Speaking first, theory second
You speak from the very first lesson. Clumsily, with mistakes, but you speak. I correct mistakes as they happen, so they don't turn into habits.
живой диалогYou know the rules but freeze when it's time to speak? It's not you. It's the method.
I'm Olga. In 2020 I moved to Finland without a word of Finnish. A few years later I was teaching maths at a Finnish college, in Finnish.
I know what it feels like to be a capable adult who can't put two words together. And I know the way out.
Not sure of your level? The 3-minute test ends with a free 20-minute call.
20 min
Free intro call
Free 20-minute call
If you're not sure of your level
60-minute lessons
Planned around your goals
Trained in two countries
Teacher education in Russia and Finland
You're learning Russian, but the words won't come
- You know the cases, but in a shop your mind goes blank.
- You go quiet when your partner's family switches to Russian.
- You say "yes" when you'd rather have a real conversation.
- You've started more than once, and ended up back at the beginning.
This isn't about talent. You were taught the language as a list of rules, and rules only start working once you can see the whole system.
How I teach
Three principles
Every lesson is 60 minutes over video and built around your goals.
Grammar as a diagram, not a list of exceptions
My first degree is in software engineering. I explain grammar the way an engineer explains a diagram: why the system works the way it does. Then you don't memorise the rules, you work them out.
системаYour situations, not textbook topics
Not "topic number five", but what you actually need: the doctor, work, a talk with your mother-in-law, a trip, an exam.
индивидуальный ритмYour first real words in ten minutes
We don't learn the alphabet in order. We start with six letters you already know: А, К, М, О, Т, Е. Then the six false friends: В is V, Н is N, Р is R, С is S, У is U, Х is H.
Ten minutes in, you're reading on your own: атом, какао, Москва. First sentences out loud within the first half hour.
About me
I know both sides of the classroom
For five years I taught electrical engineering, electronics and IT at a technical college. My students weren't linguists, so I had to make hard things simple, otherwise nothing worked. Then came a master's degree in education, with distinction.
Then Finland, and Finnish from zero. Courses, the national language exam, teacher training at a Finnish university of applied sciences and a teaching placement: maths for Finnish students, in Finnish. So I know how to explain, and I know what it's like to learn.
Choose your pace
Every lesson lasts 60 minutes. Prices include VAT.
Individual lessons
Single lesson
1 lesson, 60 minutes
€20
per lesson
Book a lesson5 lessons
About a month at once a week
€90
€18 per lesson
Book a lesson10 lessons
About a month at twice a week
€175
€17.50 per lesson
Book a lessonStart with your first lesson
Know your level? Pick a time and book. Not sure? Take the three-minute test and book a free 20-minute call at the end of it. I'll tell you what you already do well, what's holding you back and where to start.