Several weeks ago I wrote a guest post for the blog of Glossika. the topic of the blog was how you can learn Russian in 20 hours. Now, of course you’re not going to become fluent in 20 hours. But you can learn a lot of interesting things – and the more you learn in the beginning stages, the more you’ll feel motivated to continue after that.

You can read the guest post here.

However, it’s been a couple of weeks after the post was published. And I got some new thoughts on the subject. That’s why I’m writing this post as an update – and elaboration on some of the concepts.

The first 20 hours – Josh Kaufman

The idea of only having 20 hours to study Russian came from a book called The First 20 hours. It’s written by Josh Kaufman, and in the book he describes seven skills that he wants to learn by only putting in 20 hours. The skills range from windsurfing to computer programming to yoga.

The point he made in the book was that if you practice deliberately and smart – you can become moderately proficient in any skill that you want within the first 20 hours of practice. Of course you won’t become world-class in those first 20 hours, but you’ll be better than most people who tried it.

Also, a lot of people suffer from perfectionism and when they decide they want to do something they want to become the complete best in it. However, this is a great way to procrastinate and not start anything at all.

If you just say you’ll go for a new skill and will only put in 20 hours to learn it – you can then review after those 20 hours if the skill is really something that you want to learn.

On one hand 20 hours to study Russian is enough time so that you can learn useful words, phrases and vocabulary. But on the other hand it’s also a small enough number of hours that you can easily commit to going through a program like this in just 1 month. Just spend one hour every working day on learning Russian and after a month you are having much better view of what the language is all about. And now you can make a decision whether you should continue learning the Russian language or if it’s not for you and you’re better of trying something different.

Now of course you have more than 20 hours

While I was reading the book it got me thinking how I could apply all the knowledge into something concrete. I thought of some new skills that I would put the method to the test. But at the same moment it made me think how I would approach learning Russian if I would start over again. what would I do different in the beginning if I only had 20 hours to study Russian?

Now, I cannot magically forget everything that I know. But if you’re just starting out learning Russian then you can use this method to get through the beginning stages. That’s why I created a 20 hour program that you can use to learn your first words and phrases and become comfortable with the language.

Before we start let’s first address the one thing that will most likely get the most criticism from people. And that is that you cannot become fluent in Russian in just 20 hours.

Now, I completely agree with that. The thing is that: you have as much time as you want to learn it.

However, by putting up an artificial constraint of 20 hours, you are much more likely to start doing something. You can see becoming fluent in Russian as a marathon. And those first 20 hours are your first 1k run. It’s very tiny compared to the whole thing that you need to go through, but it’s a hell lot easier to get motivated to start it.

And who knows, maybe you don’t even like running. And wouldn’t it be nice to find that out just after running a thousand meters instead of spending half a year training for a full marathon?

It’s the same thing with learning Russian. You shouldn’t see these first 20 hours as the only thing that you’re going to do. But it’s just the first step that you’re going to take. Don’t worry about what you’re going to do after. Just make a commitment to these first 20 hours. And then when you’ve completed those, you can start looking to the next thing. Whether that’s continuing to learn Russian, perfect. But if you find out that you don’t really enjoy the language… then you’ve still learnt some cool new things, and now know that Russian isn’t for you. Knowing what you don’t want is also valuable knowledge.

The goal isn’t to become crazy fluent in 20 hours – but rather to become curious in Russian and learn some useful words and phrases

So you’ve got 20 hours to study Russian. And your goal is not to become fluent. So that what is your goal in those first 20 hours? Good question. It’s important to know what you’re aiming for, so you can keep that in the back of your mind while you’re going through the program.

Basically, there are two main goals that you should focus on in the first 20 hours:

learn the basics of the Russian language and get a feeling for how it sounds

enjoy the process of learning and become curious for more

That’s it. so I don’t want you to put extreme high goals for those first 20 hours. But rather take the approach that everything you learn is something that you wouldn’t have learnt otherwise. And to have fun in the process and become curious about the language, the country and the Russian culture.

#1 Learn the alphabet: 1 hour

The first thing we do is learn the Russian alphabet. Don’t be afraid. It’s a lot easier than it looks like. Half of the letters are the same as in the English alphabet. Then there are a couple new ones. And some that are little bit tricky because they look the same but are pronounced differently from the Latin alphabet. The goal here isn’t to perfectly pronounce everything and read just as fast as you would normally in English, but rather to get to know the letters and recognize them for your further studies.

Some people say that learning the alphabet isn’t necessary for learning Russian. However I disagree, because learning it at a later stage will only hinder your progress in the first stages. Especially because it’s a lot easier to learn than people make it. There are hundreds of resources out there, but even checking out the Wikipedia page for the alphabet for one hour will teach you the alphabet.

So that’s your first mission!

If possible, I recommend you take that hour and split it up in 3 days of 20 minutes. That will be more effective than 1 long hour of learning.

#2 Watch a good Russian series: 6 hours

The next task you have is to watch Russian series for around six hours. This will be fun and incredibly useful. It’s a lot more fun to watch series, than it is to sit down with a long list of grammar or vocabulary. But it also serves a very useful educational purpose.

Even though it’s fun, your brain will get an intense course in Russian sounds. While you’re enjoying the plot, your ears and brain are getting used to hearing spoken Russian. And this will be helpful to later distinguish between words.

You’ll be watching the series with English subtitles. Otherwise you wouldn’t understand a thing, and then it would be pointless because it wouldn’t be fun to watch.

It’s also important to take a genre that you like. check out the YouTube channel of StarMediaEN for thousands of Russian series.

#3 Go to your local Russian store: 1 hour

We’ve got around 13 hours left. And the next thing you’re going to do is look for a local Russian store. There are many of them in virtually every country around the world. Because Russian food is different from available in other countries. So, many Russian expats have set up Russian stores with products that would otherwise only be available in Russia.

Check out Google Maps where the closest one is and go there. You can check out some products there and see if you can read what is written on them. Be sure to get some Russian pickles and dumplings!

Also, another reason why you’re doing this is that often there is a notification board in the store. there you’ll see all sorts of offers. Maybe somebody is giving Russian lessons, or there is a specific group in your neighborhood that meets up every Thursday evening to practice Russian with each other. You can see if something grabs your attention and maybe keep it in mind for later.

#4 Take a fun beginner audio course in Russian: 12 hours

Now that you got a little introduction to Russian language, it’s time to learn your first words and phrases. Especially in the beginning stages the best way to do this is by listening to an audio course. This will be more fun to listen to, than reading an arbitrary text book. Also, you will learn the correct pronunciation right away. Since there’s only 12 hours left, you want to take the most efficient approach as possible.

There are two audio courses that are I recommend in the beginning stage:

Michel Thomas Russian Beginner course – this is a great course that will teach you simple words and phrases. It also talks about grammar, but introduces it in a very dosaged way. So you won’t be overwhelmed with that. The main emphasis is on learning to have simple conversations, and you will learn a lot in just 12 hours of listening to this program. It’s available on Amazon.

Russianpod101 – This program might be a little bit slower in the beginning. But if you’re the person who likes to take things a little slower in the beginning, to make more progress later, then RussianPod 101 is the right choice for you. Another benefit is that you can do a free trial for 7 days. And you can even download the lessons to your phone, so that you can keep on learning after that. So you can finish your 12 hours in more than seven days. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

Where to go after your first 20 hours of learning Russian?

Alright, we’ve gone through the entire 20 hour program to study Russian. Important to notice is that all these time frames can be taken with a grain of salt. If for some reason you need one and a half hours to learn the alphabet, don’t worry. Also, if the series that you chose lasts for 4 hours or 8 hours – it really doesn’t matter.

What’s important that you take this general timeframe and do the actions that it says. If you do that you’ll get a general feeling for the Russian language. You know some words and phrases, and maybe can even have a simple conversation in which you introduce yourself and ask how the other person is doing. What exactly you can speak also doesn’t really matter. The main thing is that you’ve gotten curious for more and that you had fun along the process.

If you did that right, then you will be full of motivation for continuing your Russian studies. And I’m sure that with time you will be speaking fluently.

Here are some things that you can do after the first 20 hours to become better in Russian:

watch more Russian TV series or movies

sign up for a Russian Pod 101 account and listen to the audio podcasts

Get an online private tutor through iTalki

read my full guide how to learn Russian in one year

P.S. want to learn more about the methods and science about the 20 hours to study Russian approach? Then check out the first 20 hours book by Josh Kaufman.