What is the difference between “изучать” and “учить” in Russian?

Изучать means to study or examine a particular subject, and it usually takes an object: Алина изучает английский язык, “Alina studies English.” For “I’m learning Russian” in everyday speech, Russians also say я учу русский, and for “I’m a student / I study at school,” they say я учусь.

So English “study/learn” is spread over three verbs. Изучать is studying a subject, a bit formal. Учить depends on the construction: учу русский is “I’m learning Russian,” учу стихотворение is “I’m memorising a poem,” and учу детей is “I teach children.” Учиться is being a student somewhere: я учусь в университете. The clip’s friends all have hobbies, играть на гитаре, слушать музыку, and Alina’s is изучать английский язык.