My Experience Taking LanguageBird Russian I Online Course
by:
Sofia McAlpin, Holston Academy Student
February 11, 2025
Learning a new language is like going on an adventure. In my LanguageBird Russian 1 online course, I learned how to read, write, and speak in Russian, which I look forward to using in real life sometime soon!
My name is Sofia McAlpin, and I’m an 11th grader at Holston Academy. If you read my student spotlight blog article, you probably already know that I love learning new languages and traveling the world. My mom, Katarina, is from Slovakia, and I have been there to visit family a few times–it is amazing! And even though Slovak is the primary language spoken in Slovakia, Russian is also widely spoken throughout the country. That was one of the reasons I decided to take the LanguageBird Russian I online course through Holston Academy.
The Benefits of Taking World Language Courses
As I mentioned, I love learning new languages. In addition to Russian, I’ve also been studying Spanish. I love the Spanish language and have noticed a lot of improvement in my fluency. I think it’s very important to study other languages because you not only learn the language, but you also learn the culture. And knowing another language opens up so many opportunities like college, travel, and more.
Why I Chose to Take LanguageBird Russian 1 Online
Besides the fact that many people in Slovakia speak Russian, the similarity of the two languages (Slovak and Russian) made me interested in learning Russian. I speak Slovak, so that has definitely helped me as I’ve progressed through the semester.
The Russian language is very interesting! In my LanguageBird Russian 1 online course, I learned how to read, write, and speak in Russian, which I look forward to using in real life sometime soon!
What Made the LanguageBird Russian 1 Online Course Stand Apart?
The LanguageBird Russian 1 online course was very involved, and we touched on quite a bit of the Russian language. Plus, my teacher was wonderful! She was very excited to teach me the Russian language and culture. During our one-on-one time, we spent a lot of time speaking in Russian, which definitely helped me better understand and learn the language!
And for one of our projects, I made a video about my day. In the video, I spoke Russian in an actual setting where it can be used in real life. One main idea I took away from this class was to immerse yourself in the language. Whether it’s through TV shows, movies, music, or podcasts, listening and watching and observing Russian–or any language–in use can really help you learn the language.
Learning New Languages Is a Great Experience
To me, learning a new language is like going on an adventure. Not only do you get to immerse yourself in learning how to speak, read, and write something new, but you also get the chance to immerse yourself in a whole new culture. Taking LanguageBird online courses allows me to do that. Someday I hope to travel to countries I’ve never visited before and use my new language skills to help me navigate these adventures and experience all there is to see and do.
I would love to continue studying Russian because I loved my experience learning the language through my LanguageBird course. I’m so excited by how I progressed with Russian this semester. I can’t wait to see where my next world language journey takes me.