person begins the difficult journey of learning Russian for a million different reasons. Some do it for business, some do it for love, some do it for the challenge .. I've even had a NASA astronaut from the International Space Station drop by to say hello!

My journey started at 15 while I was studying politics and comparative economics at school. We started to learn about socialism in the USSR, the revolution, Lenin, Stalin, the KGB .. it was so fascinating to discoverer an entirely different government and social structure existed .. although, as I've found out in recent years, it was less than fascinating for the people who actually lived in it! :)

Historic architecture around Red Square, Moscow, Russia

So at 16 I learnt the Russian alphabet, read the book Perestroika (meaning 'restructuring') by Mikhail Gorbachev, and found a very old Russian dictionary at the local library. Please remember, these were the 'dark times' before the internet, even before Google :)) Some people reading this will be amazed that such a time existed! :)) But the internet as we know it has only been around for about 20 years (with a world-wide-web interface) and so we were forced to track down paper-based learning materials in those days.

But, as often happens, life distracted me away from my brief Russian studies and I didn't look at another Russian word for almost 20 years!

But fast forward to New Years Eve of 2005/06, and I was walking alone at 3am along a beach in Koh Samui, Thailand, feeling pretty happy :) I noticed a small group of people huddled together on the warm sand, talking and laughing, enjoying the beautiful humid night. Being a typical Aussie (Australian) I walked over to say hi, and they turned out to be a group of young Russians, on holiday just like me!

Suddenly all the old Russian words flowed back into consciousness, and out came 'privet!' and 'kak dela?', and instantly the Russians smiled and asked me to join them for vodka, which honestly tasted like petrol :) It was such a magical experience talking and singing with the Russians, I'll never forget it. Well .. I must admit, the end of the night was a bit blurry :) and somehow I ended up swimming in my underwear at 5am :)) but really, that night is the reason Listen2Russian now exists. I made some good friends that night, and especially one very nice girl who invited me to visit Russia.

Six months after Thailand I found myself nervously flying to Russia alone, excited but unsure what to expect! I was armed with helpful phrases like 'Извините, я не понимаю' (Sorry, I don't understand), Вы говорите по-английски? (Do you speak English?), and Извините, где туалет, пожалуйста? (Excuse me, where's the toilet please?) :) But I was met by my new friend at the airport, and was able to relax and take it all in.

Jonathon - St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

I ended up living in Russia for 3 months, based in an old, Soviet-style city called Kirov.

From Kirov, I also visited many other cities including Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Moscow, Anapa and Sochi. The lifestyle in Russia was so different to life in Melbourne, but it felt so good .. so peaceful. People weren't constantly striving for unnecessary material possessions, but focused more on enjoying the company of family and friends, and appreciating the small things that we take for granted in Western culture.

Mosaic of Lenin in Sochi (that's me in the yellow t-shirt!)

It was at this point I discovered immersion in a culture isn't the best way for an absolute beginner to learn a language quickly, as I had no idea what anyone was saying! In later years I found immersion was more beneficial after I had a foundation.

Daily life in Melbourne distracted me once again, and I let my Russian studies slide for a few years, but kept in contact with a few Russian friends. One of these special friends, Tanya (Tatiana) invited me to Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, and before I knew it I hopped on a plane and headed off into the unknown (for a second time! :)

Minsk, in a word, is awesome! The grand Stalinist architecture, the wide streets, the lovely, slim, well-dressed people, the nice restaurants and cafes, the beautiful surrounding forests .. Minsk has such a great atmosphere and is officially my favourite city! .. apart from Melbourne :)

National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus

Everyone in Minsk is so law-abiding, probably because Belarus is one of the last remaining dictatorships in Europe .. and while young Belarusians don't live in fear, they have been brought up to have a healthy respect for the government, their rules, and the law. I was so surprised to see drivers (even taxis! :) give-way to all pedestrians, there is absolutely no rubbish on the street, and everyone walks around at night feeling quite safe and secure because the crime rate is so low.

The streets of Minsk - so wide and clean!

So Minsk was a great way to practice Russian, and I recommend visiting the city if you have the means .. but make sure you are escorted around by someone with local knowledge or you might miss a lot of interesting places and experiences! But you can always email me if you want any recommendations!

National Library of Belarus (the building shaped as a rhombicuboctahedron!)

These days I'm mostly learning Russian via emails with my Russian friends .. communicating regularly with a native Russian speaker is a great way to learn real Russian .. you learn how ideas and concepts are actually expressed in Russian, which is often very different to English.

Many people ask me what are the best tools to assist with their Russian studies, and I recommend:

• Google Translate (but be careful with this .. for example, it sometimes translates Я тебя as "I love you" .. which isn't correct (I love you = Я тебя люблю). So it has potential for miscommunication!! Always check with a good dictionary when working with important messages!

• ABBYY Lingvo electronic dictionary for PC and iPad (shows declension patterns for most words, I use this everyday)

• The Russian Dictionary Tree (even more declension patterns!)

• An electronic notepad to keep your collection of new words and phrases
  

• A book called "The New Penguin Russian Course"

• The Lonely Planet pocket Russian phrasebook

• And of course, the multi-media course available on this website

Some people prefer Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone, but they really didn't help me very much.

Actually, if you're serious about learning Russian the best thing you can do is make some Russian friends!

And the best way to do that is via VKontakte (Вконтакте), the Russian equivalent of Facebook. Most Russians are pretty friendly, and you might like to join an interest group as the first step.

There is also a site called Odnoclassniki (another social networking site), but that's really hardcore Russian (no English interface), and I suggest you try VK.com first before anything else.

And you can find me on VK almost every day!

http://vk.com/id50893547

(but please don't be upset if I don't respond to your message straight away, as sometimes I connect from work between patients! :)

Now you have a good understanding of my Russian language journey, it's time to create your own!

Russian is such a grand, strong and beautiful language .. yes, it's difficult, but the challenge is ultimately worth it!

And whatever you do, have fun!!

Jonathon.

Jonathon - At home in my kitchen. Can you translate what's written on my singlet? :)

I hope you enjoy Listen2Russian.com!