День 6 из 37: Банан под столом
📚 Слова́ дня · Words of the day: 12 – дом, потоло́к, стена́, пол, по́лка, ла́мпа, ка́рта, ба́нка, помидо́р, бана́н, та́пки, под.
🔤 Бу́квы дня · Letters of the day: 3 – Д Б П. Careful: Б is not a 6, and П is not an n!
⏱ Part 1 = 15 minutes – everybody finishes it. Part 2 = more, only if you want. · 🗺️ All days
Stand up! Yesterday's homework: put a fruit on the table 🍋: Лимо́н на столе́. Put it into a bowl: Лимо́н в ми́ске. Wash one hand with the other: Рука́ ру́ку мо́ет. 🤲
You remembered it – that is your first win today. Today we look at the whole room: up, down, on the walls – and under the table. 🏠
- Don't read anything yet. Watch the room – up, down, under – and listen. 🏠🐈
- Tap the words above to hear them.
Say every word aloud and show it – the gesture is under the picture. The movement falls on the loud syllable: по-то-ЛО́К – you push the ceiling on ЛОК; ЛА́М-па – the lamp goes on on ЛАМ; ба-НА́Н – you peel it on НАН.
Tap a word or its picture – the dictionary opens. 🔊 = listen (when Natasha has recorded it).
🧠 Today your own room is the lesson. Touch the real floor, the real wall, look at the real ceiling – a word with its place and its movement stays in memory. 😄
🏠 Up and down:
🗺️ On the wall:
🍌 Food and feet:
- Под = under: бана́н под столо́м, кот под столо́м.
- Та́пки = slippers. Russians take off their street shoes at home and put on та́пки. 🥿
- Д looks like a little house with feet – and says d: ДОМ = dom. 🏠
- Б looks like a 6 – but says b: БАНА́Н = banan. 🍌
- П looks like a door, or the Greek π – and says p: ПОЛ = pol. Never n!
- Small letters: д б п – small д has its feet too; small б looks like a 6; small п is a little door.
- Now you know sixteen letters: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л Д Б П. Read today's words: ДОМ, ПОТОЛО́К, СТЕНА́, ПОЛ, ПО́ЛКА, ЛА́МПА, КА́РТА, БА́НКА, ПОМИДО́Р, БАНА́Н, ТА́ПКИ, ПОД – all of them! 🎉
- ✍️ Пиши́те! Write them by hand: Д · Б · П – how each letter is written, and a sheet to print.
👂 Listen first, don't read yet. What do the cats love? Hug yourself on the loud syllable: лю-БЛЮ́. 🤗 Nobody asks you to speak – just listen and laugh.
Сли́нки: Я люблю́ ма́му! 🤗 Я люблю́ ры́бу! 🐟 Я люблю́ Ска́ффлз! 😺 — Ната́ша: Да! Так!
Ска́ффлз: Я люблю́ ры́ба! — Ната́ша: Нет! Ры́бу. Я люблю́ ры́бу. — Ска́ффлз: Я люблю́ ры́бу… и крем! 😼- Ри́чард 👋: Ска́ффлз, ты меня́ лю́бишь? — Ска́ффлз (looks at her bowl): Мя́у! 🍽️
And you? Hug yourself: «Я люблю́ сок!», «Я люблю́ кака́о!» or «Я люблю́ ко́фе!» – aloud, or just in your head. Both count. 😊 🌱 The seed of the day: «Я люблю́…» = I love… Listen to the end of the word: ма́ма → ма́му, ры́ба → ры́бу – just like «Хочу́ ры́бу» yesterday. Scuffles forgets it, Natasha says «Нет!» and puts her right. Сок, кака́о, ко́фе don't change at all. Just copy – the rule comes later.
Say the story aloud, with the actions. Then play: do the action – say the word. Mix them up!
Вот дом. И я до́ма! 🏠
Вот потоло́к. Ла́мпа на потолке́. 💡
Вот стена́. Ка́рта на стене́. По́лка на стене́. 🗺️
Ба́нка на по́лке. Помидо́р в ба́нке. 🍅
Вот пол. Та́пки на полу́. 🥿
Сли́нки на полу́. Ковёр на полу́. И я на полу́! 🐈
Бана́н в су́мке. Бана́н на столе́. 🍌
Сли́нки – под стол! Кот под столо́м. – Да! Так! 🐈
Ска́ффлз! Нет, нет, нет! Кот не на столе́! Брысь! 😾
Бана́н под столо́м. 🍌
Бана́н – в су́мку! 👜
👂 listen – say it only if you like: Одна́ голова́ хорошо́, а две лу́чше. 🐈🐈
- Look around your room. Point and say: Вот пол. Вот стена́. Вот потоло́к. ⬇️🧱⬆️
- Put on your slippers: Та́пки на полу́! No slippers? Your shoes can be та́пки today. 😄
- Put a fruit in your bag, then on the table, then under the table: Бана́н в су́мке. Бана́н на столе́. Бана́н под столо́м.
- Sit down on the floor, like Natasha: И я на полу́!
- Be the teacher: say пол, стена́, потоло́к, ла́мпа, под – a friend (or your cat) does the action. No friend? Do it yourself.
- Speaking is optional – listening and doing count too.
Can you do it without the video? – Молоде́ц! Go to the tap quiz.
Guess, then tap. A wrong tap is not a mistake – it is a guess. 😊
Хорошо́! Молоде́ц! Two small things left – two minutes.
At the end of a word, Д sounds like Т. Russians write д – and say т!
- под sounds like пот. Try it: pot.
- Pairs: пол – под – the same start, only the last sound changes: пол – пот.
- In the middle, Д stays Д: помидо́р, до́ма, доска́.
- 30 seconds, every day. The tongue is a muscle – this is aerobics. 💪
Tomorrow morning, stand in your room and touch: «Пол!» – «Стена́!» – look up: «Потоло́к!» Then put a thing under the table: «… под столо́м.» 🍌
That is the first minute of День 7. You already know it – so День 7 starts with a win.
You may stop here – see you tomorrow: День 7 · Где Сли́нки? В газе́те! ▶
«Голова́, рука́, нога́ и нос!» – sing it to the tune of Head, shoulders, knees and toes – the game page. 👂 Listen and touch – you don't need to read it. Голова́ and нога́ are only heard today; they become words on День 7.
| Say | Do |
|---|---|
| Голова́, | both hands on your head on ВА |
| рука́, | touch your arm on КА |
| нога́ | touch your leg on ГА |
| и нос, нога́ и нос! | finger on your nose on НОС – leg – nose |
| (the same again) | a little faster |
| И рот, и нос, и рот, и нос – | mouth on РОТ, nose on НОС |
| Голова́, рука́, нога́ и нос, нога́ и нос! | head – arm – leg – nose – leg – nose 🎉 |
- Play it three times – a little faster each time.
- Gesture → word. Don't look at the cards. Make a gesture – say the word. Mixed order: ⬆️ · 🟫 · 🧱 · 💡 · 🍌 · 🥿 · ⬇️ · 🗺️
- Yesterday comes back. Mix in four words from День 5: стол 🍽️ · стул 🪑 · ми́ска 🥣 · лимо́н 🍋. Careful – ПОЛ and ПО́ЛКА begin the same: for «пол» you touch the floor, for «по́лка» you put a thing up!
Remembering a word from the gesture works better than reading it again.
A house – Natasha names the roof, the chimney, the windows and the door, and their colours.
Дом is today's word, with the new letter Д. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Where is the banana? – a sad monkey looks for its banana: на столе́? Под столо́м!
It is today's title: бана́н под столо́м. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Room 1 – Natasha shows a room: потоло́к, у́гол, стена́, окно́, пол – and their colours.
Today's words потоло́к, стена́, пол – point at them in your own room. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Only the sixteen letters you know: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л + Д Б П. Read the word aloud, then tap it to check.
🏠 ДОМ · ПОТОЛО́К · СТЕНА́ · ПОЛ · ПОД
🗺️ ПО́ЛКА · ЛА́МПА · КА́РТА · БА́НКА
🍌 БАНА́Н · ПОМИДО́Р · ТА́ПКИ
🥬 ДОСКА́ · КАПУ́СТА · ПЛАТО́К · СУП · ПАРК · ДО́МА
🍽️ СТОЛ · СТУЛ · ЛИМО́Н · МИ́СКА · СУ́МКА
Now whole sentences:
БАНА́Н В СУ́МКЕ. · БАНА́Н НА СТОЛЕ́. · БАНА́Н ПОД СТОЛО́М. · ЛА́МПА НА ПОТОЛКЕ́. · КА́РТА НА СТЕНЕ́. · ТА́ПКИ НА ПОЛУ́. · ПОМИДО́Р В БА́НКЕ. · КОТ ПОД СТОЛО́М.
- Write three words in big letters: ДОМ, БАНА́Н, ПОЛ. Does your Д have feet? Is your Б a 6 with a roof? Is your П a little door? 🚪
One head is good, but two are better. – English says: Two heads are better than one.
At the end of the video the banana is under the table. Scuffles can't get it alone – her head is too big. Slinky can't hold it alone. Slinky pushes, Scuffles catches – two cats, two heads, and the banana is back. 🍌🐈🐈 Gesture: one finger up on «одна́», two fingers on «две».
🔊 Sound, meaning, word by word: tap the proverb – it opens its own page.
Вот дом. И я до́ма! Вот потоло́к. Ла́мпа на потолке́. Вот стена́. Ка́рта на стене́. По́лка на стене́. Ба́нка на по́лке. Помидо́р в ба́нке. Вот пол. Та́пки на полу́. Сли́нки на полу́. Ковёр на полу́. И я на полу́! Бана́н в су́мке. Бана́н на столе́. Сли́нки – под стол! Кот под столо́м. – Да! Так! Ска́ффлз! Нет, нет, нет! Кот не на столе́! Брысь! Бана́н под столо́м. – Р-р-р! Бана́н – в су́мку! Одна́ голова́ хорошо́, а две лу́чше. Молоде́ц! Пока́!
Here is the house. And I am at home! Here is the ceiling. The lamp is on the ceiling. Here is a wall. The map is on the wall. The shelf is on the wall. The jar is on the shelf. The tomato is in the jar. Here is the floor. The slippers are on the floor. Slinky is on the floor. The rug is on the floor. And I am on the floor! The banana is in the bag. The banana is on the table. Slinky – under the table! The cat is under the table. – Yes! That's right! Scuffles! No, no, no! A cat is not on the table! Shoo! The banana is under the table. – Grrr! The banana – into the bag! One head is good, but two are better. Well done! Bye!
- Д = d, Б = b, П = p – never 6, never n.
- ПОД = under: бана́н под столо́м. НА = on, В = in.
- After на, в and под the end of a word changes a little: стена́ → на стене́, потоло́к → на потолке́, пол → на полу́, стол → под столо́м. Just copy Natasha – the rule comes later.
- «Я люблю́…» = I love… – one block, learn it like a song.
- Tap a new word or its picture – the dictionary opens 📖. Tap 🔊 to hear it.
ударе́ние – stress – shows the syllable you say louder and longer, just like in English: LUN-dun (London), TEL-ih-fohn (telephone).
ЛО́НДОН – the stress is on the first syllable, as in English. But Russians say a real, round о: LON-d’n, not LUN-dun. The second о comes after the stress, so it is short and weak (like the a in sofa).
ТЕЛЕФО́Н – not like the English TEL-ih-fohn: the stress is on the last syllable: ti-li-FON (е without stress sounds like a short и). That is why we mark the stress.
🎯 Why does о sound like а?
Read it: БАНА́Н – b-a-n-a-n – banana! 🍌 ЛА́МПА – lamp! 💡
ДОМ – like a dome, and like domestic = of the home. 🏠
ПОМИДО́Р comes from Italian pomo d'oro – a golden apple. 🍅
КА́РТА looks like card – but in Russian it is a map (and also a playing card). 🗺️
🔬 Почему́ так · Why this way
- A win in the first minute – yesterday's homework. Remembering yesterday's words without looking is one of the best-proven tools – 50 classroom experiments: Agarwal · Nunes · Blunt 2021.
- 15 minutes a day, not one long lesson. Short daily sessions beat one long one: 35 min × 6 days scored 83 vs 70 for one 3.5-hour lesson. Study with adults – Stoltzfus · Sukseemuang 2018; gaps of 1–4 days work best – Rogers · Nakata · Chiu 2025.
- Your own room is the lesson. Touching the real floor, wall and ceiling is Total Physical Response: adults who moved while they listened learned Russian faster than those who only listened. Study with adults – Asher 1968.
- A gesture that matches the word. A word said with a matching gesture, made by the learner, stays in memory far longer than a word only heard. Study with adults – Macedonia · Knösche 2011 (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig).
- Watching helps too. Watching the gesture helps almost as much as doing it, so the video works even before you move. 7 studies, 309 adults – Oppici et al. 2023.
- The action on the loud syllable. A hand beat on the stressed syllable helps adults pronounce new words. Studies with adults – Prieto's group, Barcelona.
- Б and П get a warning. Russian letters that look like other signs (Б like 6, П like n) are the ones English speakers misread. Study with adults – Showalter 2020.
- A block before the rule. «Я люблю́ ры́бу» is learned whole, like a song; the grammar inside it comes much later. Learners pick up such ready-made blocks whole (Wray 2002, formulaic language).
- Words come back. стол, стул, ми́ска, лимо́н, су́мка (День 4–5) are in today's story, reading rows and the gesture game; голова́ and нога́ are heard today and become words tomorrow. A word met four times over several days is remembered far better than four times in a row (84 % vs 63 %, Wegener et al. 2023).
- The proverb is heard, not studied. Natasha says it once at the end of the video, where the story shows it; its explanation sits in Part 2, outside the core lesson – extras inside the core lower learning of the main thing (Mayer, seductive details). An idiom learned with its picture and story is remembered better than with a bare translation (Boers 2001).
- The cat makes the mistakes. Nobody corrects the student. The student laughs and is never the one who is wrong.
- Our own method. Natasha's Language Aerobics – tested for many years with her students.
- Videos needed
- Russian дом
- Russian потолок
- Russian стена
- Russian пол
- Russian полка
- Russian лампа
- Russian карта
- Russian банка
- Russian помидор
- Russian банан
- Russian тапок
- Russian под
- Russian ковёр
- Russian дома
- Russian сумка
- Russian стол
- Russian стул
- Russian миска
- Russian лимон
- Russian кот
- Russian любить
- Russian мама
- Russian рыба
- Russian крем
- Russian сок
- Russian какао
- Russian кофе
- Russian голова
- Russian нога
- Russian рука
- Russian нос
- Russian рот
- Russian доска
- Russian капуста
- Russian платок
- Russian суп
- Russian парк
- Russian на
- Russian в
- Russian нет
- Russian вот