Olga - Central Manchester - Russian

When I arrived at my first lesson I was surprised to learn that no English would be spoken, unlike other language classes I have attended where instructions for tasks were given in English. The first five minutes were confusing and required most concentration as I got to grips with not only hearing Russian but also seeing how it was written. After the initial confusion I was surprised at how easy it was to follow the lesson and work out what I should be doing. I absolutely LOVED it!!!

I enjoyed being able to practice the vocabulary I had learnt with other members of the class. I noticed that when we went for a break at the end of lesson all the class were still attempting to practice the Russian they had learnt on one another. I really enjoyed the lesson and was pleased to have learnt some basic vocabulary and phrases which would be understood by a native Russian speaker.

I had previously learned Spanish to GCSE level, and a little German, and so, I was looking forward to the first session of Russian. To begin with I had some difficulty pronouncing certain sounds because the stress and intonation was different from English. After a while, I felt quite comfortable with this, thanks to the patience of my teacher.

The teacher introduced the written form of the language to me and this is the point where thought I'd encounter some difficulty. This is because in my previous foreign language learning, the alphabets were similar to the English alphabet. In the Russian alphabet there are many phonetic and visual differences. However, I was amazed how quickly it became clear and more interesting once an element of explanation was introduced. The sounds became more understandable, clear and functional.

My personal feeling about my first session is that I felt very comfortable with the teacher and the tasks. I feel that my needs have been accommodated really well. I was very pleased with my progress after the first session. On my way back home the Russian words I learnt in the lesson still sounded in my head. Look forward to my next class!

At the beginning we were a bit nervous, because we didn't know what to expect. Olga though was able to calm our nerves and draw us into participating into the lesson; this was done, through good use of body language and building up a rapport with myself and that of my fellow students. As we got to know not only the tutor but also each other a little more, people became more eager to practice the vocabulary. One activity that really brought us as a group together was when we had a mingling activity.

Olga's performance in front of the class was impressive: she did not appear nervous or intimidated to me and seemed at ease in her discourse with the class. She articulated well and her use of exaggerated body language and mime were handled confidently (I imagine, if handled badly, such methods can seem either somewhat foolish or patronising) and she easily found and shared amusement with her audience.

It would be nice to have a chance to throw myself once more into the experience of learning Russian with Olga. Unfortunately or fortunately, I've now moved to Russia…

The tutor's rapport with us was fundamental to gaining the interest and maintained attention of the group….

Teacher's use of mime and repetition really got the basic points across and I even forgot I was spoken to in Russian.