Colloquial Russian is a practical course in everyday written and spoken Russian requiring no prior knowledge of the language. It is ideal for anyone seeking to gain a sound command of the contemporary language, whether studying independently or with a teacher. The course is designed to encourage the learner to gain and practise essential language skills, and pays special attention throughout to learning the cyrillic alphabet. The twenty lessons introduce core situations that the individual might encounter in Russia, ranging from asking for directions and ordering a meal to writing letters and discussing business opportunities. The course includes: * situation-based conversations * a range of texts * useful and practical vocabulary * clear, concise grammar notes * a variety of exercises with answer keys * a ready-reference grammar * an English-Russian and Russian-English glossary * an index of grammatical terms Colloquial Russian is accompanied by two interactive 60-minute cassettes recorded by native Russian speakers. These cassettes complement and reinforce the material covered in the book, but the emphasis on core language skills and situations means that they can be used as an invaluable accompaniment to any Russian language course. The cassettes include pronunciation exercises, dialogues and passages to listen to, role-plays to participate in, and a full range of other exercises to help develop language skills. The book and cassettes are available separately or in the form of a course pack.