The Fundamental Description of the Cyrillic Alphabet
The Cyrillic alphabet has a rich history that goes beyond one simple millennium. Two monks, brothers and Christian missionaries - Saints Cyril and Methodius - composed a system of 30 phonemes under the Carolingian era which made it possible to transcribe Slavic languages that were previously only spoken. This gave way to the "Cyrillic method." 
The Differences of the Latin and Cyrillic Alphabet
The differences between the Latin alphabet and the Russian graphological system is obvious when you put them side by side. It is this contrast that can seem difficult for American learners. American English letters come directly from the Latin that was universalized by the Roman Empire, while the Russian alphabet hails from the family of Indo-European languages, which is a cousin of the Greek that Cyrillic gave birth to. 
- Get real. Decide on a simple, attainable goal to start with so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. German translator Judith Matz suggests: “Pick up 50 words of a language and start using them on people — and then slowly start picking up grammar.” .
- Make language-learning a lifestyle change. Elisabeth Buffard, who in her 27 years of teaching English has always seen consistency as what separates the most successful students from the rest. Find a language habit that you can follow even when you’re tired, sick or madly in love. .
- Play house with the language. The more you invite a foreign language into your daily life, the more your brain will consider it something useful and worth caring about. “Use every opportunity to get exposed to the new language,” says Russian translator Olga Dmitrochenkova. Label every object in your house in this language, read kids’ books written in it, watch subtitled TED and TEDx talks, or live-narrate parts of your day to an imaginary foreign friend. .
- Let technology help you out. Dmitrochenkova has a great idea: “A funny thing like resetting the language on your phone can help you learn new words right away,” she says. Ditto for changing the language on your browser. Or you can seek out more structured learning opportunities online. Dutch translator Els De Keyser recommends Duolingo for its gamified approach to grammar, and Anki for memorizing vocabulary with its “intelligent” flashcards. .
- Think about language-learning as a gateway to new experiences. To Spanish translator Sebastián Betti, learning a language has always been about focusing on the experiences that the new language would open up, from “visiting theme parks, attending air shows, enjoying cowboy poetry and folk-rock festivals, to learning about photo-essay techniques.” In other words, he thinks of fun things that he wanted to do anyway, and makes them into a language-learning opportunity. Many of our translators shared this advice. Italian and French translator Anna Minoli learned English by watching undubbed versions of her favorite movies, while Croatian translator Ivan Stamenković suddenly realized he could speak English in fifth grade, after years of watching the Cartoon Network without subtitles. So the next time you need a vegan carrot cake recipe, find one in the language you’re trying to learn. .
- Make new friends. Interacting in the new language is key — it will teach you to intuitively express your thoughts, instead of mentally translating each sentence before you say it. Find native speakers near you. Or search for foreign penpals or set up a language tandem online, where two volunteers help one another practice their respective languages.
Don't forget that the Russian language has real tonic accents but these do not necessarily find a translation in writing. To make things easier, get a Cyrillic keyboard!
Are there Languages That Are Harder to Write for an American?
Faced with all these Russian writing details, some learners will perhaps despair and renounce copying beautiful passages from the pages of Gogol or Chekhov... However, there are degrees of "difficult writing." Russian is a relatively easy language to write when compared with idioms that are even more exotic than the Russian language. In this respect, an American will have lesser difficulty mastering alphabetic types of writing: a vast group where English and Russian are found, but also less widespread languages such as Hungarian (which, if it uses the Latin alphabet, also uses accents and umlauts that act on 40 different letters). Find more Russian course here on tutor. 
Bad Habits Not to Take Up When Learning How to Write in Russian
Nothing would be more crazy than learning how to speak Russian by refusing to write it. Moreover, whether it be for writing or reading, the learning strategy is the same: memorize the letters of the Russian alphabet, know how to recognize them, name them, and pronounce them (if necessary). Writing comes at this crucial moment. We must not skip any of the steps. There is no use taking out your pen without knowing the Cyrillic alphabet perfect. Once you know the alphabet, writing in Russian will come very easily, and is even within reach of a kindergartener: just copy and copy the same character from a textbook (you will find Russian textbooks in cities), then copy texts and sentences one by one. This will make you feel like you're in primary school once more! But do not worry about wasting your time or doing something boring: those who learn Korean or Tamil have no choice but to follow suit, and the difficulties they face are far more important than yours! Find a Russian language course here. 
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