Great YouTube Channels for Studying Russian

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YouTube is a goldmine of resources for learning foreign languages, and Russian is no exception. In this post, we recommend six specific channels for Russian learners. Read the descriptions, watch sample clips, and decide for yourself which ones will be most helpful and interesting to you.

Great YouTube Channels for Studying Russian

YouTube is a goldmine of resources for learning foreign languages, and Russian is no exception. In this post, we recommend six specific channels for Russian learners. Read the descriptions, watch sample clips, and decide for yourself which ones will be most helpful and interesting to you.

1. Russian Grammar

As the name suggests, this channel is a great resource for Russian grammar. These short clips, usually no more than 5 minutes, cover a very specific grammar point, such as one or two particular verbs of motion (such as водить, in the above video) or one particular use of a particular case, so the material is easy to digest. Each video has clear explanations in English with images and text that make it easier to understand, as well as clear examples in Russian. Watching a couple relevant videos between classes is a quick and easy way to reinforce a concept you’re currently learning, to preview a new topic you’ll cover soon or to fill in gaps in your basic knowledge of Russian grammar. Check out their playlists of videos on pronunciationverbs of motions, or participles.

2. Explore Russian

Unlike most Russian teaching youtubers, Angelos Georgakis is not a native speaker, but also a student of Russian himself. In many of his videos, which are usually in Russian with Russian and English subtitles, he asks people on the streets of St. Petersburg or in public places to explain certain grammar points (such as imperfective and perfective verbs in the above video). This a great way to listen to real Russian conversations and also reinforce a particular grammar point. In other videos, he also discusses language learning tips and his experience with learning Russian.

3. Conversational Russian

Despite the name, most of the videos in this channel focus on a particular area of Russian grammar or vocabulary (such as the difference between учить, учиться and изучать), though a few also deal specifically with conversational topics, such as questions to avoid when talking to Russians (video above). This is a good channel for those who want to listen to grammar explanations almost exclusively in Russian.

4. Russian from Scratch

These short (usually less than 5 minute) videos tend to focus on vocabulary or phrases for a specific topic or situation (such as the video above about expressing interest in a conversation), a specific pronunciation difficulty (such as ы versus и), or conversational Russian for a specific situation (such as going to McDonald’s). There are lots of example sentences, which are both spoken and written.

5. Learn Russian with RussianPod101

This channel has many videos which introduce 15 or 25 Russian words of a particular theme (common verbs, common phrases, common nous, words about happiness, etc), with the pronunciation and spelling of each word, as well as several example sentences for each word that are spoken and written in Russian and English. It also

6. Real Russian Club

This is a good channel for comprehension practice for beginner and intermediate students. In the video clips/podcast called, “Slow Russian”, this youtuber talks about different topics slowly in Russian so that learners can understand more easily. You can choose to listen with English, Russian or no subtitles. She often introduces some interesting aspects of Russian culture as well. The above video is a “Slow Russian” about Russian villages. She also has translations, transcripts and vocabulary lists on her website.

 

These channels aim to specifically teach grammar, the alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary or expressions, etc to foreigners learning Russian, but don’t forget that you can find lots of Russian music and television on YouTube as well! In a future post, we’ll give you some good places to start if you want to listen or watch more Russian for native speakers.