{"id":124505,"date":"2026-07-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/?p=124505"},"modified":"2026-07-19T14:59:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T11:59:47","slug":"what-to-expect-russian-language-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/what-to-expect-russian-language-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Your first week at a Russian language school: what to expect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Your first week at a Russian language school: what to expect<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

STUDENT LIFE<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What actually happens in your first week at a Russian language school in St Petersburg: placement, the 10:15 start, small-group lessons, homework and the city.<\/p>\n

You booked the course, the flight and the room. Now the real question: what happens when you walk in on Monday morning? Here is how the first week at EducaCentre actually goes.<\/p>\n

Before you arrive: placement<\/h2>\n

If you already speak some Russian, you take our 30-minute online placement test<\/a> before the course: grammar and vocabulary, from beginner to advanced questions. It is not an exam you can fail; it decides which group you start in. Complete beginners skip it. If anything is unclear, the level is checked again in conversation on the first day.<\/p>\n

Monday, 10:15<\/h2>\n

Arrive at 10:15 on your first day. The reception team and your teacher meet you, and if your level needs a second look, you get a short check on the spot. Bring three things: your passport with visa and migration card, a passport-sized photo for your student card, and a pen and notebook. Then you go to class.<\/p>\n

The classroom<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Small<\/span><\/div>
Small group Russian lesson at a language school<\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Groups at EducaCentre have up to 4 students, often fewer. That number changes everything about the first week: there is no back row. You speak in the first lesson, get corrected in the first lesson, and by Friday the teacher knows your specific mistakes, not just your name.<\/p>\n

Beginners start with the alphabet, pronunciation and survival phrases. By the end of day one you can introduce yourself. Higher levels work mostly in Russian from the start; you will miss some of it in week one, and that is normal and temporary.<\/p>\n

The daily rhythm<\/h2>\n

Standard course<\/a>: 20 lessons a week, Monday to Friday, 10:15-13:30 with a break: grammar in context, speaking practice, vocabulary, reading and listening. Intensive<\/a> students continue into the afternoon, usually until 15:30. Afternoons on the standard course are yours: homework, the city, or extra private lessons.<\/p>\n

Homework that uses the city<\/h2>\n

Expect daily homework, and not only exercises: order a coffee in Russian, read the signs on your way home, tell your host family<\/a> what you did today. Saint Petersburg is the other half of the course. Lessons give you language; the city makes you use it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Small<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Your classmates<\/h2>\n

Students come to the school from 50+ countries, from gap-year travellers to retirees. With groups this small, the common language in the room is Russian, not by rule, but because it is the only language everyone shares.<\/p>\n

By Friday<\/h2>\n

The first week does not make you fluent. It does something more useful: the alphabet stops looking like code, you have said real sentences to real people, and you know exactly what to work on next week. That is what correct placement and a group of four give you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

STUDENT LIFE<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Plan your Russian course in Saint Petersburg<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>

Tell us your level, dates and goals. We will suggest a course format and practical next steps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Contact us<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Tell us your level, dates and goals. We will suggest a course format and practical next steps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Group courses<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Tell us your level, dates and goals. We will suggest a course format and practical next steps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Prices<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Tell us your level, dates and goals. We will suggest a course format and practical next steps.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What actually happens in your first week at a Russian language school in St Petersburg: placement, the 10:15 start, small-group lessons, homework and the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124505"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126314,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124505\/revisions\/126314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/russiancentre.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}