Russian Pronunciation Mistakes That Give You Away
Russian is one of those languages where you can sound “okay” on paper but very foreign out loud. You might know your cases, gender, and basic verbs… yet the moment you say «здравствуйте», every Russian instantly knows you’re not local.
That’s not a failure. It just means you’re still speaking Russian with English habits in your mouth, tongue, and ears. In this article, we’ll look at the most common pronunciation mistakes English‑speaking learners make in Russian, why they happen, and practical ways to fix them. The goal is not perfection. The goal is clearer, more natural Russian that feels easier for you to say and easier for natives to hear.
Why Pronunciation Matters More Than You Think
Why good grammar can still sound very foreign
Many Russian learners assume that if they “just speak correctly,” pronunciation will somehow follow. But Russian is full of traps that don’t show up in spelling or grammar tables:
Stress can jump around in different forms of the same word.
Vowels change their quality when they’re unstressed.
Consonants come in hard vs soft versions.
Voiced consonants often lose their voice at the end of a word.
You can have flawless cases and still sound like you’re reading a textbook out loud. Russian listeners will usually understand you, but they might have to work harder than you think.
Think about the words:
за́мок (castle) vs замо́к (lock)
му́ка (torment) vs мука́ (flour)
A small shift in stress and vowel quality completely changes the word. To a native speaker, “wrong stress + wrong vowel” can feel as jarring as saying “I live in New YOHK City” in English.
Understandable vs natural: two different goals
It’s helpful to separate two levels:
Understandable: People can figure out what you mean, even if your accent is strong.
Natural: Your Russian sounds like it “flows” with the language. People don’t need to decode every word.
You can reach “understandable” fairly quickly with basic sound approximations. But to sound natural, you need to pick up the deeper patterns: how stress works, how vowels shrink, how consonants change, and how rhythm feels in real speech.
The good news: a handful of targeted changes can dramatically shift how Russian you sound, even if your grammar and vocabulary stay exactly the same.
Why pronunciation often matters more than vocabulary at first
If you say a very simple sentence with great pronunciation:
Я немно́го говорю́ по‑ру́сски.
Most Russians will think “О, он(а) хорошо говорит!” even though your sentence is basic.
If you say a complex sentence with advanced vocabulary, but stress almost every word wrong and pronounce every “o” clearly, you’ll sound like a struggling beginner, even if your grammar is technically solid.
Pronunciation is the first thing people hear, and it colors their impression of your fluency and confidence. That can feel unfair—but you can also use it to your advantage.
The Big Building Blocks of Russian Sound
Before we dive into specific mistakes, it helps to know the big pieces you’re actually training when you work on pronunciation:
Stress: which syllable is strong in a word or phrase.
Vowel reduction: how unstressed vowels become weaker and more “blurred”.
Hard vs soft consonants: tongue position differences that can change word meaning.
Rhythm: how Russian alternates strong and weak syllables, and how words connect in sentences.
Final devoicing: how word‑final voiced consonants lose their voice.
Most “obvious foreign accent” features come from missing one of these building blocks. If you can train even two or three of them, your accent will change much faster than by learning 500 new words.
Core Pronunciation Mistakes (And How To Fix Them)
1. Unstressed vowels and the “O” problem
The mistake
English speakers love clear vowels. Russian doesn’t.
In Russian, unstressed vowels—especially “o” and “a”—become shorter and less clear. They move toward a more neutral sound, something like “uh” or “ah”. But English speakers often pronounce every written vowel clearly and fully, because that’s what they’re used to doing with new foreign words.
So you get things like:
молоко́ said as mo‑lo‑KO instead of something closer to ma‑la‑KO
хорошо́ said as ho‑ro‑SHO instead of something more like ha‑ra‑SHO
The stressed syllable should be the loudest and clearest. Everything else pulls back.
Why English speakers do it
English also reduces vowels, but the patterns are different, and you’ve had decades to get used to them. When you meet a new system (Russian), your brain just applies your old patterns, plus what you see in writing. If you learned the alphabet as “o is /o/”, you’ll try to say /o/ in every “o”.
Why it sounds unnatural
To Russian ears, clear vowels everywhere sound robotic, “school‑like”, and instantly foreign. Native speakers expect only one “strong” vowel in most words: the stressed one. Everything else should sound weaker and less distinct.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Try these simple drills:
Stress marker habit
Whenever you learn a new word, write it with stress:молоко́
голова́
доро́го
потому́
Say each word slowly and exaggerate the stressed syllable. Make it clearly louder and longer. Let the others become shorter and a bit “messy”.
“Rubber band” exercise
Imagine you are stretching a rubber band on the stressed syllable:ма‑ла‑КО́ (stretch on KÓ)
га‑ла‑ВА́ (stretch on ВА́)
Physically tap or stretch your fingers on the stressed part. Your body will start to “feel” stress, not just hear it.
Shadow with focus on vowels
Take a short native recording with transcript. Highlight all “o” letters. Listen once. Underline the ones that are stressed. Shadow the text focusing only on: stressed “o” strong and clear; others softened toward “a” or “uh”.
2. Hard and soft consonants (and the mysterious ы)
The mistake
Russian has pairs of consonants that differ by “hardness” vs “softness” (palatalization). A soft consonant is produced with the middle of the tongue slightly raised toward the hard palate. In writing, you often see this before vowels like е, ё, и, ю, я or with the soft sign ь.
English doesn’t have this systematic contrast, so English speakers often:
Ignore softness and say everything “hard”.
Or overdo softness and create an extra “y” sound: люк becomes lyuk with an extra tiny syllable.
The vowel ы is a special troublemaker. It doesn’t exist in English. Many learners replace it with English “ee” (и) or something like “i” in “sit”. This breaks the contrast between words like:
был (was) vs бил (hit)
сын (son) vs Син‑ (as in “Сингапур” – Singapore)
Why English speakers do it
Your language uses different categories. Your brain is not used to listening for “hard vs soft” as a meaningful difference. It hears them as “just different flavors of the same sound”.
As for ы, you simply don’t have that sound in your inventory, so you substitute with the closest English vowel.
Why it sounds unnatural
Flattening everything to “hard” consonants makes Russian sound heavy and “blocked”. Over‑softening or inserting an obvious “y” can sound childish or over‑articulated.
Merging и and ы is one of the most obvious signals of a foreign accent. Russians actually joke about foreigners who “can’t say ы”. It also changes word meanings in some cases.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
“Soft with the next vowel” rule
Teach yourself this simple rule: consonants become soft because of the vowel that follows them, not because of an extra “y”.л + ю → лю (soft л)
т + ё → тё (soft т)
н + я → ня (soft н)
Try saying:
лук – люк
мел – мель
баня – бал
Focus on letting the tongue glide very slightly toward the hard palate on the soft version, without adding a separate “y”.
Finding ы in your mouth
Start with English “ee” (as in “see”). Then:Pull your tongue a bit back.
Lower it slightly.
Keep your lips neutral (not smiling, not rounded).
You’re aiming for something between “ee” and a very relaxed “uh”, but in the back of the mouth. Then practice:
и–ы–и–ы–и–ы
ты–ти–ты–ти
был–бил–был–бил
Mirror and minimal pair work
Stand in front of a mirror. Say: ми‑мы‑ми‑мы, пи‑пы‑пи‑пы.
Watch your lips: stay neutral.
Feel your tongue: it should move slightly back for ы.
The goal isn’t perfect phonetic theory, but a clear physical difference you can feel and repeat.
3. The Russian R that betrays you
The mistake
Russian “р” is a tap or trill, made by the tongue quickly touching or vibrating against the alveolar ridge (the bumpy part behind your upper front teeth). English “r” is usually made further back, with the tongue curled or bunched and no vibration.
English speakers often:
Use their English R in Russian (especially at the start of words).
Replace “р” with “d” or a strange hybrid.
Over‑roll “р” dramatically because they’re trying too hard.
Why English speakers do it
“R” is one of the hardest sounds to change in any language. You’ve been using your English R your whole life. Your tongue’s default pattern is deeply ingrained.
Why it sounds unnatural
The English R is one of the strongest markers of an English accent in Russian. You can have decent vowels and still sound instantly foreign if your “р” is pure English.
The good news: Russians don’t require a perfect, long trill. A simple tap (like the “tt” in American English “water” for many speakers) is usually enough to sound much more Russian.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
“T–D–R” ladder
Say this sequence quickly:та‑да‑ра, та‑да‑ра, та‑да‑ра
Start with clear “t” and “d”. Gradually relax your tongue so the “d” becomes a quick tap. That tap is very close to Russian “р”.
Consonant clusters
Practice combinations like:дра, дро, дру
тра, тро, тру
Then move them into real words:
рука́
дорого́
трава́
страна́
Accept “good enough”
Aim first for “not English R”, not “perfect Italian opera R”. A light tap that clearly isn’t English is already a big improvement.
4. Incorrect stress placement
The mistake
Russian stress is mobile and not predictable from spelling. It can jump between syllables in related words:
вода́ (water) → во́ды (waters)
го́род (city) → города́ (cities)
English speakers often:
Guess stress based on their own language patterns.
Always stress the first syllable.
Learn words without stress and then improvise.
Why English speakers do it
You’re not used to memorizing stress as part of the word. English stress patterns are somewhat predictable and you’ve internalized them subconsciously. Russian asks you to treat stress as a separate piece of information.
Why it sounds unnatural
Wrong stress is one of the very first things Russians notice. It can make even common words sound momentarily strange. It also knocks out vowel reduction, because the “wrong” syllable becomes strong, and the “right” one becomes weak.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Always learn words with stress
This should become a sacred habit. On your flashcards, notes, vocabulary lists—always:молоко́, звони́ть, магази́н,краси́вый
Never write them “plain” when you’re learning.
Stress clap practice
Take a list of 10–15 high‑frequency words and:Clap or tap loudly on the stressed syllable.
Whisper the rest of the word.
For example:
ма‑ГА‑зин
мо‑ло‑КО́
зво‑НИ́т
Phrase‑level stress
Work with short phrases, not only single words:Как дела́?
Мне нра́вится.
Я хочу́ спать.
Mark and practice the main stress in each phrase so you start to feel the “wave” of Russian, not just isolated words.
5. Flat, syllable‑by‑syllable rhythm
The mistake
Many learners speak Russian as if they were reading out a spelling list, giving every syllable equal weight and time:
КАК ДЕ‑ЛА У ТЕ‑БЯ СЕ‑ГОД‑НЯ
In natural Russian, some syllables are strong and long, others are quick and weak. Function words often shrink almost to nothing.
Why English speakers do it
When you’re unsure of your vocabulary and grammar, you slow down and pronounce everything carefully. That’s normal—but it creates a “robotic” school‑learner rhythm.
Also, classroom recordings sometimes use unnaturally careful pronunciation, which students then copy.
Why it sounds unnatural
Russian ears expect a mix of strong and weak syllables. If everything is strong, your speech sounds tense and tiring to follow. It also amplifies all your other pronunciation issues.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Clap‑the‑stress shadowing
Take a short audio clip (5–7 seconds). Listen once and clap on each clearly stressed syllable. Then:Listen again.
Clap with the speaker.
Shadow (speak along) while keeping those claps.
Shrinking function words
Practice phrases where small words almost disappear:Я не о́чень понимаю.
Ты ко мне за́втра придёшь?
Мне бы то́лько спроси́ть.
Intentionally make words like я, не, бы, то́лько very short and light. Stretch the stressed syllables.
Slight speed increase
Once the sounds are basically there, try speaking a tiny bit faster while letting unstressed vowels blur more. You want to move away from “spelling voice” and toward “speaking voice”.
6. Final consonants that don’t devoice
The mistake
In Russian, many voiced consonants at the end of a word lose their voice: they become voiceless.
год → [гот]
сад → [сат]
друг → [друк]
English doesn’t do this systematically, so English speakers tend to keep the voice on the final consonant or lengthen the vowel before it.
Why English speakers do it
Your brain is matching spelling: “d” = /d/, “g” = /g/. You also rely on vowel length and voice contrast differently in English.
Why it sounds unnatural
Final voiced consonants sound “wrong” to Russians and can occasionally create confusion, especially in fast speech or in morphology‑rich contexts.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Feel the vibration
Put your fingers lightly on your throat. Say:г‑к, д‑т, б‑п, з‑с, в‑ф
Then say:
год, кот
сад, сат
пруд, пульт
At the end of the word, the vibration should stop. The consonant should feel like the voiceless partner.
Word chains
Make short chains:год–годы
сад–сады
друг–друзья́
You’ll notice how the consonant “comes back to life” before a vowel, but “dies” at the very end.
7. The “hissing and hushing” consonants: ш, щ, ч, ж, х, ц
The mistake
These consonants don’t line up neatly with English sounds. Learners usually approximate:
ш, ж as English “sh” and “zh”
ч as English “ch”
х as English “h”
ц as “ts”
Some of these approximations are close enough, others are not.
Key facts:
ш and ж are always hard.
щ and ч are always soft.
х is in the back of the mouth (“loch”, “Bach”), not in the throat like English “h”.
ц is a compact, quick “ts”, not a slow “tsss”.
Why English speakers do it
You’re mapping each Russian letter to the nearest English sound and stopping there. Without feedback, it feels “close enough”, so the habit sticks.
Why it sounds unnatural
Softening ш or ж, or making щ into a clumsy “sh‑chee”, jumps out immediately. Using English “h” for х also sounds foreign and can change the “color” of whole words, like хорошо́ or хлеб.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Hard vs soft pairs
Compare:ша – ща
жа – ча
Focus on:
ш, ж: tongue slightly back, hard, strong.
щ, ч: tongue a bit higher and more forward, softer, lighter.
The “loch” sound for х
Think of the sound in Scottish “loch” or German “Bach”. Try:ха‑хо‑ху
хле‑хрю (хлеб, хрюкать)
The air should rub against the back of your mouth, not your throat.
Quick, compact ц
Practice:ца‑ца‑ца
ци‑ци‑ци
ко́лец, молоде́ц, ку́рица
Keep it quick: a tiny “t” plus “s” fused together, not two separate sounds.
8. English‑style diphthongs instead of pure vowels
The mistake
Many English stressed vowels glide from one quality to another: “go” (o→u), “day” (e→i), “time” (a→i). Russian stressed vowels are much more stable.
English speakers often:
Say мо́й like “mow‑y” with a glide.
Say нет like “nayet”.
Stretch vowels with a little “tail”.
Why English speakers do it
Your native language has trained your mouth to move during stressed vowels. It happens automatically unless you consciously stop it.
Why it sounds unnatural
Gliding vowels sound “Englishy” and can blur contrasts when combined with other errors. Russians expect your tongue and lips to hold one clear position throughout the vowel.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
Long stable vowels
Choose Russian vowels: а, э, о, у, и, ы. Say each one on a single note for 2–3 seconds. Try not to move your jaw, tongue, or lips during the sound.Contrast pairs
Compare:мо́й (hold a pure “o” + й) vs English “mow”
ей (hold a pure “e” + й) vs English “day”
Record yourself and check whether you’re adding an English‑style glide.
9. English mouth posture in Russian
The mistake
Even when individual sounds are “correct”, your overall mouth posture can stay English: more lip movement, more spreading and rounding for diphthongs, and a different resting position.
In Russian, the general setting tends to be:
Lips more neutral, not as spread or rounded.
Tongue a bit more forward and higher for many vowels.
Less jaw movement overall.
Why English speakers do it
You’re unconsciously “wearing” your English mouth. You bring it into Russian unless you deliberately change it.
Why it sounds unnatural
The overall tone of your voice and vowels will stay English. Russians may understand you perfectly but feel that “something is off” in your sound.
Practical fixes and mini‑drills
“Russian face” warm‑up
Before speaking Russian:Relax your jaw and lips.
Gently close your mouth and breathe through your nose for a moment.
Then say: ы‑э‑о‑а‑у‑и several times without much lip movement.
Shadow with video
Watch a Russian speaker and imitate their mouth shape while shadowing. Don’t worry about meaning for a moment—just copy the “face” and rhythm.
Which Mistakes Are Most Revealing?
Not all mistakes are equal. Some tell Russians “native English speaker” instantly; others are small details that can wait.
“Giveaway” mistakes
These features almost always betray English speakers:
English R instead of Russian tap/trill.
Clear, full unstressed “o” in words like молоко́, хорошо́, Москва́.
Wrong stress on very common words (звОнит, КрасИвый, докумЕнт).
No distinction between и and ы.
Fixing just these already changes how people perceive your level.
Very noticeable, but a second priority
Flat, syllable‑by‑syllable rhythm.
No final devoicing (год with a clear “d”).
Persistent confusion of ш, щ, ч, ж, х, ц in high‑frequency words.
Mostly cosmetic (at least early on)
Slight diphthongs in vowels when everything else is solid.
The exact quality of your trill (tap vs trill vs slight vibration).
Small palatalization slip‑ups in less common words.
If you want to sound more natural, faster, a smart priority list would be:
Stress + unstressed vowels (especially “o”).
и vs ы and basic hard/soft consonant habits.
Russian R (even just a decent tap) + final devoicing.
The “hissing/hushing” consonants.
Rhythm and mouth posture polishing.
Accent vs Intelligibility: What Really Matters
It’s possible to have a strong accent and still be fully intelligible. It’s also possible to sound “almost native” but occasionally produce a sound that confuses people.
Here’s a useful way to think about it:
Some issues are mostly about color and identity (you sound foreign, but people understand you).
Others can genuinely change the meaning of words or make them hard to recognize.
Mostly cosmetic
These are unlikely to cause misunderstandings on their own:
Slight English diphthongs in stressed vowels.
Lightly non‑native R, as long as it’s consistent and not pure English.
Small deviations in mouth posture.
They may affect how “fluent” or “confident” you sound, but not basic communication.
Potentially confusing
These can change meaning or slow down comprehension:
Wrong stress on minimal pairs (му́ка/мука́, за́мок/замо́к).
Mixing и and ы so that important contrasts disappear.
Ignoring palatalization in pairs like лук/люк, мел/мель.
No final devoicing in contexts where word endings matter.
Completely mispronounced consonant clusters.
When in doubt, work first on whatever most directly influences meaning and ease of understanding.
How To Train Russian Pronunciation Effectively
You don’t need to spend an hour a day drilling sounds to improve. Short, focused practice will get you further than occasional long sessions.
Here are concrete methods you can build into your routine.
Shadowing: surfing the rhythm
Shadowing means speaking along with a recording, slightly behind the speaker, without pausing.
How to do it:
Choose a short, clear audio (2–5 seconds): a line from a podcast, a textbook dialogue, or a short YouTube clip with subtitles.
Listen a few times, following the text.
Play it again and speak along with the speaker, trying to copy their timing and melody.
Repeat several times until your voice feels “glued” to theirs.
Focus not only on individual sounds but on:
Where the stress falls.
How unstressed vowels shrink.
Where the speaker speeds up and slows down.
Minimal pairs: training your ear and tongue
Minimal pairs are word pairs that differ by only one sound. They are perfect for Russian trouble spots like:
и vs ы: был–бил, сын–Син‑, ты–ти
Hard/soft: мел–мель, кон–конь, лук–люк
Final devoicing: сад–сат, пруд–прут, год–кот
How to practice:
Say the two words slowly and feel the difference.
Say them in quick alternation: был–бил–был–бил.
Record yourself and check: can you really hear a difference in your own speech?
Put them into short phrases: Был дождь. – Бил дождь. (even if the second phrase is odd, that’s okay for practice).
Listening and imitation drills
Take a short clip and work in stages:
Listen once without speaking and just notice: where is the stress? Which vowels sound “blurred”?
Read the transcript and underline stressed syllables.
Imitate the clip sentence‑by‑sentence, pausing after each.
Record your imitation and compare with the original.
This builds a clear connection between what you see, what you hear, and what you say.
Recording yourself regularly
Hearing your own voice is uncomfortable at first, but it’s one of the most powerful tools.
Try:
Recording the same short paragraph once a week and keeping the recordings.
Choosing one focus per recording (e.g., this week: stress; next week: final consonants).
Using a simple checklist while listening back: Did I stress this correctly? Did I reduce “o”? Did I use my English R?
Progress becomes visible (and audible) over time.
Working with stress patterns first
Make stress part of your vocabulary from day one:
Always mark it.
Say new words three times out loud, over‑stressing the stressed syllable.
Group words by similar stress patterns: e.g., мо‑ло‑КО́, му‑зы‑КО́й, час‑Ы́.
Once stress feels automatic, vowel reduction and rhythm become much easier to adjust.
Chunking phrases instead of isolated words
We rarely speak in isolated words. We speak in chunks: “Как дела́?”, “Я не зна́ю”, “Мне понра́вилось”.
Practice ready‑made chunks:
Learn them as units, with their natural stress and reduction.
Shadow them until you can say them almost without thinking.
Use them in conversations or self‑talk.
This way, you’re practicing “real Russian sound” directly, not just assembling pieces under pressure.
Slow vs native‑speed audio
Use both:
Slightly slowed, clear speech is good for noticing sounds and stress.
Native‑speed speech is essential for rhythm, reduction, and real‑life listening.
You can:
Start with slow, clear recordings to learn a text.
Then switch to normal speed and shadow it.
Occasionally raise the speed a bit beyond your comfort zone for a challenge, then go back to normal.
What about IPA?
If you like phonetics and symbols, learning IPA for Russian can help you:
See the difference between и and ы.
Understand where vowels move when they’re unstressed.
Visualize hard vs soft consonants.
If you don’t, that’s okay. You can learn Russian sounds very well through:
Good audio models.
Clear, concrete articulatory explanations (“tongue here, lips like this”).
Plenty of listening and imitation.
IPA is an optional tool, not a requirement.
How often should you train pronunciation?
Aim for small, regular practice:
5–15 minutes a day is far better than 1 hour on Sunday.
Attach pronunciation to existing habits:
Shadow the first minute of your favorite Russian podcast before listening normally.
Run a quick minimal pairs drill before your main study session.
Record one sentence every night and compare with yesterday’s.
Consistency turns pronunciation into a skill, not a one‑time “fix”.
How Russians Hear Your Accent
It’s easy to imagine that Russians are impatient or critical about foreign accents. In reality, reactions are usually more nuanced.
What they notice first
Native speakers typically pick up on:
Stress and rhythm.
The “feel” of your vowels (especially unstressed “o” and ы).
Whether your R is English or not.
Grammar mistakes often feel less intrusive. A wrong case or preposition is easy to ignore. Mis‑stressed words or flat rhythm are harder to tune out, because they constantly hit the listener’s ear.
Confusion, charm, or fatigue?
Light accent with good rhythm and stress: often perceived as charming, even attractive.
Strong accent but predictable patterns: people quickly adapt. They may even stop noticing.
Chaotic pronunciation, wrong stress everywhere, very uneven rhythm: this can become tiring in long conversations because listeners are constantly “decoding”.
Your aim is not to erase every trace of foreignness. It is to remove the parts that cause confusion or fatigue, and keep the parts that simply make you “you”.
FAQs: Common Questions About Russian Pronunciation
Do I really need to learn vowel reduction?
If your goal is just basic survival, you can be understood without perfect reduction. But if you want to sound even somewhat natural, yes—it’s worth it. Reduced vowels are at the heart of Russian rhythm and stress.
How important is it to roll my R?
You don’t need a dramatic trill. A simple tap (like the “tt” in many Americans’ “water”) is usually enough. The main goal is to avoid using your English R in Russian words.
Will I ever lose my foreign accent completely?
Some adults do reach near‑native pronunciation, especially if they start early and practice intensively. For most learners, a light but clear foreign accent remains—and that’s completely fine. Focus on clarity, comfort, and rhythm, not invisible perfection.
How can I practice pronunciation on my own?
You can:
Shadow podcasts, dialogues, and videos.
Use minimal pairs and stress drills.
Record yourself and compare with native models.
Read short texts out loud every day, focusing on stress and reduction.
You don’t need a teacher for every step, but feedback at key moments helps a lot.
Is it too late to improve my accent?
No. Adults can absolutely improve their pronunciation. You may not sound exactly like a native, but you can move from “heavy, hard‑to‑understand accent” to “clear, pleasant foreign accent” with focused practice.
Should I learn IPA for Russian?
Only if you find it interesting or you’re already familiar with it. For many learners, intuitive explanations (“tongue here, lips like that”) plus good audio are enough.
What should I fix first?
A good order is:
Stress patterns on common words and phrases.
Unstressed vowels (especially “o”).
и vs ы and basic hard/soft consonants.
Russian R and final devoicing.
Rhythm and the special consonants ш, щ, ч, ж, х, ц.
How Polyglottist Language Academy Can Help
All of this is possible to work on alone, but you’ll move faster—and avoid bad habits—if you get focused guidance and feedback.
If you’d like to turn the ideas from this article into a real, guided practice routine, explore our Russian programs here:
Explore Russian classes at Polyglottist Language Academy
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