Having studied three other foreign languages successfully, I would say that The New Penguin Russian Course is an excellent foreign language textbook because it is set up systematically. Each chapter consists of a brief explanation, practice exercises and a quiz at the end of each section, complete with an answer key at the back of the book. The author of this book has clearly taught Russian previously to English speakers; the brief biography at the beginning of the textbook even stated that he has spent his life doing so at the post-secondary level, so he has practical experience to back up his teaching methods. This is because his explanations are easy to understand, even for the utmost beginner, to the point where this book is a worthwhile tool for those students teaching the Russian language to themselves. This book also forgoes a lot of the bells and whistles like colorful photographs and fancy graphics in favor of being reasonably priced. I would therefore recommend The New Penguin Russian Course to any beginner who wants exposure to the Russian language without the expense of a community college course, continuing education class, or similar textbooks at more than several times the cost. This textbook is an outstanding resource for anyone wishing to learn the Russian language in way that is both manageable academically and affordable financially.
