6 Best Russian Audiobooks For Beginners + Guide To Learn Russian With Them
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Audiobooks are one of the best language tools you should definitely incorporate into your Russian learning journey. Not only help you to get familiar with the language as a beginner, but they teach you to pronounce words correctly right from the beginning. This article will introduce you to the best Russian audiobooks for beginners. It’ll also explain to you why it’s amazing to learn Russian with audiobooks and how you should approach learning Russian with these audiobooks. So let’s dive right into it.
List Of The Best Russian Audiobooks for Beginners
Here is the list of the best Russian audiobooks for beginners. I’ve ranked them from the easiest one to use for complete beginners to the more advanced audiobooks:
- Learn Russian for Beginners Easily & In Your Car
- 101 Conversations in Simple Russian
- Short Stories Russian
- Conversational Russian Dialogues
- Russian Short Stories for Beginners: Volume 1
- Russian Short Stories for Beginners: Volume 2
Why Are Audiobooks So Beneficial For Language Learners?
Learning languages with audiobooks comes with a few benefits. Here is a lot of reasons why you should choose some of these Russian audiobooks to learn the language:
- help you to get familiar with the language & its pronunciation right from the start
- teach you how to pronounce words correctly
- ability to listen to them (and learn the language) when commuting to work or school
- you can learn the language while doing other activities (cleaning the house, doing sports)
- help you to memorize new vocabulary more effectively
- make you more excited about language learning
How To Learn Russian With Audiobooks?
Before we jump to the actual list of audiobooks, it is important to know how you can actually learn Russian with them. That’s why I’ve put together a simple and quick guide for you. Check it out below to get the most out of these audiobooks.
- Listen to 1 section of the audiobook
- Listen to it again and try to catch a few words and meaning of the story
- Get a printed version of the audiobook
- Highlight words you want to learn from the section
- Translate the words you want to learn
- Read the section once again and try to understand the whole context
- Listen to the audiobook over and over until you understand it very well
Quick Guide For Learning Russian With Audiobooks
First of all, I recommend you listen to a small section of the audiobook for 10 to 15 minutes. After, listen to the same section and try to catch some words. See if you can understand anything similar to your native language.
It is always important to work with a printed version of the audiobook. So as the next step, take the printed version and try to read it on your own (if you’ve already learned the Russian alphabet). If you don’t know the Russian alphabet yet, check out my article about the most useful Eastern European language to learn. It is Russian, and inside, I give you 4 steps to learn the Russian alphabet effectively.
After, highlights words you want to remember from the sections. Next, take your language notebook and write this vocabulary down. Then, translate each word into your native language and write down the meaning.
Then it’s time to reread the same text with highlighted words and get familiar with it.
Use My Method To Learn Russian With Audiobooks
In the end, listen to the section repeatedly until you feel comfortable with it and understand it. Once you feel confident about the section, go for another one.
I also recommend listening to just one sentence, then stopping the audio and repeating the sentence aloud. It’ll help you to practice pronunciation right from the beginning, which is crucial. I do it all the time this way, and it significantly improves my language skills and understanding.
Check out my article about how to learn vocabulary fast. It’ll give you some great ideas for how you can learn vocabulary effectively and in a fun way.
Important Note & Advice For You
*Note that these audiobooks are great for beginners (A2 level). If you’re an absolute beginner and don’t know a word in Russian, I highly recommend you first go through the basic topics. This article will give you an overview of what to learn in a new language as a beginner. It will give you the foundation for your Russian learning.
Another important aspect for you as a Russian learner is to learn the Cyrillic alphabet at first. So as I mentioned above, go to my article about the most useful Eastern European language to learn and follow the 4 steps to learn the Russian alphabet.
Once you go through these basic topics and the Russian alphabet, you can start listening to audiobooks. It will eliminate possible frustration on your language journey.
Amazing. Now you know why audiobooks are so beneficial for us language learners. You’ve also learned how to work with them to get the most out of it. So let’s get to the actual list of the best Russian audiobooks for beginners.
1. Learn Russian For Beginners Easily & In Your Car
I recommend you start off with this audiobook as it includes the very basic vocabulary for complete beginners. It will give you the foundation for Russian learning. Also, it will teach you the simple topics from numbers to daily activities, basic verbs, colors, months, sports, feelings, and the list goes on and on. You get the point. This book will cover all the basic topics you need to when you start learning Russian.
Not only that. You can listen to the short phrases in your car. It will help you to get familiar with the pronunciation of the words. I recommend you repeat each word out loud to practice pronouncing them right from the beginning. Each word is pronounced slowly and multiple times to help you remember it.
With this book, you’ll learn over 1500 common Russian words. Once you are confident with these words and sentences, you can jump onto the next audiobook from the list.
2. 101 Conversations In Simple Russian
Another great audiobook I recommend you listen to at the beginning is Oly Richard’s 101 Conversation in Simple Russian. He’s done a great job incorporating day-to-day vocabulary in short dialogues. These conversations are set in typical daily situations everybody goes through, such as meeting friends, making arrangements, shopping, or having a café.
The audiobook contains 15,000 words in all dialogues with common vocabulary you would hear on the street in Moscow between people talking to each other.
Each conversation only contains 150 words to make it easier for you to keep track of the vocabulary and understand the dialogue. It also comes with a short summary for you to double-check the meaning.
This book will teach you the basic phrases you’ll need to communicate like a Russian local in everyday life.
3. Short Stories Russian
Once you’re done with the first two audiobooks that’ll teach you the Russian basics, it’s time to incorporate some fun stories into your learning journey. Short Stories Russian audiobook will make you want to learn Russian every single day with its engaging stories.
This audiobook includes 8 exciting stories, each written in a different genre. Some are thrillers, action-based, science fiction, fantasy, and some comedy. All of them use simple and everyday life vocabulary that every beginner can understand.
Take this audiobook, and it will eliminate all possible frustrations on your language learning journey. Its stories are entertaining and will make your Russian learning very natural.
Each story also comes with a bilingual list of words, plot summary, and comprehension questions to double-check whether you’ve understood the story correctly.
4. Conversational Russian Dialogues
These Conversational Russian Dialogues will take you to the next level. I particularly love this audiobook because it works with problems people have to face in their everyday lives. Two characters are trying to solve these issues inside the audiobook. So you’ll now challenge yourself and imagine you’re in trouble and have to solve it in the Russian language. This will significantly boost your confidence. It can be any situation from going to a doctor or finding an apartment in Moscow as an expat, booking a room, or ordering food as a traveler. Dive into these dialogues and try to solve the problems with the two characters.
The audiobook contains 100 conversations in the Russian language. Each one is accompanied by an English translation. It also has a few tips and tricks for you to understand and work with the story. All dialogues use simple and everyday life vocabulary that you will understand even as a beginner.
Series Of Russian Stories For Beginners
Last but not least, I recommend you go for the series of these two audiobooks that will wrap all the vocabulary up you’ve learned as a beginner. Audiobook series are especially great because they use the same language structure and similar words. It makes it easier for you to accommodate the language style and learn the language more effectively.
These audiobooks use simple vocabulary and teach you more complex travel phrases, Russian slang, and even future tense. That’s why I’ve included them as the last ones on this list. They’ll take you from the beginner level to the intermediate.
It also includes a summary in Russian and English to make sure you’ve understood the story. And it’ll challenge you with a set of tricky questions to double-check if you’ve understood the story. But don’t panic. There is an answer for you as well.
5. Russian Short Stories For Beginners: Volume 1
6. Russian Short Stories For Beginners: Volume 2
These are the best Russian audiobooks for beginners. Follow my strategy on how to effectively work and learn Russian with them. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve ranked them from the easiest ones to the more advanced ones. So if you’re a complete beginner, start with the first one and then incorporate some interesting stories into your learning process.
Get Audible For Russian Audiobooks
I’ve been using Audible for listening to audiobooks for over a year now. It’s one of the best audiobook platforms with thousands of choices.
If you want to try my method of learning the Russian language using one of these audiobooks, sign up today for free. You’ll get 1 month of a free trial, including 1 free Russian audiobook.
So check it out; it’s completely free.
Get 1 Trial Month + 1 Free Russian Audiobook
More Tips On Russian Learning
Listening is one of the most important language skills, especially at the beginning of your Russian learning journey. It helps you to gain the first insights into the structure of the language. You’ll learn how to pronounce words correctly and gain a better understanding. After, it’s time for you to incorporate more language resources and work on other language skills.
Start Reading Books & Learn The Russian Alphabet
After, I also recommend you start reading some books. Choose one of the best foreign language books in Russian. Especially with Russian, you must know how to read the Cyrillic alphabet, so reading is also crucial for you as a beginner. Also, get some Russian magazines, which is a great reading source. You can easily play around with them. For instance, you can cut images and texts and create flashcards with them or vocabulary walls. Further, play pexeso or scrabble and make your Russian learning a lot of fun.
If you want to know how you can learn the Russian alphabet (Cyrillic alphabet) in the best way, read my article about the most useful Eastern European language. I break it down into 4 steps.
Get A Russian App & Listen To Podcasts
Keep up with your Russian with the best language learning apps for speaking. It works with real dialogues and conversations that you can easily listen to in your car or while doing other activities. Or listen to some the best language learning podcasts in Russian. I recommend CoffeeBreak Russian.
Check out my language blog for more inspiration on Russian learning. Don’t forget to practice speaking Russian once you learn a substantial amount of words to speak.
I wish you happy Russian learning. Remember, that the most important thing is to have fun learning the language. So choose the right language resource that will make your learning interesting. It will significantly boost your Russian skills.
Get My Free Language Travel Notebook
Get my free language travel notebook I’ve designed for you. It serves you as a notebook where you can write all new vocabulary down. It’ll help you keep track of the vocabulary you want to learn and help you to learn it more effectively. Get it now for free:
