Russian

Russian is currently the 7th most spoken language – spoken by almost 300 million people in 16 countries, covering almost a quarter of the world’s land surface, making it an already indispensable language on the world stage, and is becoming more so in our world of ever burgeoning international trade links and cultural exchange.

All major business spheres; banking, trading, manufacturing, mineral resources/ mining, computing, technology & innovation and space exploration, all welcome specialists with a knowledge of Russian, and some even demand it.

Russian is one of the six official languages used in: The UN, UNICEF, The EC, WHO, OPEC, and is one of only two languages spoken in space!

Russia’s contribution to world culture is immense. Try going a single day without coming into contact with Russian music, art, literature or theatre. Knowledge of Russian is extremely beneficial to those wishing to mine the marvellously vast depths of Russian culture and history – in all their myriad facets.

While it is renowned for being one of the more difficult languages in the world language basket, Russian is surprisingly simple to learn at a basic level.

At Keele we offer 6 levels of Russian, from absolute begineer to intermediate, available to all Keele students and staff. 

See the module catalogue for the descriptions of:

Semester 1
Semester 2

Russian 1

Russian 2

Russian 3

Russian 4

Russian 5

Russian 6


It is possible for students to spend 3-4 weeks at Tver State University in Russia, allowing students the chance to get first-hand experience of language and culture during the vacation period - see Residential Summer Language Courses.

Improved career prospects

You will increase your employment prospects.

Additional qualifications

You have the opportunity to gain an extra qualification alongside your degree.

Enhanced experience

You will develop communicative as well as linguistic skills and a better understanding of other cultures.

Increased choice

You have a wide variety of languages and courses to chose from.

And it's fun!

You have the chance to learn in an atmosphere which is professional but also relaxed and enjoyable.

You may choose to enrol for one semester only or take a number of modules for more systematic language learning and the opportunity to achieve an Enhanced Degree Title or a record of achievement on your HEA report.

The Language Centre offers up to 12 levels (stages 1 - 12), from absolute beginner to post A level. It is important to select the appropriate level based on your previous experience. To help you decide please click here for a helpful guide or contact our administration team (languages@keele.ac.uk) who will be happy to discuss this further with you.

These stages are comparable to the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR) for further details please see Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Times for classes are dependent on the Keele undergraduate timetable and may be any time between 9.00 am and 7.00 pm Monday to Friday. Times will be available from the beginning of each semester.  Please note that a number of language classes will be timetabled on Wednesday afternoons to avoid clashes with core modules.

Every effort is made to minimize timetable clashes for students. However, as each language module caters for students from all years of study and all three subject timetable blocks this is not possible in all cases. If an unresolvable timetable clash occurs your core module takes priority.

What our students say

Here's what some of our previous students had to say about our Russian Modern Language modules:

"If I had question at any time, my teacher was glad to help and explain, be it the feedback on my work or a general question about the language."

"An entertaining insight into a culture that one is not normally exposed to. The lectures were well organised and concise. Overall while quite scary learning a language, I enjoyed it a lot and hope to continue."

"What an amazing tutor, very supportive of everyone and always happy to help even out of class time!"