Learn Russian in NYC :: Williamsburg

$315 for each 20-hour class

Our Russian classes are 20 hours each, usually meeting once a week for 2 hours for 10 weeks. Our Williamsburg classrooms are two blocks from the Graham Avenue L train stop.

как дела?

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Manhattan
Williamsburg
Private Lessons

Level 1

There are no open classes for this level at the moment. We'll be adding one soon!

See class options in Manhattan »
Info about Books/Materials for Level 1 »

Books information for Level 1

Required Text: You will need a copy of Russian Step By Step: Beginner by Natasha Alexandrova, ISBN 9780982304204. Depending on availability (there will be a "buy" button if we have some in stock), you can purchase a copy through us here. You may be able to find less expensive used copies online if you prefer to go that route.

Suggested Texts: You may want to have a Russian-English dictionary. Don't worry too much about brands as they don't matter that much. Dictionaries are available online and in most bookstores!

We ship all books to the shipping address you list during checkout. Please purchase all books seven days in advance of your class start date to guarantee they will arrive in time. Brooklyn students can purchase a book in person at our Williamsburg location but should not preorder the book through our website unless they would like it shipped.

Plan on taking notes and keeping handouts organized in some way. The folder that all Fluent City students receive on the first day of class usually does the trick just fine!

Don't see the level you are looking for or a class that works for your schedule? Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at the top of this page and we'll notify you when we add new classes that work for you!

Level 3

Level 3 Group Classes
in Williamsburg

Saturdays 1:00-3:00pm
September 7 - November 16
* Skips October 12
See class options in Manhattan »
Info about Books/Materials for Level 3 »

Books information for Level 3

We are still figuring out what the book will be for Level 3 Russian and will let you know as soon as a book is selected!

No matter your level, you will probably also want a Russian-English dictionary. Don't worry too much about brands as they don't matter that much.

Plan on taking notes and keeping handouts organized in some way. The folder that all Fluent City students receive on the first day of class usually does the trick just fine!

Level 2

Level 2 Group Classes
in Williamsburg

Wednesdays 7:30-9:30pm
June 26 - September 4
* Skips July 3

*Only a few spots left!*

See class options in Manhattan »
Info about Books/Materials for Level 2 »

Books information for Level 2

Required Text: You will need a copy of Russian Step By Step: Beginner by Natasha Alexandrova, ISBN 9780982304204. Depending on availability (there will be a "buy" button if we have some in stock), you can purchase a copy through us here. You may be able to find less expensive used copies online if you prefer to go that route.

Suggested Texts: You may want to have a Russian-English dictionary. Don't worry too much about brands as they don't matter that much. Dictionaries are available online and in most bookstores!

We ship all books to the shipping address you list during checkout. Please purchase all books seven days in advance of your class start date to guarantee they will arrive in time. Brooklyn students can purchase a book in person at our Williamsburg location but should not preorder the book through our website unless they would like it shipped.

Plan on taking notes and keeping handouts organized in some way. The folder that all Fluent City students receive on the first day of class usually does the trick just fine!

More about Level 1

Taught in English. Level 1 is for those who have no experience with the Russian language, or perhaps gathered extremely limited vocabulary through family and friends but never formally studied the language. In Level 1, students are introduced to the sounds and characters of the Russian alphabet, basic rules of pronunciation and spelling and vocabulary consisting of two or three syllable easy-to-pronounce words. If you can struggle through saying “Hello! My name is...I am American, I live in New York and work in an office” in Russian, you may want to check out Level 2 description to be sure it isn’t a more appropriate level for you.

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More about Level 2

Level 2 is for those who are relatively comfortable with the characters and sounds in the Russian alphabet, present tense conjugation (I live/you live/he lives, I work/you work/he works, etc.) and have very limited vocabulary. Students should feel comfortable struggling through introducing themselves, talking about what language(s) they speak, where they live and work, as well as briefly describing qualities of objects (colors, size). In Level 2, the professor reviews everything from Level 1 and then starts to walk students through more complex sentence structures by introducing them to all six cases of Russian nouns, as well as concepts such as: counting objects of different genders, using ordinal numbers (3rd, 4th, etc.) to express dates and time. If you can struggle through sentences such as "Hello! My name is...I am American. I live in New York. I study Russian. I love to read and to watch TV. I have a black cat. His name is Raven." and could ask someone "What is it? Where is this/that? What color is it? Whose is this?," then Level 2 is for you.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

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More about Level 3

Level 3 is for those who are comfortable with converting the ends of nouns depending on whether they are an object of an action, a subject in a sentence, or a mean by which the action is performed (i.e. changing the end of the word library for "I work in a library/I am walking toward a library/I live near a library"). Level 3 students are also comfortable with present and past tense conjugation in Russian, though they may need a review of both concepts. In Level 3, the professor reviews core concepts from Level 2 and students practice building sentences utilizing all cases of Russian nouns in class discussions. The concepts of future tense, superlative adjectives, and usage of verbs of motion (to go, to drive, to run etc) with prefixes are also introduced. If you are able to easily say things like “My name is John and I have a big family. I live in New York and I am a lawyer. I think about my family in California often” and can answer questions such as “What is your profession? How old are you? What season is it now? What day is it? What date is it? What time is it? and make a small sentence reflexive verbs, i.e. Every morning I wash (myself) and dress (myself) and go to work., then Level 3 is the right level for you.

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on these descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a specific class. We try to do an informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a game plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

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How do I know which level I am?

Each 20-hour class is a “level” (Level 1, Level 2, etc.) and most students choose to continue on to the next level at the end. If you are an absolute beginner and/or wish to start at the very beginning, you should choose a Level 1 class. Level 2 is for students who are at least a tiny bit familiar with how the language works and have taken at least one class at some point before, even if it was a long time ago.

A Level 2 student can usually struggle through saying something like: "Hello, my name is ___, I live in Brooklyn. I have a cat. My brother is a professor…"; but would not be able to say more complex things like "I wanted to meet up tonight, but I forgot that you aren't available."

For students who think they may be Level 2 or higher, choose the level that sounds most appropriate for you based on the descriptions and go ahead and sign up for a class. We try to do a informal placement phone call with all new incoming Level 2 and above students for both you and us to be sure that the level you choose isn’t either too advanced or not advanced enough. If your level choice doesn't make sense when we talk with you on the phone, we'll make a plan to transfer you into a different class at that time. We prefer to make this placement call after you sign up online because about 70-80% of students do place themselves accurately.

If we aren't able to reach you for the placement call before your class starts, do attend the first session. If your professor agrees that you have placed yourself either too high or two low after that first class, then we are happy to transfer you to a different class at that time.

If you want to go ahead and purchase the book(s) required for the course you sign up for so that you have it in time for the first class, but end up changing to a different level class that uses a different book, we are happy to buy the unused new book back from you for no more than the price listed on our website (fluentcity.com/books) for that specific book.

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