Perestroika

Six months ago I had been studying Russian at University for 2 years. My level was already fairly good, but I had several shortcomings, especially with regard to speaking. Even if I knew I had a relatively good understanding of grammar and good pronunciation, until then I had had very few opportunities to speak Russian. I also have always had difficulty learning new words, and the fact of having very few opportunities to practice the language certainly did not help. Although the university had given me a good base, I realized that was not enough, so I turned to Russificate.

Six months ago I met my new Russificate teacher, Julia Sutuginiene . Since then, thanks to her, I have made tremendous progress. The first results were already visible after the first few lessons.

I do not know where to begin to list the qualities that I liked about Julia and her method. Probably my words will be few and won't do justice to the great experience I have had. Julia's lessons are never predictable or monotonous and all the time is exploited in full. Everything seems natural and sometimes even easy, yet it is clear that behind all this there is the teaching method, a thorough preparation of each part of the lesson, and last but not least, passion.

Julia uses films as part of her lectures: each lesson was built on a movie episode of 5-10 minutes. In my opinion, it is a revolutionary method because, in this way, the student has a point of reference that goes beyond simple notions of grammar and vocabulary found in books. This way, you have the chance to hear and practice the authentic, real language that Russians use in their everyday life.

Thanks to our work with the films and the continuous conversation practice I had with Julia - always and only in Russian - my active mastery of the language has improved a lot. I felt as if every week I did a "full immersion " into the Russian language and culture, and even if the lesson lasted only 90 minutes, I preserved my knowledge for another week until the next lesson.

Julia always tries to meet your needs in any possible way and you will not ever be disappointed . She is able to quickly understand what your limitations are and to organize her work in order to try to overcome them. With a difficult language like Russian the risk of being bored is very high, but in 6 months of lessons, I have never been bored! On the contrary, Julia has maintains her enthusiasm and now my passion for the Russian language and culture is more alive than ever.

Even though I still have much to learn, with Julia Sutuginiene I achieved the results that 6 months ago were unthinkable: no other teacher has ever managed to make me learn so much in so little time!

The best Russian teacher I've ever had.
VOTE: A+.

Yulia is a diligent, interested and accomplished teacher. Working as a translator and teacher myself, it´s easy to see just how prepared, bighearted, and engaged she is. She very intently contributes to her students´ growth. There is a great assortment of interesting resources she kindly makes available on Russificate, as well as constant posts on language and culture and new exercises. By the replies on her page, I know I´m not the only student advancing. She is, indeed, very considerate and devoted to this project. Having family roots in Russia, I´m very glad Yulia is helping me better understand part of my cultural heritage. She´s been teaching me for about six months, and I think of her as a friend already. I find her truly inspiring.

I have heard many good things about Mikhail Yurievich from my course-mates during my first year at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Viennese University. In the summer semester 2014 I had the opportunity to meet him personally during my exchange at the MSU in the name of Lomonosov in Moscow. For me it was a big surprise, as I did not expect to meet a lecturer in Moscow who has worked earlier in Vienna. Mikhail Yurievich established himself as a literate lecturer, perfectly knowing his subject, possessing modern knowledge and skills in the area of pedagogy, psychology and methods of teaching. He thoroughly approached the choice of the contents of the course, responsibly regarded the choice of tasks set for the students. Lectures were always led in an interactive form. Mikhail Yurievich built connections with the students, taking into consideration their individual and age related qualities. I especially enjoyed that with him we studied not only the literary language but also the speaking language, which is very important in the everyday life in Moscow. Also the discussion topics were very interesting and we had the opportunity to get to know a lot about each other.
The materials used by Mikhail Yurievich were not only interesting and helpful, but also very well developed didactically, due to the fact that he always, for example, tried to put the stress into the spoken word and explain everything in Russian instead of just translating into English.
The atmosphere in the lessons was fantastic, no-one was afraid to speak in Russian, even if they made mistakes. Mikhail Yurievich always found ways to correct mistakes without offending anyone. Studying with Mikhail Yurievich does not only mean language improvement but also a good time pass and a great mood. I definitely recommend lessons with him!!