Russian in the Media

My name is Alexandra Lyle and my mother tongue is English. I have been taking online Russian classes with Yulia Amlinskaya for over a year via Skype.

I thoroughly recommend Yulia as a teacher. She provides all relevant study materials on an ongoing basis, and she gives clear and thorough explanations of all my questions, whether they be grammar questions or questions about any aspect of Russian culture. I love that the lessons are conducted in Russian, and also that Yulia’s fluency in English means that I can ask for the Russian translation of certain English expressions or items of vocabulary.

As well, Yulia is consistent, reliable, patient, and fun – all qualities that go towards making her classes an enjoyable and stimulating experience. I am happy to recommend her online Russian language school, “Russificate”.

Yulia is a great teacher and I would highly recommend her. Her lessons combine a good balance of the key skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, so you cover and develop all the fundamental aspects of language learning with every lesson. The lessons are almost entirely in Russian, which was challenging initially; however, I have found that this immersion in the language prompts faster development as you have to rely on your Russian all the time, rather than switching to your native language for comfort which is all too easy to do. Yulia has a lot of patience and has the ability to explain things in a very clear and methodical way. You do not feel afraid to make mistakes or ask questions. I hope to use Russian for work in a legal context in the future and I was particularly impressed by the effort which Yulia went to, to find legal resources for me. It really shows that she is willing to go out of her way to help her students and she will listen to you and meet your objectives.

Katya has been my Russian tutor for about 5 months and has done an excellent job at teaching me the basics of Russian. She follows a logical and clear structure to her lessons and ensures my understanding. I have appreciated the pace she sets for my progression through the lessons so that I am challenged but also have enough time for review and comprehension. Katya has great balance of asking consistent questions each lesson to help me gain confidence in my speaking skills. I also appreciate her use of varied mediums including recorded dialogues, written texts and review of homework to help me learn Russian in many contexts.

I have been told by my colleagues at work that when I speak in Russian, I do not have an accent. This shows how much care Katya has put into my speaking skills!