Advantages

1. You can start right away, in any moment you wish. You are not bound with schedule and classes.
2. You can learn as much new material as you wish. You can learn even faster then your “colleagues” attending courses or private classes.
3. You can learn whatever you want. You can have your own system like learn grammar this week and boost your vocabulary the next week.
4. You can save money or spend those buying good dictionaries instead of paying for the courses.
5. You can make self-education an essential part of your life. You can listed to the Russian radio in the morning when having breakfast, read Russian books when having lunch, communicate with your Russian e-pals throughout the workday, and attend a Russian speaking club once a week.

Disadvantages

1. You won’t have any control and sometimes you might get too lazy to start doing some exercises.
2. It might be a little difficult to find a interlocutor if not attending courses.
3. You may lose your motivation because there are no competitors.
4. It all depends on you.
5. Sometimes a good teacher can’t be replaced by the best text-book.
Review all the advantages and disadvantages one more time and if you still feel excited about self-education then you should try it for sure. Finally, remember that you can combine self-education and language courses.