Storytelling workshop

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+.

Mikhail Yurievich is one of the best tutors of Russian as a second language that I have met during the time of my studying it.
He is well and honestly prepared for the lessons, bringing own (author’s) materials to every lesson for reading and discussing, grammar exercises, lexical exercises (including the typical cliché phrases from the speaking language and slang) and dialogues for the development of speech. Among the materials there are also practice and visualisation of the correct pronunciation, which is absent in the typical textbooks of Russian as a second language, although it is especially important for the foreigners.
With this combination of the different didactic methods, Mikhail Yurievich, systematically develops all 4 language competencies in all types of students. He is an experienced tutor, who actively and constructively uses own knowledge of the language problems, connected with the interference of the students’ mother tongue.
Mikhail Yurievich’s lessons are always led in a good mood and in a pleasant atmosphere. With his natural charm and a good sense of humour, he finds common ground and understanding with every student, and also ways to motivate students in discussions of any topic. During the discussion, the student forgets that he is speaking a foreign language; in this way eventually eliminating the language barriers and fear of mistakes. On the other hand, thanks to his wide range of interests he is prepared to lead the lesson on any topic that interests the student; and to answer any questions connected with the history and the culture of Russia.
Work with Mikhail Yurievich is always interesting and helpful!

Learning Russian at Russificate was a great experience. The school is very well managed. It can be cosidered a solid reference in teaching Russian as a second language.

My russian classes with teacher Alyona Belikhina were excellent. All the classes were very well conducted. In the first class we devised together
a specific plan for my needs, and she always made sure that the goal of each lesson was reached. Besides, the classes were interesting and pleasant. Not tiring at all.
My expectations were 100% met. I definetly recommend her classes for those who are seriously interested in learning Russian.