Next Steppe with Confidence course starts on 17th September 2026. Enrolment closes on the 15th September 2026.
STEPPE WITH CONFIDENCE
Advance your Russian beyond the classroom.
Communicate confidently, live independently, and feel at home on your year abroad.
A propgramme for university students who want to prepare the conversations, cultural expectations, and unexpected moments of life abroad.
Micro-group or 1-1 · Weekly sessions · Personal progress assessments · Continued Support ·
PERHAPS THIS IS YOU...
Your year abroad can be the point where Russian becomes a part of your real life, and not just your degree.
The goal is not to arrive speaking perfectly.
It is to be able to step into everyday life: handle your arrival, solve problems independently, accept invitations, explore beyond the familiar, and keep communicating when a conversation takes an unexpected turn.
That is how confidence becomes independence, interactions become friendships, and classroom Russian begins to grow into genuine fluency.
I GET HOW IT IS...
You’ve spent months or even years studying Russian: memorising grammar rules, translating texts, and preparing for assessments. However, you know that producing real-life Russian on a daily basis will be a very different challenge.
Your year abroad is approaching, and you know that knowing Russian on paper is not the same as using it in everyday situations. You are not just thinking about the first week or two; you are thinking about the wider experience of living abroad, handling things independently, and making the most of the opportunities this year could open up.
You do not want to arrive underprepared, spend months stuck in your own head, or stay in an English-speaking bubble while your confidence slowly drops.
You want to build practical Russian, understand the cultural context you are stepping into, and feel ready to participate more fully once you arrive.
You are not alone.
That is exactly what Steppe with Confidence is designed to help with...
“I feel now that I have the confidence to put myself in an array of social situations—and have come out of it with my Russian greatly improved.”
Emily L.W., Russian Studies Student [read more]
“I’m thinking in Russian more, and I feel more confident.”
Eve J., Russian Studies Student [read more]
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Almaty, Kazakhstan: Esentai River.
Photo taken by Matthew Hale
WHY THIS MATTERS
Your year abroad isn't a holiday, it's living...
When you imagine your year abroad, it is natural to think about the exciting parts: new places, new people, greater independence, and the chance to finally use your Russian in real life.
But everyday life also involves solving problems, making decisions under pressure, and responding when you do not fully understand what is happening.
University Russian gives you a valuable academic foundation. However, limited classroom time means that students often have far more opportunity to study the language than to use it in the spontaneous, adult situations that life abroad demands.
If that gap makes you hesitate or question your ability, it does not mean you are bad at Russian. You may simply not have had enough opportunity to practise using what you know in real life.
Without that preparation, it can be easy to retreat towards English and remain within what feels familiar. Weeks or months can pass before you begin participating as fully as you had intended.
Preparation changes your starting point. When everyday interactions already feel more familiar, you can engage earlier, keep communicating when something unexpected happens, and take more of the opportunities around you.
The sooner you can participate, the more space you create for independence, friendships, exploration, and genuine fluency to grow.
THE SOLUTION
Prepare for real life abroad before you have to navigate it alone.
Steppe with Confidence is structured around the journey you are preparing to take.
Over four months, the curriculum follows the situations that are likely to shape your life abroad. Whether that's arriving and settling in to managing money and handling social interactions.
At each stage, you develop the practical Russian and cultural understanding the situation requires before rehearsing how to use it. Rather than memorising a fixed script for when everything goes according to plan, you learn how to clarify, adapt, and keep communicating when it does not.
This means that when you encounter these situations abroad, you are not facing them for the first time. You have already listened to realistic conversations, considered the cultural context, practised different responses, and experienced yourself successfully communicating through them.
By the end of the programme, you should be better able to approach everyday interactions independently, remain in Russian for longer, and participate more fully in the life around you.
Living abroad will not automatically make you fluent. But arriving prepared to participate can transform what becomes possible while you are there.
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Almaty, Kazakhstan: Residential Area.
Photo taken by Matthew Hale
IS THIS PROGRAMME FOR YOU?
You’ll likely find this a good fit if:
You want a clear, realistic plan for improving your speaking and listening outside university classes.
You’re heading to the Post-Soviet space and want to make the most of your year abroad, not just get through it for the sake of it.
You’ve studied Russian for a while, but using it in real conversations still feels challenging.
Culturally, you are not fully sure what to expect
You care about integrating locally and building genuine connections, rather than staying in an English-speaking bubble
You’re willing to show up consistently, even when things feel imperfect.
You do not need to be fluent at this stage, feel confident all the time, or have everything figured out before you start.
However, you do need:
A basic foundation in Russian (solid A1 or low A2)
The willingness to practise regularly
Openness to guidance, feedback, trying things out, and occasionally sounding silly in a judgement-free zone.
If you recognise yourself here, Steppe with Confidence was designed with you in mind.
This programme is not the right fit for:
Complete beginners (A0)
Heritage speakers who already feel comfortable speaking and navigating Russian in real life
Those who want a passive video course with no speaking element (if that's what you want, the owl is waiting for you 🦉)
Those who want to just “get fluent” (i.e. high C2 level) before they go abroad.
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Turkestan, Kazakhstan: Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi.
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HOW THE PROGRAMME BUILDS CONFIDENCE
Over the course of 4 months, you will work through a structured sequence of modules covering the practical, cultural, and linguistic realities of life across the Post-Soviet space.
We make unfamiliar situations feel familiar before you face them alone. The 4 core principles of the programme are:
Understand: encounter realistic conversations through guided listening activities.
Rehearse: practise the interaction repeatedly through custom-GPT conversations.
Adapt: respond to unexpected variations rather than memorising a fixed script.
Apply: put it into practice in a live small-group lesson with feedback.
WHY MATT?
I’ve made the journey you are preparing to make.
I did not grow up speaking Russian. I "learned" it through the British university system and continued developing it until I reached C2 level.
That means I understand the difference between knowing how Russian works in the uni classroom and being able to use it when everyday life is unfolding around you.
University gave me an important foundation; living independently in Kazakhstan taught me what it takes to turn that foundation into a language I could genuinely live through.
Russian became managing everyday responsibilities, solving problems, understanding the culture around me, building and fostering relationships, and creating a life abroad.
That experience shapes the way I teach.
Rather than just giving you more vocabulary and grammar to memorise, I help you prepare for realistic situations, rehearse them until they begin to feel familiar, and learn how to respond when an interaction does not follow the expected script.
My confidence-first approach also gives you room to finish your thoughts before receiving correction. You still receive clear, useful feedback—but without constantly interrupting the flow you are working so hard to build.
I will not promise that four months can magically make you fluent. I will help you use the Russian you already have more effectively, build practical ability week by week, and arrive abroad far better prepared to participate in the life around you.
“Steppe with Confidence gave me the know-how to tackle practical situations in Russian as a student on their year abroad in Central Asia.
The course focuses on teaching students the necessary information to get through day-to-day life in Russian and equips students with the ability and confidence to become embedded in Central Asian life. This is not something that universities offer up-coming year abroad students and yet has proved vital to me for a safe and fruitful year in Kyrgyzstan. I feel now that I have the confidence to put myself in an array of social situations and have come out of it with my Russian greatly improved and a strong respect and understanding for the culture and people.
Matt’s meticulous research and experience in Central Asia forms the basis of each lesson. Each week has its own theme with a video outlining a practical experience, delving into cultural differences, social norms and even laws, and introduces specific vocabulary and skills to apply in the future. Weekly homework reinforces the skills and vocabulary from the video. Finally, weekly online lessons are designed to combine all the knowledge and skills in the video and the homework and offers efficient and useful speaking practice and most importantly time to discuss concerns and queries.
All in all, Matt’s enthusiasm and rigorous teaching style helped me avoid many an awkward situation and navigate the interactions of daily life in Central Asia with confidence.”
Emily L.W., Russian Studies Student
“Before joining, I worried about whether I’d be good enough to take part. In university classes, I’d sometimes reach for Google Translate because I didn’t want to make a mistake. I wasn’t really learning that way.
I chose Steppe with Confidence because it was specifically for students preparing for a year abroad. I hadn’t come across anything like that before, and I liked the focus on practical Russian for real situations.
The support between lessons really stands out. Matt keeps in touch during the week, and I’ve never had that with other tutors or university lecturers.
I’m already thinking in Russian more and understanding more of the posts I see online. I feel more comfortable and more confident. It’s been gradual, and I can definitely feel the improvement. If you’re going abroad, I’d recommend signing up.”
Feedback shared partway through the programme.
Edited from her interview for length and clarity.
Eve J., Russian Studies Student
HOW IT WORKS
Every element of Steppe with Confidence is designed to help you move from understanding Russian in theory to using it more confidently and independently in real life.
Encounter realistic conversations through guided dictation, comprehension and gap-fill activities that you can pause, replay and complete at your own pace. You begin recognising both the language and cultural expectations of each situation, helping it feel familiar before you encounter it abroad.
Practise each interaction as many times as you need in a private, low-pressure environment. Unexpected variations encourage you to experiment, respond more quickly and learn how to continue when a real conversation does not follow the expected script.
Put the week’s language into practice in a live group of no more than four students. Each session includes realistic speaking practice, guided feedback, and time reserved for questions, explanations and discussion about life abroad.
Complete a live assessment with Matt near the beginning and again at the end of the programme. This gives you a clear starting point, makes your progress visible and replaces uncertainty about your Russian with specific evidence of what you can now handle.
Ask questions between lessons and receive regular check-ins from Matt throughout the week. Difficulties can be addressed before they accumulate, helping you maintain momentum rather than quietly falling behind.
Retain access to the programme materials after the taught programme finishes. When a situation becomes relevant abroad, you can return to the corresponding language, cultural guidance and practice activities instead of having to rely on memory alone.
Continue to contact Matt through WhatsApp after the programme when a new question or unfamiliar situation arises. You retain a trusted source of guidance while becoming increasingly capable of navigating life abroad for yourself.
Join a continuing community where Matt shares deeper insights into advanced Russian, life abroad and the transition into your final university year. Steppe with Confidence becomes a foundation for your continued development—not the point at which your progress stops.
UPCOMING DATES & COHORTS
The next mini-group cohorts will open up in spring of 2027. These are fixed at 16 teaching weeks across the summer break after uni plus a September-December cohort.
1-1 options are available on an on-going basis. These are self-paced with the same amount of teaching hours, but you control how quickly you get through the programme.
WEEKLY TIME COMMITMENT
On average you will spend around 4 hours per week, including:
A Weekly video lesson
A 20- to 50-minute video of the course content and short activities. Expect 1 to 2 hours in total to watch, pause, take notes and complete the tasks.
Homework
Short, targeted tasks (around 30-60 minutes) that build skills in comprehension and fluency.
Some weeks have two pieces of homework, and some week's have 1 longer task.
It's all designed so that YOU know what to expect and feel more prepared for the lesson.
A live small-group session
A weekly 90-minute lesson in a group of up to 4, with up to an extra 30 minute buffer for questions, explanations or some more general chat about life abroad.
INVESTMENT AND PAYMENT OPTIONS
The programme contains:
24 hours of live tuition (over 4 months)
Over 12 hours of asynchronous tuition (lifetime access)
Confidence and fluency-building homework tasks
Lifetime access to a bespoke-made learning platform for students of Russian
Complimentary access to Steppe by Steppe for 10 months (10:30 hours of asynchronous content)
Complimentary access to additional Steppe by Steppe drop-in office hours - amounting to up to 20 hours of additional live tuition
TOTAL: Over 66 hours of effective tuition that has been made for university students of Russian
If you go 1-1, you pay: £1,399
If you join the small groups, it's: £949
Interest-free payment plans are available.
Six-week cancellation policy
If you withdraw during the first six weeks of the programme, your total financial commitment will be reduced to £549.50.
If you are paying by instalments, this means making five payments of £109.90 in total. Alternatively, you can pay any remaining amount up to £549.50 in one payment.
After the first six weeks, the full programme fee remains payable. Complete terms will be provided in your programme contract.
SO, YOU'RE INTERESTED? HERE'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN
Complete the short Application
Tell Matt about your Russian, your year abroad plans, and what you want help with.
Free call with Matt
This is a free initial call with Matt (in English, but we can switch to Russian if you'd like 😉).
We will discuss:
your year abroad plans
where you're at with your Russian
whether the course is your next step.
Confirm that the programme and timetable suit you
Secure your place
Get started!
Once your place is secured, you will receive access to the learning platform, your introductory materials, and guidance on preparing for the first module.
Matt will guide you through everything else when your programme commences.
READY TO TAKE YOUR RUSSIAN BEYOND THE CLASSROOM?
If Steppe with Confidence sounds like the preparation and support you have been looking for, the next step is to complete a short application.
Matt will review your answers and, if the programme appears to be a suitable fit, invite you to a free 30-minute call.
The call is not a Russian test. It is a relaxed conversation about your Russian, your plans for your year abroad, and whether Steppe with Confidence is the right next step for you.
