Foundation Russian New Edition (Learn Russian with the Michel Thomas Method)

The original no-books, no-homework, no-memorizing course that gets you speaking and understanding basic Russian in weeks, not years. The revolutionary, stress-free Michel Thomas Method is in tune with the way the brain prefers to receive, store and retrieve information. It has helped over 5 million people learn a language.

Experience significant results in a remarkably short period of time thanks to the unique Michel Thomas Method, perfected over 50 years by celebrated linguist Michel Thomas. The method works in tune with how the brain prefers to receive, store and then retrieve information. You'll stick with it, because you'll love it.

Pick up Russian naturally and unforgettably, without strain

Learn from listening and speaking, without the pressure of writing or memorizing

Build up your Russian in manageable steps by thinking out answers for yourself

How does it work?

During this eight-hour live course, you will learn the language along with two students, hearing both their successes and their mistakes to keep you motivated and involved throughout. Within the first hour you will be able to construct simple sentences. By the end of the course, you will have the confidence to understand and speak basic Russian. You will learn at your own pace, pausing and repeating where necessary, and complete the course in about 20-30 hours.

Why is it so successful?

'What you understand, you know; and what you know, you don't forget.' - Michel Thomas

Michel Thomas believed that the greatest barrier to any form of learning was stress: stress from worrying about remembering what you are being taught, stress from being afraid to make a mistake, stress from failing.

With the Michel Thomas Method, all the attention is focused on removing stress and tension from the learning environment. The teacher takes on full responsibility for your understanding, and therefore your remembering, of what is being taught. In fact, the Michel Thomas Method forbids you from trying to memorize. There's no writing, no books, no homework.

The Michel Thomas Method works by stripping away all inessential language and breaking down the most important language into its component parts. Crystal-clear building blocks are then presented, and only when they are absorbed and understood is the next piece of the puzzle introduced, enabling you to reconstruct the language for yourself - to form your own sentences, to say what you want, when you want.

What's in the Course?

FOUNDATION RUSSIAN comprises nine audio CDs. The booklet is available to download from

*Note that the course content is the same as the previous TOTAL RUSSIAN edition.

Learn anywhere

Michel Thomas Method audio courses let you learn whenever you want: at home, in your car, or on the move. The audio CDs are MP3-compatible.

What learners are saying

I experienced the same sort of pleasure that you got from suddenly getting a crossword clue right or cracking a code...the finger-sn

“Works like a dream-- Daily Telegraph”

The nearest thing to painless learning - The Times

A unique and perfectly brilliant way of learning languages

The most extraordinary learning experience of my life

Thomas makes it simple - Sunday Times

Works like a dream - Daily Telegraph

Michel Thomas is a precious find indeed - The Guardian

Five minutes in and you already feel like you're winning - Time Out

'The thrill is that you're actually figuring it out on your own. You're engaging with another language, not just parroting it... It's an excellent way to start, and leaves the listener thinking, Hey, Ich kann do dis.' - New Yorker

Michel Thomas (Author)

Michel Thomas (1914-2005) had an amazing life. Born in Poland, he spent his early years in Germany and then in France, where he studied psychology at the Sorbonne in Paris. When war broke out, he fought with the Resistance and suffered imprisonment in labour camps. At the end of the war he joined the US liberation army and later settled in the US where he established his world-famous language school. Languages, being his strength and passion became the focus of the next 50 years of his life that he spent developing a method that he hoped would change the way we teach and learn - so that everyone could succeed. He developed this method 'that works with the brain'. After creating several courses of his own, he passed on his method so that other teachers might use it too.

Natasha Bershadski (Author)

Natasha Bershadski studied at Moscow State Linguistic University and has taught at King's College London, University College London, and in the FCO Diplomatic Service. She is the author of all Michel Thomas Russian courses and co-author of Colloquial Russian (Routledge).

Experience significant results in a remarkably short period of time thanks to the unique Michel Thomas Method, perfected over 50 years by celebrated linguist Michel Thomas. The method works in tune with how the brain prefers to receive, store and then retrieve information. You'll stick with it, because you'll love it. Pick up Russian naturally and unforgettably, without strain Learn from listening and speaking, without the pressure of writing or memorizing Build up your Russian in manageable steps by thinking out answers for yourself How does it work? During this eight-hour live course, you will learn the language along with two students, hearing both their successes and their mistakes to keep you motivated and involved throughout. Within the first hour you will be able to construct simple sentences. By the end of the course, you will have the confidence to understand and speak basic Russian. You will learn at your own pace, pausing and repeating where necessary, and complete the course in about 20-30 hours. Why is it so successful? 'What you understand, you know; and what you know, you don't forget.' - Michel Thomas Michel Thomas believed that the greatest barrier to any form of learning was stress: stress from worrying about remembering what you are being taught, stress from being afraid to make a mistake, stress from failing.With the Michel Thomas Method, all the attention is focused on removing stress and tension from the learning environment. The teacher takes on full responsibility for your understanding, and therefore your remembering, of what is being taught. In fact, the Michel Thomas Method forbids you from trying to memorize. There's no writing, no books, no homework.The Michel Thomas Method works by stripping away all inessential language and breaking down the most important language into its component parts. Crystal-clear building blocks are then presented, and only when they are absorbed and understood is the next piece of the puzzle introduced, enabling you to reconstruct the language for yourself - to form your own sentences, to say what you want, when you want. What's in the Course? FOUNDATION RUSSIAN comprises nine audio CDs. The booklet is available to download from *Note that the course content is the same as the previous TOTAL RUSSIAN edition. Learn anywhere Michel Thomas Method audio courses let you learn whenever you want: at home, in your car, or on the move. The audio CDs are MP3-compatible. What learners are saying I experienced the same sort of pleasure that you got from suddenly getting a crossword clue right or cracking a code...the finger-sn

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