(1888PressRelease)
November 03, 2009 - In a move that's sure to be welcomed by the learn-Russian community, Mark Thomson and the producers of the online Russian course “Russian Accelerator Method” decided to grant access to the public. Backed by Japan based Unique Digital Publishing, (the publishing company behind both the “Russian Destroyer” and the “Russian Accelerator” methods) an executive declared his mixed feelings about the decision to take the previously invitation only course to the general public in a statement earlier this week:
“We are extremely proud to be backing the Russian Accelerator Method, and we realize that there's a fine balance that every company has to maintain, between appealing to a wide audience and maintaining strict quality control. I'm confident that with R.A.M. we're in a position to ensure that quality, but we will be monitoring the workload of our Success Coaches. We're prepared to act quickly, if necessary, to support Mr. Thomson and to put constraints on registration if need be.”
Both the Accelerator and Destroyer courses are founded upon the newest research into language acquistion. A quote from R.A.M.'s promotional materials gives an example of the technique called Contextual learning:
“Look both ways before you cross the ulitsa!”
“Go straight three blocks, then turn left on 42nd ulitsa.”
The word ulitsa is never defined, and yet the meaning is crystal clear: Street.
This is merely one of the sublimely simple yet ruthlessly effective techniques employed by the Russian Accelerator online course.
Unique, too, is the way the course teaches Russian grammar, acknowledged as one of the most complicated and Byzantine amongst all the major world languages. The Russian Accelerator Method uses an organic approach, asking students to seek patterns in the language. “All grammar is,” explains co-creator Mark Thomson, “is the patterns native speakers use to construct meaningful sentences. Notice the pattern and imitate it in your own speech, and you'll be speaking grammatically.”
Put another way, we're not very good at memorizing declension tables and conjugation charts, but the human mind is an unrivalled expert at seeking and recognizing patterns. With meticulously crafted presentations, the Russian Accelerator Method puts this biological fact to work to the student's great advantage.
We anticipate keeping the program open to the public for a few months, but you might want to hurry. Who knows when the doors of opportunity will swing shut again.
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