I’m going to write another post later on about how to learn Ukrainian in Ukraine, but I wanted to share with you guys a way to learn Ukrainian if you’re not in the country.
Step 1: Find a Resource
When I first started learning Ukrainian a couple of years ago, there were not many good online resources for learning Ukrainian. Obviously, I recommend the Study Ukrainian course here on this website, but there are also some other pretty good courses out there.
What you want from an online Ukrainian course is for it to give you a continual source of vocabulary and grammar to learn, especially that’s suited for your needs.
Here are some other good websites with fairly complete courses:
- The Peace Corps Ukrainian Language Course at Live Lingua:
-
UkrainianLessons.com, a blog and podcast with Ukrainian lessons:
ukrainianlessons.com -
Read Ukrainian! A free course for learning to read Ukrainian texts:
http://www.ukrainianlanguage.org.uk/read
I also recommend considering getting a book for learning Ukrainian. The Teach Yourself Ukrainian book by James Dingley. Find it on Amazon here.
Finally, it would be unfair not to mention that Duolingo has a Ukrainian course on their app, but I have not found it very useful for myself because the vocabulary that you learn on the app is so random and unconnected to everyday situations.
Step 2: Find a Skype Tutor
Preply is an online platform connecting Skype tutors with students. You can find Ukrainian teachers for very cheap on this website (I pay $4 an hour for lessons with my teacher), and you can use any of the above online courses as a basis for learning with your teacher.
Step 3: Keep Practicing
Make flashcards, either physically, or with Anki, and use them to review the words that you’ve learned. Try to have real conversations with your Skype teacher. This is the best way to improve speaking a language.
Step 4: Learn Ukrainian from Media
Watch Ukrainian television and Youtube channels to practice your listening comprehension. Here’s one good place to find Ukrainian television to watch:
- Ukrainian and Russian Language Television Channel:
1plus1.ua
Learning a new language can be very challenging, especially if you don’t live in the target country, but with the internet there’s lots of opportunities to learn the language. We’re continually building to improve the lessons on Study Ukrainian, so keep checking back for updates!