Best study & learning books according to redditors
We found 172 Reddit comments discussing the best study & learning books. We ranked the 92 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 172 Reddit comments discussing the best study & learning books. We ranked the 92 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
![Teach Yourself Complete Norwegian (TY Complete Courses) [Including double CD] (Teach Yourself Language Complete Courses)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/511fuFhUfGL.jpg)
Along those lines, there's a book my gf read a while back that was very good. https://www.amazon.com/Anthropology-Childhood-Cherubs-Chattel-Changelings/dp/1107420989/
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And there's this as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/B006Q9NI0S
​
Basically - there are a lot of things people assume about primitive cultures and societies which are not universal or are outright incorrect.
Most apps are geared towards beginners and early/mid intermediate learners. The Chairman's Bao and Du Chinese offer HSK6 reading material, but whether HSK6 is "advanced" is a matter of personal opinion (IMO it's not).
In addition to learning through native materials (books, TV shows, etc.) your best grammar resources are going to be books, in addition to AllSet Learning's grammar wiki:
Appropriate for Intermediate or Advanced Learners
Heyo, of Iranian heritage and learning Farsi for the first time myself, I highly recommend www.easypersian.com, over 100 lessons, all for free! - http://easypersian.com/
I would also recommend a couple of books:
How to Write in Persian (A Workbook for Learning the Persian Alphabet): (Bi-lingual Farsi- English Edition) (English and Farsi Edition) by: Nazanin Mirsadeghi - https://www.amazon.com/Write-Persian-Workbook-Learning-Alphabet/dp/1939099471/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503082799&sr=8-3&keywords=learn+farsi
and
Complete Modern Persian (Farsi) Beginner to Intermediate Course: Learn to read, write, speak and understand a new language (Teach Yourself) by: Narguess Farzad - https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Persian-Beginner-Intermediate/dp/1444102303/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503082799&sr=8-4&keywords=learn+farsi
Hopefully this helps, I know you said you`d prefer French, but unfortunately these are the only resources (as an English speaker) that I can personally recommend at the moment. Other than that, whatever works for you, perhaps maybe also incorporate some Persian music.
Cheers.
There is no “easy” way, but the easiest is to buy a dictionary, and a basic course and work through it until you’re able to follow basic speech. Then follow the BhBC Letter and youtube courses. Then advanced coursework like TAIC or Akerbeltz. Then travel to Nova Scotia or Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Scotland and get immersed.
I second the motion to wait a year and get to know the kids and program. Also, it's good to get to know the political climate a bit and to build some networks of support with people who will be willing to put in a good word for you. Build a rapport with the kids who will tell their friends about you.
Meanwhile, use your year, which might be fairly easy, to do the following:
Here are the ELA state standards for OK. Get to know them like the back of your hand. Know which years are generally the same, and which years take a jump forward in expectations.
Read some books about how to teach in an English classroom. Write Like This and Deeper Reading from Kelly Gallagher will give you concrete strategies you can use for any grade. Some of them you could even do with mixed groups of mixed ages. Jim Burke's English Companion is also good.
While you have time and a fairly mild workload, plan, plan, plan. Put things on paper. Look into how LMS's work (my personal fave is Schoology, and I've tried at least a dozen different ones over the years) and what they can do for a classroom where kids have computer access.
Don't get discouraged if, after all this, they say no. What you have then is everything you need to walk into any regular classroom 6-12 if you decide to look for a new job. Good luck!
It is not currently in the works, as far as anyone knows at least. You can check the Incubator so see what courses are currently in development. Unfortunately, no one knows if or when a Catalan for English course will be made, so I recommend either using the Catalan for Spanish course (if you speak Spanish already) or seeking some outside material other than Duolingo (which you should always do anyway - Duolingo alone is never enough).
With just a quick Google search, I've found a textbook, a website with some of the basics, a more complete online course and a wide range of Memrise courses, and of course, you could always try iTalki or something similar to find some native speakers to chat with.
I'm just going to recommend two books: After Babel, Aspects of Language and Translation. I think it's a must read if you're interested in translation studies.
My second recommendation is specific to your 2nd language, French. Le Bon Usage by Maurice Grévisse (and André Goose) is probably the most thorough, precise, detailed prescriptive grammar you can get. It covers pretty much anything you could find yourself wondering about. Even if you think you know French grammar, you should consider this, a former teacher of mine who was also a translator (literary translation) and whose knowledge of French grammar was outstanding still kept it at hand's reach at all time while working, he called it his bible.
I know prescriptive grammar is sometimes frowned upon, sounds like a bad word, but at some point we all need to learn some rules.
At the beginning of 2016 I tested into a 202 class at my university after doing self study for a year on and off. I think it may be possible for you after two or three months, but a lot is going to hang on the leniency of the professor and your own ability to study extremely hard for the entire time. You'll also definitely be playing catch-up for at least a semester compared to the other students.
My test was a very short oral examination where the professor asked me questions about myself, my family, where I was from, and my apartment. I remember not understanding her when she asked "is your apartment far from campus?" Then I read some dialogues aloud from the textbook to test character recognition. She could tell I was motivated and did know some Chinese, so she allowed me to join the next quarter.
When I got into the class:
I know now that the way I self-studied was riddled with inconsistencies and my level could have been achieved much faster. So here's what I suggest you do:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444106880/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KDDIzbGR8B7MS
This is what I've been using. It comes with a CD that I can listen to while I drive.
As someone who only speaks English and Spanish (the latter, poorly), learning Latvian has been similar to learning gibberish. Honestly, I've learned more from listening to my wife/in-laws (Latvian citizens) than any reading material, but this book has helped a bit.
Certainly can! So Lithuanian has 7 cases and some complex conjugation rules. That makes it very intimidating, but I don't think that changes much compared to, say, Russian. The material is more limited though.
In terms of phrases and some very basic grammar (an intro into conjugation and the cases) I found the Lithuanian Out Loud podcast to be really good for well over 100 episodes and give a solid base to work from. With an understanding of the point of the grammar, a lot of rote memorisation helps. I spent a lot of time with the declension tables in the Wikipedia article..
I've also found Complete Lithuanian by Stumbrienė and Ramonienė to be really useful in plugging the holes in my grammatical knowledge. If only I had the drive to keep at that course.
Il te faut ça et ça.
>Noms de personnes
>Quand on ne s'adresse pas à la personne, pas de majuscule au titre.
>>le président de l'université de Lausanne, le professeur Tournesol, le maréchal Joukov, le docteur Max Hilaire, l'abbé Pierre, mademoiselle Cunégonde, le président Mao, le roi Dagobert, le maire de Montcuq
>Dans la correspondance, les titres de celui ou celle à qui l'on s'adresse prennent habituellement la majuscule. Ainsi, si l'on écrit au président du club de boules de Garchizy, il est de bon ton de commencer sa missive par Monsieur le Président et l'on écrira pour finir Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur le Président, etc. C'est ce qu'on appelle la "majuscule de courtoisie".
>Mais les conventions d'utilisation de la majuscule dans les titres ne sont pas homogènes.
>>– le Général (pour désigner, p. ex., de Gaulle), le Maréchal (pour désigner, p. ex., Pétain à une certaine époque : Maréchal, nous voilà...), mais : le pape (pourtant unique !, la majuscule est aussi possible), le roi (même chose) ;
>>– le ministre de l'Intérieur, mais : le Premier ministre (on peut expliquer la majuscule par un souci de désambiguïsation : le Premier ministre ne doit pas être confondu avec un premier ministre (p. ex. le premier ministre de la Culture de la Ve République), mais pourquoi pas de majuscule à ministre ? ;
>>– le président de la République ou le Président de la République (très fréquent dans les textes officiels ; pensez ! un président de la République sans majuscule alors que le Premier ministre y a droit, lui...).
>De fait, l'utilisation de la majuscule obéit ici partiellement à un autre principe, lié à des préséances et à des conventions sociales établies. Plus on s'élève dans la hiérarchie, plus on emploie la majuscule. Selon Grevisse (Le bon usage), trois personnes au moins ont droit, en toutes circonstances, à la majuscule initiale pour leurs titres honorifiques : Son Excellence, Son Altesse et Sa Sainteté... (mais pas, en principe, pour le nom de leur fonction : Son Excellence le consul de Poldévie, Son Altesse le roi Ottokar IV). Le Général, celui qui a fait un discours un certain 18 juin, a droit à la majuscule, mais pas le gardien (même si je désigne ainsi spécifiquement celui de mon immeuble) ni le facteur (le mien).
There is a companion to LLPSI that gives english info chapter by chapter: https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Familia-Romana-Ørbergs-Vocabulary/dp/158510809X
I took 3 years of Japanese in high school (I went to a 3-year high school), and although we learned vocabulary and our teacher (a 72 year-old Japanese man) told us a lot of great stories about Japan, when I got to college and started learning real Japanese, I found that I'd learned essentially nothing in high school. I had a fantastic teacher in college who was great at explaining the nuances of the language in a way easy for English speakers to understand. The most important thing to remember when learning Japanese is that it is not like English at all. Most early learners (even those with several years of experience) will try to translate from English literally into Japanese. This will almost never work. Even for fairly simple constructions like 私の名前は"name"です, you will learn that this is not the best way to say such things in Japanese.
But even with a great teacher in college, you still need a lot of personal time working on the language if you hope to achieve more than textbook understanding. I didn't discover r/LearnJapanese until after college, but this would've been a prime resource to have. Also, in case your professor hasn't made you do so already, there's a few books you should pick up to help your learning.
Makino's three book series on Japanese grammar is exceptionally helpful for understanding constructions in Japanese (like your ～ほうがいい and ～んです). A good Japanese/English reference dictionary, like Sanseido is also very helpful, but should not be your primary resource for learning the language. These books are good when you can't think of a single word (especially from the English-to-Japanese side). Also, when you get proficient enough in the language, a Kokugo Jiten (a dictionary written in Japanese, with definitions for Japanese speakers) will become your best tool. There are some companies which make good ones, like the aforementioned Sanseido, as well as the version I use, published by Shinmeikai, but I can't find one readily available online for purchase right now.
What's your level at? I recommend the Dictionary of [Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced] Japanese Grammar, which my program uses as a supplement for material taught in class. It was originally written back in 1995, but it is packed with explanations and examples for a wide variety of grammar structures.
Probably say goodbye to my family, open my window and start yelling "Иди на хуй, сука блять! Путин пидорас!"
No, just kidding, would probably hide and start crying like a bitch.
Also, order this until it goes out of stock.
Also, plot hole, the Russian army doesn't use AK-47s anymore.
Yes, it does really help. I don't know if you're UK or US, but in the UK until recently formal grammar wasn't really taught, so tell us to conflugate our preterite influentives in the plus-perfect tense and we're all at sea.
This book was made just for us sorts - those who can speak fluently (obvs) but don't know why grammar is grammar.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/English-Grammar-Students-Spanish-Guides/dp/0934034419/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0/258-0721930-0571909?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0934034419&pd_rd_r=7e08d1cf-fde3-43a3-883a-af23f346e11e&pd_rd_w=W3qxf&pd_rd_wg=DicMs&pf_rd_p=e44592b5-e56d-44c2-a4f9-dbdc09b29395&pf_rd_r=RHJYHC67SYED540P9T75&psc=1&refRID=RHJYHC67SYED540P9T75
After that, it won't seem so strange when you're told about rules for using gerund and where your subjects/objects have to be.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ens%C5%8D
Just to give my two cents, although it is really old, Situational Functional Japanese is good for learning grammar. It's in 3 parts and has a book of drills that can be used with it.
Also, practice speaking or you'll end up like a lot of the Japanese people in Japan; able to read English, but can't form sentences.
>And there's this as well:
>https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/B006Q9NI0S
Am familiar, not sure why you think this:
>Basically - there are a lot of things people assume about primitive cultures and societies which are not universal or are outright incorrect.
..other than an esoteric language theory that it puts into question. What am I missing?
Why not use the supplement that was written for LLPSI? That's what I used and it works really well.
https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Familia-Romana-%C3%98rbergs-Vocabulary/dp/158510809X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=lingua+latina&qid=1564764691&s=gateway&sr=8-2
http://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/
Japanese has nothing to do with German, though maybe how in German you can string together nouns to make bigger nouns is somewhat how complex nouns are created from simpler components.
Here's a simple Japanese sentence:
これはペンです。
kore-wa PEN desu.
'kore' means "this". 'sore' means "that (near you)" and 'are' means "that (over there)". So you can see how systematic Japanese tends to be.
The は (pronounced 'wa' due to historical reasons) is the sentence topic marker. Japanese has many grammatical markers (for direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions) and that's what makes the language a LOT easier to learn (and read) than any other. Again, systematic.
PEN is the loanword 'pen', spelled in the katakana script ('ペン'). The great thing about Japanese is that if you don't know a word, you can try the simplified English word and your listener might understand.
Japanese does have a couple of loan words from German, the foremost being http://www.japanese123.com/arubaito.htm
です ('dess', the Japanese tend to drop the trailing 'u' sound on these words) is the copula of assertion.
This-topic pen is.
To say this is not a pen:
これはペンではありません。
ではありません ('de-wa arimasen') is the formal negation of です。
ありません is the negative present inflection of ある (aru), to be. Verbs are very, very regular in Japan and if you peruse a language site you'll see how they are inflected.
>Do you have any books to recommend too maybe?
Books are kinda expensive but I like:
http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Basic-Japanese-Grammar/dp/4789004546
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dictionary-Intermediate-Japanese-Grammar/dp/B001PS7NL0
as grammar references.
尾 is short for 語尾 which means something "end (tail) of a word", so in this case it works as something like a "compound verb", altering the meaning of the preceding verb.
The Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar has a good, albeit very incomplete, write-up on the most common compound verbs in its Appendix 2, so if you own this book you may want to look into it.
> The Vmasu to which another verb is affixed acquires additional meaning such as 'to start to do s.t.', 'to finish doing s.t.' 'to continue to do s.t.' etc.
It uses 'affixed' because you might also come across a 頭 which means the modifying word comes in front of other words.
Unfortunately I can't really name other sources, my teacher wrote her master thesis on compound verbs but it's only available in German.
As for the reverse triangle, I'm not sure, but I think SDream has nailed it, at least in your case these should be examples.
As for the ~watasu you looked up, as a 語尾 it means doing something.. thoroughly? I'm not really sure, but I think if you 見渡す a document you look over the whole thing, etc.
In addition to university-level classes (where I started learning Japanese), I found that the Japan Times Dictionaries of (Basic / Intermediate / Advanced) Japanese Grammar were invaluable resources to get the core aspects of the language all up in my brain-meats.
Basic
Intermediate
Advanced
I can't comment with any degree of certainty about online learning opportunities, but I do know that Skype chats with native Japanese speakers are popular, as well as any number of browser and smartphone-based kanji flashcards that will help with listening / speaking / writing.
I highly recommend getting a Bachelor's Degree in anything (possibly with some study abroad in Japan), then applying for something like the JET Programme, which will give you more of an immersive opportunity to live and work in Japan. Japanese is one of those annoyingly alien languages to the English-language brain where the best study results will come from full immersion--and even then, it's faaaaar from easy. I've been studying the language for 20 years and fluency always seems out of reach. But you might brain better than I do, so don't let that discourage you!
best book you could possibly buy is called English grammar for Students of Russian -
http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Students-Russian-Learning/dp/0934034214
sets you straight in preparing you for the big differences between the languages
Depending on what language you want to learn, there may be a book that explains the grammar you'll need for that language by connecting it to English. For example: German,
Spanish, Russian.
If there's a term that you're unfamiliar with, you can also poke around on Wikipedia to get a better idea behind some of the concepts. But when things get too technical, just keep looking up unfamiliar terminology and you'll be on your way.
For a little bit of fun, check out:
Split Ergativity,
where you can see this gem of a sentence:
>An example of split ergativity conditioned by tense and aspect is found in the Hindustani language (Hindi/Urdu), which has an ergative case on subjects in the perfective aspect for transitive verbs in the active voice, while in other aspects (habitual, progressive) subjects appear in the nominative case.
Assimil Russian
I've used Hippocrene's Beginner's Icelandic as well as Complete Icelandic. I fell off the wagon and haven't devoted any time recently to learning, but both books were helpful when I was trying to learn. If I had to choose only one of them, I'd probably choose Complete Icelandic, but they were useful to me in tandem because each covered little things that the other didn't.
I've also heard that Icelandic Learning is very useful. IIRC, you have to pass the entire course before you can apply for citizenship/visas. I could be wrong on that, it's been a few years.
Is this it? https://www.amazon.com/Situational-Functional-Japanese-1-Notes/dp/4893583123
SG12W is one of the better books (although the title is ridiculous), it's essentially a grammar book with some exercises tacked on. Its quite narrow in that regard, but pretty indispensable too.
The other really good beginners' book imo is Teach Yourself Complete Gaelic (Boyd Robertson), which is much more based on teaching through dialogue / conversation.
Together they make a good pair to get you going imo. I worked through them in parallel for a while, although eventually I drifted away from them before I finished them (I still use SG12W as a grammar reference though).
In each case, make sure you get the CDs (or audio downloads if they do that now).
You could try the 'Little by Little' course on LearnGaelic.net or the lessons on TAIC too.
Also worth checking out is the old 'Speaking our Language' videos on LearnGaelic.
First of all, you'll find that there are two different writing standards for Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk. You will almost certainly want to learn Bokmål, the most common. There are also a wide range of regional dialects; you will almost certainly want to learn Standard Østnorsk. It's nothing to worry about, as Bokmål and Østnorsk are almost always the ones taught to foreigners, but do be aware that you will find Norwegian that doesn't conform to what you've learnt.
As for somewhere to start, I'd suggest Norwegian on the Web, a basic introductory course covering grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, built up little by little in each of ten chapters. To have a minimal understanding of pronunciation you will need to read up to at least chapter 6; for grammar at least chapter 8.
I know you say you can't really sink money into it, but in my opinion the most valuable book, if you were to buy one, is Norwegian: An Essential Grammar. Most of your Norwegian learning can be done on the Internet, but I've not really found another decent reference for more complex Norwegian grammar. That can wait, though.
You'll probably also be recommended Teach Yourself Norwegian at some point, but in my honest opinion I don't think that's a particularly good book, especially considering the free courses you can find online. Just make sure to use a course from a reputable source — there are guides written by non-natives that are misleading or just plain wrong.
Once you get past the level expected for courses, you can try having a go with actual Norwegian text and speech, perhaps beginning with resources for people who are still learning Norwegian, like Klar Tale and SkoleTV.
Lykke til!
If you're not already familiar with learning a foreign language, LLPSI can be pretty daunting without guidance. I would find a teacher or online guide as you read through LLPSI, or work through a few chapters of Wheelock's or something before starting into LLPSI. Personally, I love Jeanne Neumann's Companion to Ørberg.
>Is it really possible to learn Latin just by reading the lingua latina per se illustrata books?
It's possible to get started learning Latin using only those books.
>Are there any supplemental materials that you recommend?
The Companion to Familia Romana makes the grammar of the textbook explicit. I would avoid using it except as a last resort, but it's been invaluable when I've been stuck and banging my head against the wall.
Of course! I got it from Amazon for around $70
https://www.amazon.com/Superpack-Learn-Russian-English-speakers-book/dp/2700580265/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504664311&sr=8-1&keywords=assimil+russian
It's not cheap, but for 100 lessons (which is about 3.5 months at one lesson per day) it's actually relatively reasonable. I think the cost is quite worth it.
I'm actually trying to compile a list of websites or books like this one which both aspiring translators and professionals can use as grammatical resources when translating. The site you linked mainly looked like a site where people can find translators/work. I'm sure it's great, but it wasn't quite what I was thinking of.
If you know of any grammatical resources for Polish that you consider essential to translation, then please share the links!
I've had my eye on "Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors". I'm only five months into learning the language though, so it may be more basic than you're looking for.
https://www.amazon.com/Spoken-World-Farsi-Living-Language/dp/1400023475/
​
https://www.amazon.com/Farsi-Persian-Beginners-Mastering-Conversational/dp/0804841829
​
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Modern-Persian-Beginner-Intermediate/dp/1444102303
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https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Use-Elementary-Textbook-Language/dp/9087282176
​
https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Iran-Today-1/dp/0578130025
​
https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Routledge-Comprehensive-Grammars-Yousef/dp/1138927031
​
(pdf): http://gen.lib.rus.ec/book/index.php?md5=7FB6BDFB0C58FB086C50343961CFD698
​
Ok, so
Grammars:
(The first three are all from Routledge)
Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook
Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook
Persian: A Comprehensive Grammar
Books:
Persian of Iran Today: Volume 1
Persian of Iran Today: Volume 2
Complete Persian (Modern Persian/Farsi)
Websites:
Easy Persian
Persian Language Online
Grammar and Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Ali Jahanshiri’s Personal Website
YouTube channel(s):
Reza Nazari
There was another one, but I can’t seem to find it right now
Not sure where to categorize this, but Chai and Conversation has audio lessons.
In addition, Forvo has pronunciations of words.
——
Sorry for any formatting errors, I’m new to this place.
Copy and pasted from a comment I posted on a similar question.
When I first started I thought I probably wouldn't be speaking so much so I'll concentrate more on writing and reading. If there was one thing I wish I did more it would have to be actively seeking out speaking partners or finding Norwegian friends on the internet. Reading and writing is picked up pretty quickly but speaking and listening with real Norwegian people is a whole other thing. I'ts understanding the dialects and learning the slang that really brings you up the next level and you'll be at a real disadvantage if you travel to Norway after say a year of focusing just on writing and you'll find yourself wondering why you can't understand anything anyone is saying. Anyway rant over! :D
I used Lang-8 for writing and if you start using it early on it can be fun to look back on sort of like a log of your writing progress.
As for resources, personally I used the Teach Yourself Course while also listening to the Pimsleur Norwegian audio lessons.
The Teach Yourself Book which I used doesn't get the most amazing feedback on here I don't think but for me if was perfect as a beginner who had just listened to a few Pimsleur audio lessons and read some stuff on the internet. I could feel myself improving at a pretty rapid rate, I remember being half way through the book and thinking that i could have a half decent conversation with a norwegian person. So yeah for a start it worked great for me.
I followed that book up with the Norwegian Verbs and Essentials of Grammar, this book was mainly to give the information that i felt the TY course was lacking in. I ended up just picking out the things I needed to know and then it went on the shelf without actually being fully read. However I know it's a good book as it gets recommended quite alot in this subreddit.
Norwegian on the Web is also a pretty good well structured resource however it was something I found when I was coming towards the end of my studies so didn't use it that much. Also the case with the Norwegian Duolingo although I should probably still use this as it's a good fun way to learn new vocabulary.
The last thing i'll say is that if you really want to make some good progress and you find yourself slacking just try and do one thing everyday related to Norwegian. It doesn't really matter what it is, could be listening to an audio clip, reading the newspaper, a book, online course, whatever, even if it's just for 15 minutes it's better than nothing and it all adds up to helping you on your way.
Good Luck! :D
P.s Norway is awesome!
It was difficult to fake being well read short of intense prep work with flash cards for about a year. Prior to the arrival of Asian grinds no-one considered that amount of prep doable. The Jewish high scorers read a lot of books, as intended. The existence of a group that preferred to memorize flash cards for months, over reading more widely was unexpected.
Direct Hit was a book of 1000 words that might show up, and people memorized 5 a day, for a years work. This seems like breaking the system to me.
I completely agree that knowing the difference between those words is useful, and it is even better to feel comfortable using them, which is harder.
British Council: English Grammar gives explanations on everything grammatical; pronouns, possessives, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, phrases, clauses & sentence structures.
There is a book called English Grammar for Students of Russian but in the long run knowing English grammar inside-out is your best bet if you want to learn another language after Russian.
To stop getting distracted, reward yourself when you reach a goal in Russian to motivate yourself to carry on, also use Reddit to your advantage if you're ever back on Reddit why not pay /r/russian a visit?
I can't seem to find any reviews for Hugo Fluent in 3 months, Colloquial Russian is a very complete & comprehensive book on knowing no Russian to being conversationally fluent, so it's a good book to use as your main reference. Check out /r/Russian's wiki on getting started. for more help on getting started.
All the resources you've mentioned above, put emphasis on different aspects of Russian e.g. Grammar, Vocabulary, Orthography. I'd work through it one chapter at a time, try to practice/implement what you've learnt whenever you can & if it helps write down any notes. This is what I do with Icelandic & it seems to work.
Here's a step by step guide on using Assimil it uses Assimil: Dutch as the example but you can easily use the same process for Russian. Hopefully this helped :)
The English Teacher's Companion, Third Edition: A Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession
Maybe ask her to provide you lots of examples for each grammar point. And don't be afraid to ask what she means by all those grammar terms. It's easy to get lost in terminology.
Also maybe this book might help (English Grammar for Students of Spanish by Emily Spinelli):
https://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Students-Spanish-Learning/dp/0934034419/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1Y5C2K45EVMRF&keywords=english+grammar+for+students+of+spanish&qid=1567427023&s=gateway&sprefix=english+gramma%2Caps%2C212&sr=8-1
​
Edit: openlibrary link:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL858662M/English_grammar_for_students_of_Spanish
You might try English Grammar for Students of Russian. It's a good resource to help with the basics of the language, if that's what you need.
This series of book I've heard is good for English speakers understanding foreign grammar for the first time:
https://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Students-Russian-Learning/dp/0934034214
This is an excellent series. I linked to the intermediate book, but there are beginner and advanced versions as well.
A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
If what you want to achieve is A1 and nothing beyond, you best bet would be getting one of the many course books:
A arguably better alternative would be the free online course offered by Deutsche Welle (http://deutschkurse.dw.de/KursPlattform/WebObjects/KursPlattform.woa/wo/6.1). Do register and try it. Really valuable resource. Together with Deutsch – warum nicht? (http://www.dw.de/deutsch-lernen/deutsch-warum-nicht/s-2163) you can go far. (In case you didn't realise already, both the sound files and pdf notes can be found on the right, featuring four series.)
Maybe the only problem you would encounter is speaking. The speaking test is actually like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGNd-6pDkEI), and you may panic if you don't already speak in German for a several hours. Try to find someone who speaks German and wants to do a language exchange with you. (http://www.language-exchanges.org/) is one of them. You may as well find one on Reddit.
By the way, if you really want to have a strong command of German sooner or later, there are some good, though popular (popular doesn't always mean bad) books for foundation, apart from your already awesome German for Reading:
If you insist on getting a grammar book, a nice start would be:
And eventually you may want to take down the boss:
Finally I recommend you to take a look at my favourite reading material when I started, Studien und Plaudereien (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22160), freely offered by Project Gutenberg.
If you can afford it, try out this excellent companion book: https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Familia-Romana-Ørbergs-Vocabulary/dp/158510809X/
It's no longer purely the inductive method, but these are well written and chapter-by-chapter related grammar lessons.
Websites:
Books:
Sounds like this book is right up your alley. The language you choose won't matter if you don't understand its grammar, in fact that's what seems to be happening with your German. When you're comfortable with explanations of English and German grammar, only then should you move on to something more alien.
np!. By the way, The phrasebook is by Berlitz publishing.
And the book I had is here: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Lithuanian-Yourself-Meilute-Ramoniene/dp/1444106899/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
I can really recommend Complete Latvian from the Teach Yourself series by Terēze Svilane Bartholomew. You can get it as an e-book for only a few euros in several places - definitely worth it! It also comes with audio via an app.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Latvian-Yourself-Tereza-Svilane/dp/1444106880
Also check out the website https://latvian.rocks/
I also like this grammar book for beginners.
Lmao never mind then. Thought you were referring to these books.
The English Teacher's Companion by Jim Burke might be along the lines of what your department head is suggesting. It gives practical tips and tools for teaching secondary English.
https://www.amazon.com/Schritte-international-Kursbuch-Arbeitsbuch-interaktiven/dp/3190018510/ref=mp_s_a_1_2
For grammar I really enjoyed this book: Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar.