Includes 28 audio CD discs ( = 28? hours), plus a 396-page textbook. This course emphasizes the fundamentals of spoken Russian and is the course of choice in hundreds of American universities. The program was developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Office of Education by a distinguished team of Russian language specialists. It's easy to get started learning Russian with this course, for the first five lessons emphasize listening and repeating and the parallel English equivalent is provided for each conversation. In the pauses provided on the audio CD, you repeat the phrases and dialog provided by native speakers of the language. Carefully constructed exercises give you pronunciation practice and experience using a variety of basic sentence structures. Reading and writing are introduced gradually, and only after you become familiar with the language through listening to the audio CDs. Approximately 1,400 words are presented in Volume 1. all the Russian words are printed in the Cyrillic alphabet, the writing system of the Russian language, but English translations are given for the Russian dialogs. Notes explain points of cultural difference and of usage and style. If you are really serious about learning the Russian language, this is the best place to start.