What languages do you speak?

[Sekkmer]

Which languages can you correctly pronounce?
English, German, Hungarian
Which languages do you understand?
English, written German, Hungarian
Which languages do you speak fluently or at a native speaker's level?
English (Upper Intermediate), Hungarian (Native)

[Dandelion]

The most effective way to learn a language is to travel abroad. In foreign countries, you often have to make efforts to make yourself understood. I had the chance to visit the 3 Transcaucasian countries this summer, and except for youngsters in major cities, people can barely understand English. Russian is still the lingua franca in the ex-USSR, and having a working knowledge of it can make things a lot easier when dealing with middle-aged taxi or marshrutka drivers, or with guesthouse owners. Particularly in Armenia, the most Russophile country of the 3, but also in Azerbaijan, still less used to foreign visitors. In Georgia, for obvious geopolitical reasons, Russian language is not encouraged and most often removed from notice boards and road signs.
However older people are still used to it and will feel confident if you attempt to communicate with them in this language, but of course, it's always very appreciated if you know the usual Georgian greetings.
In Azerbaijan, I used a weird combination of Turkish and Russian.

I have made more progress in one month than in the last few years, because my everyday motivation was decupled. I didn't focus on grammar, it's what discouraged me from studying Russian, cause there are one thousand rules and ten thousand exceptions to these rules. Instead I insisted on vocabulary. No matter how good your knowledge of grammar is, without basic vocabulary, it's as if you were mute. When you know how it works, the correct usage of grammar comes progressively, in situ, with practice.

Now I'm thinking of travelling to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan this winter, hopefully, another opportunity to practise my Russian. I keep my travel project with the Trans-Siberian for later, when I have more time and money, but above all I first want to become more proficient in Russian to get a better experience of it.

I agree; you need to reach the immersion stage as early as possible, but I still think struggling over the grammar is necessary as a beginning point. It's just not the phase where you learn most of it. Your eternal 'beginner' phase made you probably feel as if you weren't moving ahead, but even when we feel like we haven't learned anything, progression was booked regardless.

[Dandelion]

Eee... I did not... and I speak polish, russian and read church-slavonic in old south slavonic pronouciation.

I can also understand some other slavic languages, the best if they are in written form.

Plus english as it is visible (I think not so bad) and now I am reading german
almost every day, or listen to it, with better understanding from week to week.

But let's be honest. For a Slavic speaker learning other Slavic languages is far less of a hurdle. Slavic languages are even remarkably close to each other. Your languages diverged around 500 AD.

I would liked to have learned Polish instead, but I started with Russian earlier. I still have this eternal question in my head: how much harder is Polish than Russian? (which itself is quite challenging).

IMO the free stress in Russian is a very difficult aspect Polish at least lacks, even if it's the more inflected language with even more irregularities. You truly have to hear those languages and observe them on a daily basis. Using them is how you truly learn them in the end, but it takes longer before you can start playing around with them than you could with a language like Italian or French.

[Rethel]

But let's be honest. For a Slavic speaker learning other Slavic languages is far less of a hurdle. Slavic languages are even remarkably close to each other. Your languages diverged around 500 AD.

Not especially. The more similar language, the more cofusion creates.
The same words having different meaning, or the same words but with
different pronouciation. Yet this different writing system. Some things
makes it harder, which some people cannot do, and they can easier get
english or german than russian. Typical polish learner speaks polish with
russian suffixes thinking he knows russian, and the same Russians do
speaking polish, but in reverse way (or the same, as Poles )

Russian grammar is easy, but if you not use to her by listening or reading,
you will have similar problems as in any other language. Typical schooll
learner is not knowing the language, sometimes do not even know the
alphabet after four ears of pretending to learn

I would liked to have learned Polish instead, but I started with Russian earlier. I still have this eternal question in my head: how much harder is Polish than Russian? (which itself is quite challenging).

More distinct sounds, 17 and 18 declinations and conjugations insted of 2 and 3 in russian.

IMO the free stress in Russian is a very difficult aspect Polish at least lacks,

Yes, I still not got it, and probably never will.
Only listening is helping a much, but you are never sure, as you never use that language.
This is similar stuff as german der die das. You never can be sure

even if it's the more inflected language with even more irregularities. You truly have to hear those languages and observe them on a daily basis. Using them is how you truly learn them in the end, but it takes longer before you can start playing around with them than you could with a language like Italian or French.

I was learning russian some 5 years and I made C1 certificate.
I was supposedly very good according to examinator, but when I started
realy learning after that on my own, then I saw what the real learning and
knowing the language is about. Now I learn english without grammar. Much
more important is listening, reading and noticing. Hugly much more. This is
the way how children learn their own language btw.

[Rethel]

In russian course we had fine exercise.
We were listening to the song having texts without some words in
every or in every second line of the text - depending on the level.
We have to write what we were listening. It was quite helpfull.
You can try You will laugh from yourself

[Dandelion]

Russian grammar is easy, but if you not use to her by listening or reading,
you will have similar problems as in any other language. Typical schooll
learner is not knowing the language, sometimes do not even know the
alphabet after four ears of pretending to learn

I agree. Scholastic learning is only a supplement to your learning process, and it's a good thing to mainly observe from the source itself and ask questions. And one should also reach the stage of experimenting oneself and move boundaries very early. I know all too well that only focusing on grammar alone is a recipe of failure.

I was learning russian some 5 years and I made C1 certificate.
I was supposedly very good according to examinator, but when I started
realy learning after that on my own, then I saw what the real learning and
knowing the language is about. Now I learn english without grammar. Much
more important is listening, reading and noticing. Hugly much more. This is
the way how children learn their own language btw.

Yeah, be a child when you learn a language. Pick it up as directly as possible. However, as an adult it's still worth it and necessary delving the technical scholastic stuff. A child also grows up and learns to refine his own native language in school. We live in a good era for language learning with many tools at our disposal, by the way. One can observe from more than just from mere books. Best to make use of it.

[Dragoon]

Speak: Polish,English
Read: Polish, English, French
Understand: Polish, English, Slavic (in Latin letters only).

[Rethel]

Speak: Polish,English

To wyduś z siebie cosik...

[Dandelion]

Interesting how much you guys claim to struggle with the Cyrillic alphabet. It's actually more fit for Slavic phonologies. Russian spelling rules, though confusing at first, are also not without their logic. Knowing them helps you memorise their grammar better to boot. I get it, your eyes aren't adapted to reading it fast, but I also have this problem with languages written in the Latin alphabet also if they're alien to me. We read the words as a whole in the end and not letter by letter.

[Rethel]

How you deal with ь...