I started studying Russian four years ago, but I worked alone off and on.

Self-study isn’t stimulating and I didn’t make much progress.

I joined the Metro Club 9 months ago. I appreciate receiving podcasts and reading material every week. It encourages me to work regularly. The club offers a wide range of topics and several lessons on a specific topic. It helps me to learn more about Russian culture and way of life.

The courses are tailored to constantly reinforce what we have just learned.

Listening to the podcasts greatly helped me to develop my listening comprehension.

It’s very rewarding to see that you understand better and better every week.

The reading material with grammar notes, word clusters and infographics offers a strong basis for developing your understanding and speaking skills.

I now feel much more confident and I’m better able to express myself.

What I particularly appreciate is Marina’ dedication and cheerful benevolence, her attention and reactivity. She is accessible to her students, who may refer to her when they have doubts. Whenever I asked her a question, I got a quick, accurate and helpful answer.

That is invaluable.

I would recommend the program to motivated, intermediate students, who are ready to work regularly, at least four or five hours a week, in order to reach an advanced level.

Good day to all! My name is Michael and I have been learning Russian on and off for 7 years. I had previously tried self-study with Rosetta Stone, as well as some textbooks, and while living in Moscow, I had tried various teachers.

I stumbled upon METRO club before it launched and have participated since Day 1. At the time I felt I was at a high A2, low B1 level and METRO club was exactly what I needed. It required some extra work on my part to maximize the usefulness of the materials presented but it has been well worth it. I like the multiple tiered approach

– Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The weekly podcasts provide an insight into not just the language but the culture. As someone that lives and works in Moscow, I’ve noticed myself immediately using a concept I learned from the lessons.

I’ve also been doing private lessons with Marina for over half a year. The private lessons have helped to fill in my knowledge gap about cases, while the podcasts provide a more general knowledge base. I’ve noticed an improvement in my listening and speaking, as well as reading and understanding. The writing is still a work in progress but its also not the focus of this course.

The program is very unique. All of the materials are created by Marina which means she knows how to teach/explain the materials. She isn’t using someone else’s textbook and just doing boring exercises with you. Most importantly, the podcasts truly train your ear to pick up the language the way natives talk and that is very important.

Marina also clearly explains how to use the materials. First to listen to the podcasts before even looking at the text, to see how much you can understand. The podcasts are presented at two speeds, one normal and one slower. I listen to the same weekly podcasts daily during breakfast and can understand how my brain is trained by the end of the week. The quick native speech from Monday seems normal speed by Friday and the slower speech from Monday seems like a turtle by the end of the week. But the slower speech is very useful for understanding where the stress is in the word.

Overall, Marina is easily the best teacher I have ever had with Russian. She knows the language inside and out and can answer any questions I have regarding history or context of certain words. She also focuses on the stress in the word, as well as government forms (which words/grammar come after certain verbs) and that is not something most teachers even discuss. She wants you to understand and speak the language as a native from the outset of your studies.

I would recommend METRO Club to anyone that has a general foundation of vocabulary, a cursory understanding of the grammar, and is ready for the next step. But even if you aren’t ready for the next step, private lessons with Marina will help you up your level quickly to understand the podcasts.

Marina gives you all the tools to be successful and it is up to you to use them wisely. I could be far more advanced if I would spend more time with the materials than I do, but I am very satisfied with my current progress and would recommend Marina and her METRO club to anyone interested in learning the language.

I have been an on/off student of Russian whose last Russian experience ended 26 years ago. Since then I have been, mostly, watching Russian videos with Russian subs. I decided long ago I wanted to do and see some special things in Russia so I needed study. Movies alone would not do.

Then in January 2020, I found a link for Conversational Russian Club "Metro." while looking for a new course with new material, style, or a “new method.”

I liked the Metro concept compared to quite a few others I have tried.

• Lessons have no spoken English.
• The subjects are from everyday life but the foundation is usable anywhere.
• Use of colloquial expressions is big for me.
• The lessons are short enough to keep my interest but are indeed full of new material plus some reuse of earlier terms.
• There are fast and slow-paced central spoken lessons.
• Written exercises excellently reinforce the spoken central portion.
• There is a group call every month that is more than just practice as you watch others improve as well. The spoken portion, either speed, is done in a clearly professional tireless easy to listen to voice.

Two big weaknesses plagued me:

• the inability to comprehend normal Russian pace
• I translated into English both speaking and listening.

By August (after 4 months in the club), I noticed both were changing and today have changed completely.

Russian people who haven’t seen me for a while, ask me what I have been doing to achieve the improvement. I also believe the easing of my prize-winning accent is bonus.

I find there are changes, in a big way, to my vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and thus the ability to communicate in both directions.

I also can follow at a much faster pace than before. Enough so, one day I heard a lesson in my car and after I heard the slow portion start, I realized I had just listened to the normal portion and understood it.

I feel anyone who has the basic foundation of grammar will find a surge in vocab and style enough in the first month, to envision what completing the whole “Metro” series will do for them.

I had been studying Russian off and on for about 3 years before joining the Conversational Russian METRO Club. I had substantial gaps in my knowledge and ongoing trouble engaging in even very simple conversations. After a few months in the METRO Club, I noticed that I was doing much better at understanding the spoken word and was able to speak more confidently. The Club’s format of having regular opportunities to practice speaking with other students proved both enjoyable and productive.

But what makes this program truly unique is Marina’s 7 Step system of learning, which prioritizes listening. As a visual learner, my comprehension of written text was always much better than my understanding of speech. However, by forcing myself to listen intently—and only later adding the reading of the words—my ability to identify all of the words in long string of quickly-passing syllables dramatically improved.

Another characteristic aspect of this program is its incorporation of colloquialisms and emphasis on natural, flowing Russian speech. Learning how to say things as Russians say them was a critical step for enhancing my ability to follow a conversation, which has decreased my reliance on body language and non-verbal signals.

Although this program isn’t for beginners, those who have a basic understanding of the Russian language would greatly benefit from the Conversation Russian METRO Club. I enthusiastically recommend this Club to all who, like myself, had trouble moving beyond the rudiments of Russian but wish to grow in their understanding and appreciation of this rich language.

I took one semester of Russian in college. The rest of my study time has been with the Russian Mobile Academy – about 30 hours in 2018-2019 and then in the METRO Club since April 2020.

I really value how the METRO Club is an all-in-one package. First, I get to hear spoken Russian podcasts about topics that arise in everyday speech. I can refer to them again and again because these are the topics that I want to talk about with Russian speakers. An accompanying written lesson breaks down each podcast into bite-sized pieces, and the Seven Step Method is the road map! I follow the steps at my own pace, all the while building both my Russian speaking and reading abilities, and my self-confidence. A special bonus to the METRO Club is that there is an option to have Zoom lessons online with its founder, Dr. Marina Koker.

Since beginning my studies at the RMA, I have made two multi-week trips to Russia to visit religious and cultural sites. I was able to communicate with hosts and strangers while there because of everything I learned at the RMA. Additionally, I can now listen to and read Russian language content online in a way that I could not before.

Learning Russian is a marathon, not a sprint. With the RMA/METRO Club I go at my own pace, adapting my studies to the busy circumstances of daily life without feeling like I am failing or falling behind.

I would recommend RMA/METRO Club to anybody who wants to learn Russian in a way that lasts a lifetime!

When I moved to a mountain from a large city, I searched for an effective way to continue my Russian study. My Internet is very poor so Skype was out of the question. Even my telephone doesn't work at times. Luckily, I found Conversational Russian Metro Club. It allows me to advance my language skills at my convenience without a dependence upon fast Internet. Conversational Russian Metro Club is reasonably priced and its professionally developed learning materials are outstanding. In short, they focus on all facets of life in Russia, family, school, work, daily routine, home, leisure tie, etc. Conversational Russian Metro Club's Marina Koker, PhD, includes readings in both regular and slow speeds, key vocabulary definitions and model sentences, idioms, grammar and other learning aids. She even harnessed the interactive learning power of Quizlet to allow members to reinforce vocabulary used in the weekly lessons. I heartily recommend Conversational Russian Metro Club for all A2 - C learners who prefer independent study.

Russian Metro Club has helped me improve my Russian language skills tremendously. The online lessons deal with real-world situations, and the vocabulary is extensive and includes idioms and colloquialisms. Additionally, the opportunity to interact with native speakers, both in chat apps and via teleconference, over a variety of different topics and themes, has increased my knowledge of Russian culture in addition to the language. It's the best tool that I have found to increase my fluency.

The Russian Mobile Academy focuses on the challenges faced by intermediate students of Russian. It is well focused, containing content to help students reach fluency. This program has certainly been one of the best investments I've made in increasing my level of proficiency in Russian!