One of the biggest problems I have faced in learning Russian is the pronunciation of certain sounds. In particular Р and Ы [R and what can best be described as Ey but with the sound coming from the back of the throat rather than the front.] The R in particular has caused many problems for me as here, they role their R's here.
For someone who hasn't grown up and naturally developed this skill it is very hard to suddenly try and master it. I have spent many hours standing at street corners, waiting for people, and making attempts to master this sound but instead gaining strange looks from passers by [and occasional laughs]. What surprised me was discovering how common this problem is for Ukrainian children as they are growing up. In fact because of it I discovered a tip for helping to learn to role R's [so far it hasn't worked].
In addition apparently Lenin couldn't properly role his R's and so used a cheating method of pronouncing D's or T's just beforehand so he could get that affect.
So I am still trying to role my R's and using techniques such as those found on this Wikihow.
