Hello Russian language lovers. I am going to write several different topics about learning Russian.

My name is Nikolina, I am 26 years old. I am from Serbia and I live in Novi Sad. I have just finished Faculty of philosophy in Novi Sad, the department of Russian language and literature. There are a lot of different programs such as Serbian language, English, German, French, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, history, pedagogy, psychology, social work, journalism and etc.

I used to live in Sremski Karlovci. It s the small town for about 15 km from Novi Sad. I went to the Karlovci Gymnasium, its the high school and the oldest secondary school in Serbia. This type of school is comparable to U.S. college preparatory schools or English grammar schools. The Gymnasium of Karlovci provides two departments: classical languages and modern.

Before I decided to go to the college I have never learned or heard Russian before. I knew a few words such as: бабушка, дедушка, до свидания, phrases  as добрый день, добрый вечер, and  водка of course. When I was fourth grade I decided that I want to learn a new language and I chose Russian. I learned Russian grammar and literature for 5 months, reading books for reception to faculty. Everything was new to me, exciting and interesting but at the same time fearful. I asked myself how I would learn Russian language in five months, but I can say I succeeded. I was eighteen when I decided that I want to learn Russian and its culture, history as well.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head, if you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” (Nelson Mandela)

Learning some new language is incredible way to understand people around you. People will approach you. They’ll want to talk to you. They’ll want to know what motivated you to “bother” learning another language. Also learning a second language opens up a ton of career opportunities. That was my motivation.

My two tips for staying motivated:

1. Visualize your goal.

 You learn Russian for a reason, right?  Perhaps you want to reconnect with your heritage, get more out of your travels, or make yourself more competitive in the marketplace. When your brain is focused on learning grammar and verb conjugations, it makes sense that these concrete goals may slip out of your mind. But research shows that returning to these images and visualizing your goals can help you succeed.

2. Reward yourself.

To stay on track, divide up your main goal of learning a new language into smaller goals and milestones, and then reward yourself after you reach each one. For example, you mastered all the vocabulary in the food and drink category so you’ll finally throw that fancy dinner party you’ve been dreaming about (which doubles as an excuse to show off your new skills to all your friends). A big reward at the end, – international trip!! Great, right? But don’t forget to celebrate your small triumphs along the way.

I cannot wait to write again and my next article will be devoted to common problems by learning a foreign language.

Until next time,

Your Nina

My Instagram page

P.S. So if you wish to learn the Russian language online for any purpose – welcome to learn Russian online!