When I was 15, my grandma came to stay with us for the summer. I was really excited to see her after a several-year hiatus, but a significant barrier between us had grown during that time. I could understand a fair bit of the Russian she spoke, picking up on the gist of her stories and questions, relying on my childhood knowledge that had been fading since the last time I saw her. But I could not respond to anything she said without lots of “uhh” and silence, even though my accent itself was still native-sounding. I felt frustrated and embarrassed.

That very same summer, I decided to systematically relearn all the Russian I had lost. Being new and inexperienced, I dove into what I thought were the best solutions for learning a language. My first attempt was to hire a formal tutor on Italki. I imagined structured lessons would give me enough hand-holding to guide me through any difficulties. However, it quickly felt like too much “work.” The rigidity and pressure stripped away any enjoyment, making it feel like an extension of school rather than a joyful pursuit. So I gave up on that. Then I tried Duolingo and Babbel, since they seemed to be the antithesis of my previous approach, making things “gamified” and “fun”. I soon also realized the limitations of that approach when, calling my Grandma a couple of months later, I could not discern any signs of progress. While Duolingo did help slightly with some beginner vocabulary and grammatical structures, it barely scratched the surface of what I needed for genuine, flowing conversations. I was still stuck.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit hopeless, I stumbled onto the concept of comprehensible input. I found an app called LingQ that lets you read and listen to crowd-sourced, native-speaker content where you can translate words and phrases you don’t know instantly in the app itself. This resonated with me instantly: learn through content that genuinely interests you, and in a way that doesn’t care about study habits or flashcards. This ended up being the key to my eventually learning 8 more languages.

So, I ditched the idea of dry grammar drills and textbook exercises. Instead, I focused on consuming Russian content that I found fascinating. I became an avid watcher of Russian YouTube videos, eager to pick up not just the formal language, but the everyday slang, the cultural nuances, and the way people actually spoke. In the beginning, I had lots of trouble understanding it. There were countless times I’d pause a video, trying to decipher rapid-fire speech, often to no avail since there weren’t always subtitles. Looking things up was a constant companion to my viewing, but I was so engaged by the real-world context that I persevered.

None of this is to say that I completely neglected learning grammar. I just did so in a way that was natural and anchored to real-world practical examples. Whenever I would come upon usage of a certain grammatical “case”, I would go to Wiktionary and see the noun declensions in their correct context. I would then make a mental note of how the case was used in the sentence that prompted my interest, and I would move on. I made no effort to actually memorize the grammar, since I knew that it would come up over and over again and my brain would eventually internalize the pattern.

Music became another huge part of my immersion. I listened to Russian artists constantly, letting the melodies and rhythms help the words sink in, even if I didn’t understand every lyric at first. It was about creating an environment, a constant, gentle exposure to the sounds and flow of the language.

Armed with a growing vocabulary and a much better ear for Russian (who would have thought you need to listen to the actual native language to understand actual native speakers…), I decided to revisit Italki with a completely different strategy. I sought out conversational tutors, not for formal lessons or homework, but purely as fun conversational partners. This step skyrocketed my progress. It was like all the passive learning suddenly clicked into active use. I noticed a huge step-function increase in my ability to both speak and understand. The conversations were enjoyable, low-pressure, and incredibly effective.

I continued this combination of consuming interesting content and engaging in relaxed conversations. Over time, something amazing happened. Almost without my pinpointing the exact moment, I realized I was understanding everything. From casual chats and slang-filled vlogs to more complex discussions and even academic content, the language was no longer a barrier but a bridge.

Reconnecting with My Grandma

Over this whole period, I would continue to call my Grandma to chat. As the months went by, she was starting to really notice my progress. Our conversations could now be deeper, and on topics that were far more interesting than “what did you eat today”, “how is your mom”, etc. We were discussing history, politics, and family lore. She was bragging about me to all my other relatives, and my relationships with them also started to get closer.

More Than Just Learning Russian

Learning Russian wasn’t just about acquiring a new skill. It was about rediscovering a part of myself, connecting with my heritage (even if through a lingua franca for us), and, most importantly, forging a stronger, more meaningful bond with my Grandma. I realized that the methods I used could also be used to learn other languages, so I started applying them to Spanish, and eventually that gave way to Greek, French, German, and several others. It is my hope now that I can inspire some people to pick back up a language that they have been wanting to learn, or start a brand new one from scratch. It is worth it. If you subscribe to this newsletter, you will get tons of practical advice that actually works. You will also get access to my free Content Vault, which is packed with resources and tips I have actually used myself, no fluff.