Reddit reviews Russian Grammar (Quickstudy Academic Outline)

How exciting that you are planning to learn Russian! I'm a four-year student: my high school offered the language (we had a sister city exchange program with Russia), and I took an additional two years in college. I think the biggest roadblocks in learning the language for myself and fellow students were the alphabet and pronunciation. So, here are my recommendations to remedy those hurdles:

1. Alphabet: make flashcards for the alphabet with English phonetic spellings on the back. Instead of trying to learn them in their entire series, break them up into your own categories (vowels, soft sounds, hard sounds, consonants). You'll learn them much faster when you have them in groups, and it will be easier to begin spelling correctly when you have them categorized this way.
   
   
2. Pronunciation: a lot of students in my classes (including myself at first!) were quite shy to participate considering that Russian language, if you are a native English speaker, is WEIRD. One of the very first things my high school Russian instructor did was teach us a song in Russian to get past this obstacle: Понимаешь We sang this every day for a few weeks, and soon, we all were dancing in our chairs and feeling like we had already mastered the language.
   
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   While you are mastering your pronunciation, start learning basic phrases and vocabulary. And most importantly, think as much as possible in Russian! Talk to yourself out loud in the language. Your parents may think you are mad, but you will absorb the language so much faster that way. Incorporate it in your daily life in addition to the time you spend studying.
   
   I think the biggest catalyst in learning the language was having the opportunity to spend a month over in Russia helping our sister city with their English summer school program. I had to use Russian every day, little old ladies would talk to me on the bus knowing that I didn't speak a ton of Russian, but that experience brought me back to the US with a wealth of knowledge. I'm not sure what your intentions are for learning the language (whether it be a career interest, future academic pursuit, or just general interest), but you could look into exchange student programs (these are pricey!) and volunteer abroad opportunities for your summers. Of course, there are also study abroad programs that you can look forward to in college as well!
   
   Quite honestly, I don't have a lot of recommendations for online resources as most of my learning took place in the classroom. Try to look for places where you can practice your Russian speaking skills with native speakers. LiveMocha is supposedly a great resource, as you can practice language with native speakers and they will give you feedback after a session. As far as learning materials, this is the textbook and workbook that we had back in high school--I highly recommend them as they are easy-going and a good way to get into the basics of the language: Textbook and Workbook
   
   I'm not sure how large the area is that you live in, but check the library or look into community resources. A lot of places (especially college towns) will have Russian speaking communities or story time for kids. This is another great way to connect with native speakers.
   
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   Here are some final tips:
   
   When you get deep into the dark well of grammar and special cases in Russian, don't fret. My professor in college always reminded us that oftentimes even native speakers were confused by all the special rules. This little guy helped me out a ton in the beginning. Keep in mind that there is much more to Russian grammar than these rules, though, but it is a good general outline.
   
   Contrary to a few of the suggestions here, I think it wise not to overwhelm yourself with everything. Take Russian in steps: 1) Alphabet 2) Pronunciation/sounding out words 3) Basic phrases and vocabulary 4) Then you can get as intense as you would like. Make learning Russian fun for yourself in the beginning! Not to bring in a big foreboding cloud, but Russian grammar can be rather confusing once you get into the more advanced material. Generate a passion for the language now and it will carry you through the more challenging portions you will encounter.
   
   I will reiterate again, incorporate Russian in your daily life! Put vocabulary flashcards all over your house. Get crazy!
   
   Watch plenty of Чебурашка and Ну, погоди!. They are kid shows, but, they helped us learn new vocab and phrases quite a bit.
   
   *You will definitely need this when you begin to write: http://russian.typeit.org/
   
   If you have any questions or need help with anything, feel free to send me a pm.
   
   Russian is a beautiful language. I hope you find enjoyment in it! Удачи в учебе (good luck in your studies)!

About 20 years ago learning Russian I bought something similar to this (I can't find the one I bought), and boy, I did not regret it.

This is great too later down the road.
https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Russian-Grammar-Terence-Wade/dp/1405136391/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Russian+Grammar&qid=1564251948&s=gateway&sr=8-1

As is this.

https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Grammar-Quickstudy-Academic-Outline/dp/1572226986/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=New+penguin+russian+course&qid=1564251934&s=gateway&sr=8-2