For us, it was highly recommended that every non-russian native starts to study Russian in the beginning of this program. I did that. In the beginning I was really enthusiastic about it and felt like I should have started this a long time ago already. However, at this moment, almost one year after I started studying Russian I have come to a point where I know some, but am not Able to use it at all. Basically I just understand simple text or speech and thats it.
I know that for the next set of MITIMs the program structure will be different and you spend one year in Russia. So take these tips with a hint of salt.
So the tips:
- Think about your motivation to study the language. Are you really interested in the language or are you just studying it because it is recommended?
- Ask yourself are you willing to put extra effort in learning the language? In 1.5 (or 2) years of university language classes you will learn something, but not enough to be able to use the language professionally. To be able to use the language, you need to study by yourself as much as possible and especially try to start using the language actively as soon as possible, whether it is creating little stories by yourself or conversing with someone.
- Also, can you imagine working in Russia or in a role that has a lot of exposure to Russian clients/partners? This is also from a cultural point of view: can you handle the local culture and especially its business culture?
Basically, if you answered "no" to these questions you might have to think whether another language would be better choice for you (other options are basically Spanish, German and French). I mean, if you think about the options:
- You have the interest, motivation and are willing to put extra effort but do not see working in Russia or can not adjust to Russian culture, then why bother? Then you would learn a language but you basically would never be in a position where you would actually use it in real life (unless you have Russian friends).
- You are motivated and can see yourself working in Russia, but are not willing to put extra effort to reach the required level. Then you will just be mediocre and wont benefit (professionally) from the language learning experience.
- You are not interested in the language. Then you are just wasting your time and you should direct the efforts to another language.
So just think what are your goals before making decisions. Of course, Russian is recommended and highly necessary in Russia in everyday life, but the good thing is that Russians students (or people who know the language) are generally willing to help you out in more complicated stuff and you can easily learn the basic complementaries etc in order to survive.
I hope that i didn't discourage anyone from learning Russian with this post since that was not my point. Actually, you can replace the word "Russian" with any other language in the world and this should still be valid. Russian is a very useful language and is spoken by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. There are also career opportunities in Russia for foreigners who can speak the language and working in Russia might be the kickstart for an awesome career. However, my professional life will most likely not be Russia-related.
