How I taught myself Russian (Repost)

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　　It’s been many years since I graduated, and I’ve never really studied or used Russian properly, although my grades in school were fairly good. I started using the internet from the summer before last, and then resumed learning Russian, a language I had forgotten for the most part; it’s been two years now, and I’m quite satisfied with my progress. Of course, there are still many areas where I need improvement. I’d like to take this as an opportunity to summarize my progress so far and look ahead to the future. ()() Learning Russian online starts with practicing the Russian keyboard. I downloaded a Russian typing software called Baby from the Crazy Russian website, and I also drew a diagram of the Russian keyboard to keep by me. After practicing for some time, my typing speed in Russian gradually improved. This can be considered the first step in a long journey. 　　Then I started chatting with netizens in Russian. At first, I could only use Russian to greet others, introduce myself, get to know them, ask some simple questions, as well as use common phrases for wishes and goodbyes. Gradually, I was no longer satisfied with that; I began to learn how others communicated in Russian, carefully studying the messages of those who were good at it. When I encountered new words, I would look them up in a dictionary right away, and I even took notes, reviewing them from time to time. These are things that can be learned while having a casual conversation. 　　At that time I thought that language is a tool for expressing thoughts and feelings and for communicating with others; if one can express everything in their mind in Chinese, Russian, or English, then from the perspective of the communicative function of language, they can be said to make full use of it. So I consciously translate some of the things I want to say. However, translating from Chinese to Russian requires a high level of proficiency in the Russian language; one can’t keep bothering others, so this path needs to be taken slowly. 　　I started looking for something readable online. At first, with a limited vocabulary and wanting to maintain my interest in the Russian language, I looked for short and concise materials to read, such as interesting aphorisms, jokes, short prose pieces, poems, as well as beautiful Russian songs that I could listen to while reading their lyrics. Mainly, the reading materials I choose are those that match my interests; since I like them and am familiar with them, I find it easy to keep reading them. Just listening and watching wasn’t enough; feeling motivated, I started trying to translate, and that’s how this translation blog came into being. I browse for new and interesting things every day, and my interest in Russian is growing stronger by the day. Sometimes I feel tired and want to stop, but I can’t. What’s more important now is having so many friends who support and encourage me. I think that if, while improving myself, I can also be of benefit to all of you online users, then what I do has value, and my time and life won’t have been wasted. So I also try my best to keep going. The most frequently read content is certainly the interesting quotes. I’ve read Li Ning’s \"Crazy English,\" and his books are also mostly composed of individual sentences; one can learn something from each sentence, such as grammar, structure, phrases, expressions, as well as the educational value inherent in those sentences. Speaking of this, I recall having read in someone else’s learning experiences that when learning a foreign language, it is better to memorize phrases rather than individual words, and it is even better to memorize sentences rather than phrases. So, as I read and translated these interesting remarks, I unknowingly learned a lot. Having a large number of ready-made sentences in mind can help improve one’s speaking skills. Including occasional humorous remarks in everyday conversations adds a lot of fun to life. Those who are interested might as well give it a try. Learning Russian can also involve imitating this learning method used by Crazy English. Hehe. 　　Although I’ve tried to translate some lyrics, I only managed to capture their meaning; I’m not able to sing them along to the music. This is a **shortcoming. Russian Language Studies* The poet whose poems I tried to translate said that what I produced was nothing more than a simple rhyme; I have no argument against that. I’ve always felt extremely insecure about my abilities, as it’s those with a deep understanding of literature who should undertake literary translations. If my translation has disrespected the works of Russian literary masters, please forgive me, an ignorant and inexperienced girl, out of consideration for my eagerness to learn.