What are the best apps for learning Russian for free? How can you make your vocabulary rich, modern, and interesting? What are the best tools to practice Russian alone?
This is the first part of my “Best tools” series where I’ll share the best translators and apps you can use to expand your vocabulary, write a serious letter (university or new job), and read Russian texts/news without any problems.
If you study Russian and want to have the full pack of great tools that can help you to improve your pronunciation and speaking, and also greatly expand your vocabulary, this is for you!
I think we all want to find solid resources that can provide only up-to-date information when it comes to learning new languages. There are tons of textbooks with old-fashioned phrases and lists of vocabulary no one is using anymore. So how can you find something good among all of these options? Of course, only by trying new things, you can find something that matches your expectations, but here I’ll show you MY list of favorite tools, that I’ve been using for a looooong time with my students and for myself.
1. Flashcards (Quizlet, Anki, etc)
Yes, everyone knows this word, but is it really that good how people describe it? The answer is simple – YES! I was very skeptical about flashcards at first and they’d never worked for me….I think I’d tried working with flashcards 3 or 4 times and it wasn’t good. UNTIL I found my own method of how to work with them. This is the KEY! Only by creating the best pattern and strategy, you can see the full potential of this amazing tool.
This is a new whole level of studying if you really know how to use it. I’ve been using Quizlet PROPERLY for almost 2 years and everything I practiced there is still in my head. This is amazing. (Quizlet is not paying me for promoting them btw haha).
You can get 100% from this app for FREE. I’ve been using only the Free version and learned thousands of words and phrases there.
The only negative moment for many of you is that it’s really time-consuming. You have to create flashcards first (if we talk about 100-200 words it takes a lot of time!) and then practice, of course. So you will spend about 1-2h making flashcards first, but THEN you’ll be able to practice them over and over again. So it’s up to you, but I think spending a couple of hours is worth it.
I think it’s a good idea to show you how I create and work with flashcards and I will definitely write a post about it.
2. Reverso. context
My number 1 tool! I don’t know how to describe my love for this app. I’ve expanded my vocabulary tremendously only thanks to this app.
Reverso is an online translator, but I recommend using their Context option. You write any word or a part of a phrase and pick 2 languages. Then you click Search and see this word or phrase in a context. It can be some phrase from a movie or a book. Even if you don’t know how to say the full phrase you can type only 2 or 3 words and the system will automatically show you everything with those 2 words. You can also play audio and listen to the full sentence if you’re not sure about how to read it. Another great option is saving words that you want to learn! You click on a “star” and put the word into your “favorites” folder. Later you can practice this vocabulary by simply picking “Learn” option.
Another part of Reverso is Conjugation. For Russian learners it’s a MUST HAVE option. Write or find any Russian verb, open the “table” sign next to it and you will see THE FULL list of conjugation for this particular verb. By clicking on any form from the list you can listen to the audio. Looks like a Christmas present, right?
Again, I’ve been using ONLY the free version. They have a Premium option as well but I don’t need it and never felt like I was missing something using a free option.
In combination with Quizlet, this can be the strongest tool ever for learning new vocabulary!
3. DeepL
Another great translator that I really trust. You can use it if you need to write a formal letter (I’ve used it many times for writing serious letters) or just something casual. There’s no context or examples, only a translator. You can pick the style of your text and the system will change some words according to the style you picked.
You can translate documents using DeepL as well!
I don’t use it for learning new words or phrases, only if I need to write something serious and I want my text to look solid and proper.
Again, I’ve been using ONLY the free version and it works amazing!
4. Glosbe
Reverso. context’s twin! It works the same way, you get phrases or words in context. I was using this website for Swedish for a loooong time, but now I switched to my favorite Reverso. context, because I think it’s much better.
Again, it’s FREE.
5. Tr-ex. me
Another context translator that I can recommend. They give you many phrases and lots of contexts. And they have many languages as well! I was using both Glosbe and Tr-ex.me and sometimes Tr-ex.me gave me more modern examples, which I liked better!
And of course, it’s FREE.
6. Rememberry (Google Chrome extension)
A fantastic tool that I’ve been using for a pretty long time already! This is my number 1 recommendation for students who want to read articles, news, etc in Russian. It’s a free extension for Google Chrome. When you install it you can start reading any text in Russian (or other languages) and when you click on a word or a phrase (btw, you can highlight the full text!!!) you will get the translation of it in a mini window next to the text.
3 fantastic news about this extension:
1) It’s FREE (of course)
2) You can LISTEN to words/phrases/texts you just translated by clicking on the “audio button” next to your translation! So if you found a new word you can translate it and learn how to pronounce it correctly. This is AMAZING!
3) If you want to add some new words or phrases from the text to your vocabulary list you can simply click on the “star” sign and the system will automatically create a flashcard for you! When you log in you can see your flashcards. Isn’t it a great tool for $0?
You can read absolutely any text in Russian, learn new words, listen to them and save them for your future practice.
That’s all for today’s post, I hope you found something new here and will try some of these apps. I have more things to share and I will definitely write a new post about it. Please, don’t forget that having all great tools is a fantastic opportunity to improve, but only with consistency and dedication, you can reach amazing results. Regular practice is the key!
Увидимся скоро 🙂
Can I simply say what a comfort to find someone who actually understands what they are discussing on the net. You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people should check this out and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you are not more popular since you most certainly have the gift.