It’s a funny thing: naming your language app after an almost extinct African language. I guess the creators of the app just wanted a name for their app that sounds al right – or they might have been onto something with the name. Trying to make sure that languages don’t go insane – one speaker at a time. If you’re interested in using apps for language learning – then there’s one app that we haven’t yet talked about: Busuu. And especially for Russian. So if you like to use apps for learning Russian, then don’t miss this Busuu Russian review today!
Busuu Russian review
As we said in the introduction, Busuu is an app that can teach you a whole bunch of languages (among: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), Spanish (European and Mexican), and Turkish). So you can use it not just for Russian.
Now, the app comes in 2 tiers: free and premium. While I haven’t checked out the premium version, it comes with some extra features such as more in-depth grammar explanations and quizzes to test your knowledge.
However, as with most free apps/trials of Russian courses. Why not try it out before you sign up? You’ll get a good feeling for how the app/course works + you’ll learn some new things. And since there are many different methods out there… why not try a couple and see which one click the most with you?
The app mainly works as a flashcard deck. As you know flashcards – and the added spaced repetition are one of the most effective ways to learn vocabulary. So let’s find out if Busuu does this well enough if you’re learning Russian.
If you want to have real conversations in Russian instead of just studying it, I created a structured 30‑lesson audio course called Russian Conversations Unlocked. I've designed it for adult learners who want to learn to actually communicate with native speakers. You can find more information here.
2 Types of people that will benefit from learning Russian with Busuu
In general I feel that there are 2 types of people that would benefit the most from using Busuu for learning Russian. Here they are – see if you identify:
- People that are new to learning Russian and want to get a quick overview of a couple of common-used phrases/words – if you’re flying to Russia in a couple weeks/months, and your Russian isn’t up to par yet, then I highly recommend you download Busuu to at least learn the basics of Russian. You won’t have to be fluent when you get there, but Busuu will help you get down the basics such as introducing yourself, saying hi/goodbye and will help you make a good impression.
- People that knew some Russian before but want a quick refresher course – if you’ve done Russian courses before and are looking for an easy way to get your knowledge back, apps are good for that. And Busuu can be of a lot of help.
5 Benefits of the Busuu method
#1Native speakers correct your speech
We haven’t touched on this one today – but it’s the main strength of what sets Busuu apart from other language apps such as Memrise or Duolingo. You see, with Busuu you can get personalized feedback on how YOU pronounce a word.
The way this works is pretty ingenuine – like many other crowdsourced ideas. Since most people who want to learn a new language speak 1 or 2 languages fluent themselves – they can easily give feedback to someone who is learning their own native language. So let’s say you’re English and you’re learning Russian. There are a lot of Russian people out there who want to learn English. So they’re on the app too – but learning English. So you give them feedback on their pronunciation – while they give you yours.
#2 Conversations with native speakers
In the same vein, you also can have conversations with native speakers. This is always a good thing, although the quality of speakers might be a bit less than if you’d be actually paying for a lesson (through Italki for instance). But this is a good feature nonetheless and can help you a lot if you’re hard-pressed to get some practice in Russian.
#3 App – so you can learn it anywhere
Might be obvious – but apps have a serious advantage over desktop courses. You can literally practice anywhere. In the line for the grocery store? Why not do a quick 5-minute lesson? Sitting in the train/metro/bus commuting to work? Again same story – you’d be crazy not to use this valuable time to do a Russian lesson.
#4 Good overview of each lessons structure
Having good structure in a course is a very important thing – especially if you’re just starting out with a language. You don’t know what you don’t know and therefore it’s the apps role to guide your through the process of learning the basics. Busuu does this well with a clear overview of what you’re going to learn before each lesson.
Plus each lesson is structured in such a way that it builds upon material in the last lesson. This is called scaffolding and allows you to make a lot of progress in a short period of time.
If you’re looking for a more effective way to learn Russian, you can try Russianpod101.
#5 Good for learning vocabulary
Since it’s a flashcard app, it’s a good way for learning vocabulary – especially speaking vocabulary. Even though the mnemonics sections at times aren’t as good as the Memrise app, the fact that you’re getting feedback on your spoken Russian is very valuable. Especially in the beginning since you won’t ingrain a specific mistake into your brain.
Conclusion Busuu Russian review
Signing up for Busuu is a pretty no-brainer. The free version is free, so why not check out the app yourself? You’ll validate everything you’ve read in this Busuu Russian review + you’ll learn some valuable Russian lessons.
Although, like we said earlier: I think the main group of people who’d benefit from this app are beginner learners who want to get the basics down. If this is you, then I highly recommend you check out the Busuu website.
P.S. If you’re a more intermediate learner and want to get to fluency faster – I’d recommend you sign up for Russianpod101. It’s paid – but does a better job at the intermediate levels of learning Russian.
What should you do next?
Most learners don't struggle because Russian is "too hard."
They struggle because they don't train speaking directly.
- You can study vocabulary
- you can memorize Grammar
- You can listen for hours
But if you don't practice building sentences in real time, you'll still struggle when someone speaks to you.
One of my students once told me:
“I have been studying Russian for a year. In my head I can prepare basic sentences, yet when it comes to actually speaking I ‘chock’.”That's not a knowledge problem.
That’s a training problem.
Your weakest skill determins your conversational level.
And for most learners, that weakest skill is speaking.
That's why I built Russian Conversations Unlocked - a structured 30-lesson audio course designed to train real-time speaking ability step by step.
If you want to have real conversations in Russian, start here: