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RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
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Thanks to the advice of his parents, Andy started studying Russian while still
a junior in high school. His love of the language inspired him to become a
Russian major at Amherst College, to spend his junior year of college in Russia,
and then to pursue a doctorate in Russian language and literature at Stanford.
He has been teaching Russian to college students
and professionals for over a decade. He is the co-author of the acclaimed
Russian for Dummies
For more information on reasons to learn Russian, ten ways to pick up Russian quickly,
and ten favorite Russian expressions, click on one of these links:
Speaking more than one language is like living more than one life, one of the ancient philosophers said. And it’s true — traveling in a foreign country such as Russia suddenly becomes a lot more exciting when you can engage in elegant small talk with a hotel receptionist, compliment your tour guide’s dress, or actually read the menu and order the food that you really want. Being able to ask for things instead of pointing at them, and getting directions from the locals instead of staring at a map are some of the little things that make you feel at home.
You don’t even need to cross the ocean to immerse yourself in Russian culture; you can find little Russian neighborhoods (or even pretty big ones!) in many American cities. Whether your colleagues, your neighbors, or your friends speak Russian, the best way to win their hearts is to speak their language to them.
Right now nearly 450 million people are fluent in Russian, and interest in this popular language is only increasing. Federal agencies and many businesses that are realizing the potential of the Russian market will look to those applicants who are fluent in Russian. In January of 2006 President Bush announced a new hundred-million-dollar initiative to bolster U.S. national security by expanding foreign language education in this country. The languages he named as key strategic languages are Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Farsi, and Russian.
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