They say your motivation for studying a language is just as important as the quality of your learning materials. How motivated you are will often define the amount of effort you will put into the work that’s necessary to achieve your goals.
The same holds true when you’re planning to learn Russian. The more meaningful your reasons for wanting to learn, the more likely you’ll do all that’s necessary to achieve fluency.
If you’re planning to deal with people from former Soviet countries for your profession, then learning Russian will be very important. While many Russian speakers who do business with Americans are likely to learn some English, it’s prudent to do your due diligence as well.
For vacations or trips to any of the same places, it will be wise to learn, at the least, some survival Russian phrases. Even if you end up encountering people who are willing to speak with you in some mangled form of English, they will appreciate any effort on your end to speak even the most ridiculous form of Russian. Your interactions will end up so much more relaxed that way.
In many Western European countries, Russian is considered a “chic” language, so that can add extra motivation if you plan on visiting those places. Imagine: the cool American with the Russian flair. That’s you, by the way.
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