Signing up for courses in Russian
The desk of a language school, a person choosing a course in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Добрый день! Я хочу записаться на курсы русского.» — Good afternoon! I want to sign up for Russian courses; «Хорошо. Какой у вас уровень языка?» — Good. What is your language level?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the desk of a language school, a person choosing a course. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Добрый день! Я хочу записаться на курсы русского.Dobryy den! Ya khochu zapisatsya na kursy russkogo.Good afternoon! I want to sign up for Russian courses.
- Хорошо. Какой у вас уровень языка?Khorosho. Kakoy u vas uroven yazyka?Good. What is your language level?
- Пока низкий.Poka nizkiy.Still low.
- У нас есть обычные курсы и онлайн-курс.U nas est obychnye kursy i onlayn-kurs.We have regular courses and an online course.
- Я часто работаю вечером. Мне лучше из дома.Ya chasto rabotayu vecherom. Mne luchshe iz doma.I often work in the evening. Home suits me better.
- Онлайн-курс. Первое занятие бесплатно.Onlayn-kurs. Pervoe zanyatie besplatno.The online course. The first lesson is free.
- Отлично. А конспекты будут?Otlichno. A konspekty budut?Great. And will there be notes?
- Да, после каждого занятия — конспект на почту. В понедельник в семь.Da, posle kazhdogo zanyatiya — konspekt na pochtu. V ponedelnik v sem.Yes, after every lesson the notes come by email. On Monday at seven.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Добрый день! Я хочу записаться на курсы русского. | Dobryy den! Ya khochu zapisatsya na kursy russkogo. | Good afternoon! I want to sign up for Russian courses. |
| Хорошо. Какой у вас уровень языка? | Khorosho. Kakoy u vas uroven yazyka? | Good. What is your language level? |
| Пока низкий. | Poka nizkiy. | Still low. |
| У нас есть обычные курсы и онлайн-курс. | U nas est obychnye kursy i onlayn-kurs. | We have regular courses and an online course. |
| Я часто работаю вечером. Мне лучше из дома. | Ya chasto rabotayu vecherom. Mne luchshe iz doma. | I often work in the evening. Home suits me better. |
| Онлайн-курс. Первое занятие бесплатно. | Onlayn-kurs. Pervoe zanyatie besplatno. | The online course. The first lesson is free. |
| Отлично. А конспекты будут? | Otlichno. A konspekty budut? | Great. And will there be notes? |
| Да, после каждого занятия — конспект на почту. В понедельник в семь. | Da, posle kazhdogo zanyatiya — konspekt na pochtu. V ponedelnik v sem. | Yes, after every lesson the notes come by email. On Monday at seven. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Russian in this situation?
“Добрый день! Я хочу записаться на курсы русского.” (Dobryy den! Ya khochu zapisatsya na kursy russkogo.) — Good afternoon! I want to sign up for Russian courses. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.