Nachalo: When in Russia . . . (Book 2) (Student Edition + Learning Comprehension Audio Cassette)

Rating:
Summary: The Best Russian Textbook available (which isn't saying much
Review: Having studied in excess of six languages, I can honestly claim that I have never worked with a more frustrating textbook. Grammar is poorly explained, and you frequently find yourself facing vocabulary that is translated nowhere in the book. Tables that explain grammar will show special cases, but rarely, or poorly explain when and why they are so.

The dialogs don't really seem well in tune with the more common tasks in life, and the video set to accompany this book offers little added value. The conversations do all flow together and create a story, if not a very compelling one.

The audio cassette that comes with this book is quite helpful. Listening to conversations on a regular basis definitely has helped with comprehension.

Given the rather meagre selection available in Russian Textbooks, one has no choice but to recommend this book -- it's not a very good one (in fact, the school at which I last studied has since abandoned it, and the teachers are presenting their own material), but it's the best out there.

Rating:
Summary: The best introductory Russian textbook on the market!
Review: I have used several introductory texts in my tenure as a Russian instructor at Colgate University, most of which have been very unspectacular. I had lost all hope of an engaging, informative and reasonably paced introductory Russian text until I used the Nachalo books this past semester. I will, indeed, never go back to anything else. The grammar is presented cohesively with interesting dialogues that present functional material at a pace that students can both comfortably ingest yet does not make them feel as if they are failing to learn the language. This is the first time that my first-semester students have not questioned me during the final week of classes as to whether or not they could truly function in the language. Normally, one or the other is the problem. I give my loudest applauds to the authors, and I look forward to using the books in upcoming years.