If you follow the advice given by the book ie BE PATIENT and persist then this course, especially if you have the CDs as well, will give you a thorough grounding in Ukrainian. It is not a phrase book but a complete course and you will need to make an effort: Ukrainian is very different to English. If you can also get hold of Pimsleur's Essential Ukrainian 1 (unfortunately it does not appear to be available new)to listen to as well then that will help with pronunciation. I am only giving it 4 stars because, as another review points out, there are slight differences, which can confuse, between the spoken and written exercises. All in all good value. The long review below does NOT actually recommend any alternative book or course at an affordable price. It appears to be this or "Teach Yourself Ukrainian" and of the two I prefer this one but that is simply a matter of taste.. I do not say that Ukrainian is easy nor that this book is excellent: it is not you will need to read some of the explanations several times before you grasp them. Hard work will be needed but with only the first 5 chapters of this and "Pimsleur's Ukrainian" I survived well enough in Ukrainia,communicated with the locals,and caught all the correct trains etc.