Nadnight258

Hi, I'm new here and am wondering if anyone can help me. I've been trying to teach myself Russian for about a month now and I'm not getting very far. I've familiarised myself with the new alphabet and can do basic introductions (the whole hi, what's your name, how are you etc) but I some to a standstill after that. I guess this applies to all languages, not just Russian, but where exactly do you start? I always struggled in school because I thought it was all quite useless learning to say what I had in my bedroom and how to ask directions to the library. Despite knowing that that is the wrong approach I still don't know what the right one is. What topics do you prioritise, for any experienced linguists out there, what are the most commonly used phrases and areas of discussion? Also, and I think this may be down to personal preference but I'm putting it out there anyway, is it best to learn a big list of vocabulary then how to fit it into sentences (breaking apart the grammar side of things and the vocab then putting it all together) or learn sentences as a whole (focus on the grammar and learn new words as and when you need them)? Thankyou