🇷🇺 How to Improve Your Russian Recall During a Real Conversation

Aug 9, 2026

You know the word.

You know you know the word.

You studied it yesterday. You recognized it this morning. You could probably pick it out of a list immediately.

But now someone is standing in front of you speaking Russian and...

Gone.

In my last article, I talked about why this happens. Recognizing Russian and actually retrieving Russian during a conversation are two very different skills.

So the next question is:

How do we get better at recall?

The answer isn't necessarily to learn more vocabulary.

Sometimes we need to get better at using the vocabulary we already know.

Here are some things that can help.

click on each article below:

1. Stop Looking at the Answer So Quickly

2. Practice Answering Questions Out Loud

3. Give Yourself a Time Limit

4. Learn Phrases as Chunks

5. Build a Small Arsenal of “Thinking Phrases”

6. Practice Talking Around a Word You Forgot

7. Practice the Russian You Are Actually Likely to Use

8. Repeat the Same Conversation More Than Once

9. Don't Immediately Switch Back to English

10. Use the Word Again After You Forget It

You Don't Necessarily Need More Words

This is the part I keep coming back to.

It's easy to think:

“I can't speak Russian because I don't know enough Russian.”

Sometimes that's true.

But sometimes you already know enough Russian to have a basic conversation.

The problem is that your vocabulary is sitting in your brain as recognition vocabulary instead of speaking vocabulary.

So instead of constantly asking:

“How many Russian words do I know?”

I've started thinking a better question is:

“How many Russian words can I retrieve without seeing them first?”

That's a completely different measurement of progress.

And if your goal is conversation, it might be a much more important one.

Make Your Brain Do the Work

When you're practicing Russian, don't always make it easy for yourself.

Hide the answer.

Say the word before looking.

Answer questions out loud.

Give yourself five seconds.

Practice the same conversations repeatedly.

Use simple sentences.

Let yourself make mistakes.

And occasionally sit there thinking:

Come on... I KNOW this word...

Because that frustrating moment when your brain is searching?

That's not necessarily a sign that you're failing.

That's your brain practicing the exact skill you're going to need when someone looks at you and says:

Ну, расскажи о себе.
noo, ras-ka-ZHEE a see-BYE
So, tell me about yourself.

And this time...

instead of your brain going blank...

you start talking.