I am a political science major and need to take a language course in college. I have always had a strange fascination with Russian culture, history, and politics. What are some good reasons to learn the Russian language? What are the benefits of the language, especially in the field of politics/international relations? I know the language is difficult to learn when compared to Spanish, French, German, etc. However, Russian is considered the "easiest of the hard languages." I don't think I should shy away from the language, however, just because of its difficulty......

Hello! At my university I will have to do my 3 weeks practice now. I have never taught before and I will have my first lesson of Russian language in a high-school soon. I would like to do my best and not to bore the children as they are very motivated at the moment. I will teach 9th(beginners) and 11th(intermediate level) grade. I would like to ask if you have any ideas for some games, pair or group activities. Maybe you remember some nice methods from your school or language course. Thank you in advance!

I have heard about a language course called The Rosetta Stone that teaches you foreign languages, and from what I have heard, the State Department uses this course to teach their young diplomats foreign languages, and was wondering if there are any Russians on this site that can tell me if this program is good or should I seek out another program to learn Russian?

Thanks
stephane: I also heard that Rice spoke such bad Russian that it made President Putin wince whenever she began speaking to him in what she thinks is Russian.