Привет! I'm currently learning Russian as a native English speaker. I've only been at it for a few weeks but I feel like I've gotten some of the basics down.
Anyone who is more knowledgeable than me, how do I reliably learn which to use from ц, ч, с, щ, or ш?
Also when speaking long words 10+ characters or 4+ syllables long I feel myself triping over my tongue. Moreso than my previous experience with learning German but it has been over a decade since then.
Additionally, anyone else learning a second or third language and hows it going for you?
I recommend trying to break up long words when you're starting out. The longer words have shorter ones as their roots, so once you get comfortable with those, it'll come more naturally. It's similar to German in that sense, but more consonants in Russian which makes it a bit more difficult at first.
And I'm learning Mandarin here, kind of the opposite problem for me there. Words are very short, and sometimes the same sound can mean wildly different things in different contexts, or the tone changes the meaning. Incidentally, composing words together to make new words is also a thing in it. Sometimes you get amusing combinations like 马上 for quickly, which literally translates to on horse.