Category Archives: St Petersburg

Gap Year in St Petersburg

Russian Language Courses in St Petersburg Alex Mackula : 12 weeks Gap Year Russian course

Before my arrival in St Petersburg I expected to gain a lot from the course. During my basic learning of Russian before the course began I realised just how complicated the language was. Read More »

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Learn Russian in St Petersburg pre Uni

Learn Russian in St Petersburg Claire Jones : 10 weeks Intensive Russian course

I expected to get basic grounding in the Russian language, understand more about grammar, and be able to speak conversationally. I hoped to experience various aspects of Russian culture, Russian history etc. to set me up prior to reading Russian at Uni. Read More »

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Gino: 2 weeks Intensive Russian Course

I was a touch unsure what to expect, yet the pre-arrival information I received gave an impression of a well organised school. Linguistically the school was excellent. The teaching was robust and the improvements I made in merely two weeks were marked. The school was very well organised. I have no complaints at all, the teaching was fantastic and the group was small (3 students), the teacher pushed us all to improve at our own pace. Read More »

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Kathryn: 10 weeks Russian Gap Year course

I decided to learn Russian for pleasure! I thought it was a beautiful language and like nothing I’d ever studied before and I really wanted to get a good grasp of it; and where better to do that than in Russia?

I found the college staff really friendly and learning was the best bit! The college was central, so after school you could go pretty much anywhere — a museum or a bar, depending on how the lessons had gone!

The family I lived with were friendly and very patient with me, which was great because my Russian at the beginning was non-existent. When I arrived I could not form a sentence, when I left, I was comfortable with the language and could hold conversations without stressing! It was really total immersion in the language and culture and I would love to go back.

A Year Out course enabled me to combine going to a different country and experiencing a different way of life with actually learning the language and living there. I was not a tourist who ‘does’ St Petersburg in a day, but a student. You feel as though it’s your town towards the end and because you’re learning the language, you feel so much more comfortable and welcomed, rather than just imposing on everyone.