Andrei Tarkovsky is one of, if not the most famous Russian film director of all time. One of his most beloved films by Russian people, Зеркало (1975) is a semi-autobiographical sequence of clips playing with memory, war, and daily life in Moscow. The film features stunning creative techniques, such as Tarkovsky’s famous long shots. The …
If you’re planning a trip to Russia soon or hoping to go there eventually, museums are a great way to learn about a city’s history and culture. Of course there’s the Hermitage in St. Petersburg: Peter the Great’s old palace that is now one of the largest art museums in the world. If you go …
Soviet cartoons are some of the best out there. Along with their artistic value, they’re great for keeping up your Russian! Here are a few suggestions to start with. Винни Пух is the Russian version of Winnie the Pooh. This first came out as a film in 1969, followed by two other sequels. The main …
Кухня is a Russian sitcom that came out in 2012, and consists of 6 seasons and 120 episodes. It follows the story of the main character, Maxim Lavrov, and his quest to become a chef in one of Moscow’s best restaurants “Claude Monet.” Maxim, along with the rest of the restaurant’s workers, are constantly finding themselves …
Continue reading “Media Recommendation: “Кухня” (“Kitchen”)”
Стиляги [2008] (Stilyagi, translated as Hipsters) is a movie musical set in Moscow in the mid 1950s. Its story follows a boy named Mels as he transitions from fitting in with the grey and black dress of Soviet youth, to that of the colorful stilyagi. The stilyagi were Russians who thought Americans wore bright, outlandish clothing, …
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, and is spoken by about 1 million people. It is a Uralic, Finnic language, but borrows many words from German and Russian, so the vocabulary might not be as daunting as it would seem if you’ve studied or speak other Indo-European languages. There are many dialects, but the …
LanguageTool is a web-based grammar tool, useful for correcting texts in many languages or for checking your spelling. LanguageTool supports a large number of languages, including many not offered at Reed. These include: Asturian, Belarusian, Breton, Catalan, Dutch, Esperanto, French, Galician, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Perrsian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, …
Cooljugator (https://cooljugator.com/ru) is a verb conjugation app for many languages, including Russian! This is great for a refresher on how to conjugate verbs you already know, or if you run into a new type of verb that you’re not sure about. Because it’s just for verbs, you don’t have to sort through a dictionary entry …
Antidote: Antidote is powerful spelling and grammar correction software built specifically for French. It integrates with MS Word but can also be used alone. Antidote works with built-in grammar and vocabulary reference resources, providing users with comprehensive explanations of errors and possible corrections. Because Antidote is made for French speakers, the interface and reference works …
Continue reading “Tips for BonPatron, Antidote, LanguageTool, Reverso”
Mango is great for anyone learning any language — unlike Duolingo, you can take a specific lesson in any order you wish. Use the Reed library login (instructions on the Language Lab website) for free access. It also has more fun lessons, such as ones that teach you Russian slang!