What Interlinear text is and why it is so effective for language learning
Learning any language requires continuous expansion of vocabulary in addition to the study of grammar. Although flashcards are considered one of the most effective tools for acquiring new vocabulary, they offer little support in mastering grammar. Conversely, grammar textbooks tend to focus exclusively on grammatical structures and do not contribute significantly to the development of conversational skills. As a result, the process of learning a new language often becomes time-consuming and demanding, as vocabulary and grammar are typically learned separately.
However, there exists a highly effective yet often underestimated method for learning new vocabulary and gaining a deeper understanding of how a language functions. This approach is entirely based on reading and is known as the Interlinear Method of Reading. Although it is not a new technique, it was widely used in the past and continues to be employed for reading biblical texts and learning languages such as Hebrew and Greek. Nevertheless, this method remains relatively unknown today, and there is a limited selection of interlinear books available for learners of Russian.
The principles of the Interlinear Method are quite straightforward. The original text in the target language is accompanied by a direct translation of each individual word—typically in English, though translations into other native languages can also be found. The key idea is not to provide a general translation of the text, but rather a word-for-word translation, including function words such as prepositions. At first glance, such texts may appear unusual, as it is not always easy to establish connections between the individual translated words and the overall meaning. However, this is also one of the advantages of the method: it encourages learners to analyze the text, draw conclusions, and gain a deeper understanding of how the target language operates, particularly in terms of word order and structure.
Advantages of Interlinear method for learning Russian language:
1) New words are usually repeated throughout the text which makes it easy to learn them in various contexts;
2) It helps to learn some basic grammar naturally by analysing some key patterns and word order;
3) It trains your reading skills that are very important to form your speaking skills;
4) It is a pleasant way to read texts in your target language without wasting time on looking up every new word in a dictionary;
5) This method can be used at any level of proficiency: from beginners to advanced students.
This method of reading is a very powerful tool to learn Russian language (and any other languages). The only disadvantage is that you cannot rely only on this method to learn a new language as it cannot train your listening, speaking and writing skills.
If you are interested to learn more about Interlinear texts, I recommend you to watch the following video with a funny and easy Russian story with Interlinear text (Russian-English).
You can download a PDF file with this story and a Russian cartoon based on this story (with dual subtitles in Russian and English) here.
Easy story in slow Russian (Interlinear Russian Text)
If you have recently started to learn Russian language, you should absolutely have my free guide ‘Essential Russian Words and Expressions to Understand Spoken Russian’.
It’s also very important to know how to pronounce Russian words correctly as not every Russian letter is pronounced the same way as it’s written. There are certain Russian pronunciation rules that are really easy to learn.
If you wish to speak Russian, you should absolutely learn how to use Russian cases. Check the most comprehensive guides to Russian cases:
