In short, the course contains:

• over 25 videos that are released on a weekly basis

• live weekly lessons with Matt (online)

• tasks (between videos and lessons) designed to get you comfortable with the target language

• 1-1 support at the start and end of the programme

• monthly revision sessions with a native speaker

• monthly q+a sessions to help you feel better prepared beyond the curriculum

• lifetime access to an alumni network of others who have taken the course

There are no hidden add-ons or nasty surprises. Everyone gets the same support, 

The course can either be paid in full at £1099, or in 10 lots of monthly instalments of £109.90 (just under £28 per week). 

The monthly instalments have a 0% interest rate on them. 

The price reflects both the work that goes into the programme and the level of access and support you receive. Steppe with Confidence runs over 5 months, with:

• over 25 videos that are released on a weekly basis

• live weekly lessons with Matt (online)

• tasks (between videos and lessons) designed to get you comfortable with the target language

• 1-1 support at the start and end of the programme

• monthly revision sessions with a native speaker

• monthly q+a sessions to help you feel better prepared beyond the curriculum

• lifetime access to an alumni network of others who have taken the course

The aim is to offer structured, high quality support at a price that is still realistic for university students, rather than rip them off and keep them in the same place. 

Moreover, neither myself nor guest speakers receive funding from government or private organisations, so you are paying to keep all of the information as unbiased as tailored towards YOU as much as possible. No propaganda here 😉

For context, language schools for Russian can charge upwards of €500 per week for generic group courses which are not tailored to your needs.

Absolutely not!

The course aims to supplement your university tuition, rather than replace it. We are NOT a competitor of any university Russian courses.

We understand that universities are increasingly pressed for staff, time, and funding. As a result, students sometimes feel behind in their overall Russian, and whilst academic staff try their best, sometimes students need some extra support from someone who has been there and done it.

This course is therefore an option for students to still flourish and learn/practice their Russian even more outside of the university classroom, without added pressure put on university staff.

The programme asks for around 4-6 hours per week on average, including self study and live sessions. That is a commitment, but it is also manageable when:

• you have a clear goal

• your study time is structured

• your tasks link directly to real-life outcomes

A lot of worry about time comes from studying feeling heavy or discouraging in the first place, which leads to procrastination and distraction. 

Part of this course is about building healthier Russian-language study habits, connecting you with a positive community and using teaching methods that build confidence rather than drain it.

If you are unsure how this would fit into your schedule, mention this on your application and we can see how it will be possible to fit it into your typical study week.

No. There are no grades or assessments in this course. The focus is on:

• your progress

• your speaking and listening

• your confidence and ability to handle real-life situations

The dynamic is more like guided collaboration than a traditional teacher and student hierarchy.

Certificates of course completion can be distributed upon request, provided that the student has completed the course, paid the full amount, and has proven that they are genuinely at upper A2 or lower B1 level. 

An actual grade (such as a letter grade or percentage) will not be produced on this certificate, as your progress and real-life skills you gain at the end are much more important than getting an A or a C on a course. 

Matt Hale holds the following relevant qualifications:

• MA (Hons) Russian Studies and Linguistics, double first, with a distinction in spoken Russian

• Cambridge CELTA, a respected teaching qualification run by Cambridge English Assessment focused on modern language teaching for adults. His score is in the upper quartile of language teachers in this prestigious qualification.

• 5 years of professional language teaching experience

• C1 Russian certificate from Turan University in Almaty, and is working towards C2 when the exam is available in the UK

• Moved to Kazakhstan for a year, and was the first student from Edinburgh to do so (alone at that)!

• Qualified coaching license with Scottish Gymnastics, which strongly informs the way confidence, mindset and progression are approached in this course

• Achieved 87% in his Dissertation on the attitudes towards the Russian language in Kazakhstan. The dissertation was written in Russian.

To find out more, you can find Matt on LinkedIn here.

Yes. As an openly gay man, I am very aware that many Russian learning spaces can feel unsafe or require students to hide parts of themselves. In Steppe with Confidence, we not only have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination on protected characteristics, but we also discuss and prepare you for sensitive topics pertaining to identity when going abroad to Central Asia.

Live lessons run late afternoons/early evenings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week online. This leaves Sunday to Wednesday free for self-study. 

Live Q+A sessions and Native Speaker Recaps will be held on Saturdays, and you can chose your timeslot prior to each session. These will be recorded for those who cannot attend.

Live sessions are recorded, and the recording link is shared only with students in that specific group. Because numbers matter in small groups, you must give at least 24 hours’ notice if you cannot attend. 

Yes. If you are going elsewhere, you will still benefit, since the course focuses on functional Russian, which is virtually the same across the post-soviet space. 

General Post-Soviet cultural guidance is fundamental to the course, but do be noted that most the information is modelled on experiences and theories around Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, since these are especially under-researched, and there is a huge information gap about life there for non-locals.  

If you decide within the first month that the course is not right for you, you can leave and will only be required to pay a third of the full fee.

This policy exists to:

• recognise the work that has already gone into designing and delivering the course

• acknowledge that spaces are limited, (and could have been a potential opportunity for another student to take part)

• encourage you to hold the bigger picture in mind and not give up at the first wobble

The aim is to support you to follow through on something that can genuinely change your year abroad, not to trap you in a commitment that feels wrong.