Media about our experience
Eva's first word was "ba", from the English word "ball".
An international family gives the child the opportunity to speak the languages of both parents fluently. Bilingual children are carriers of two cultures. Sometimes bilingualism is created artificially: the child is raised from an early age by a foreign nanny. What problems do children face in such cases? Is it right and good to learn to speak two languages from early age? Moms, dads, and bilingual children themselves told us their stories, confessed who thinks, dreams, and gets angry in what language.
Alik and Anatol speak Russian and German equally well.
Polina Du Pont is 9 years old, she lives in Lyon with her French father and her Russian mother, attends French school and misses Russia. She spends almost all her summer and winter holidays with her loving grandmother, to whom she is happy to fly to Moscow. Polina associates Moscow with new year holidays, gifts and new experiences. Polina's mother, Elena Du Pont, shared with us how she deals with a bilingual child, what to pay attention to and what to avoid.
- Despite the fact that we live in France, Polina's Russian language has long dominated. It would be unnatural for me to speak to a child in a foreign language, when there are no such phrases, addresses, or affectionate words.
In general, we followed the rule proposed by child psychologists from the very beginning: one parent speaks Russian, the other speaks French to the child. Therefore, my daughter knew from an early age what language to address, and could easily switch from one language to another. Since I was more involved with her than my husband, she first learned to read in Russian. She started reading French books later. We both got used to the fact that I only speak Russian with her. Once we went to visit friends and when we were leaving I accidentally asked her something in French. She was so surprised: "Mom, what are you doing, it's just the two of us, there's no one else around."
- At the age of three, she went to a French kindergarten, and for a long time, teachers were saying that Polina's vocabulary was limited. But at the same time, they understood that it was not critical, she just knew less words than her peers. But she never used Russian words when speaking French.
- Sometimes my daughter may use some words when we speak Russian, for example, she comes from school and says: "We went for a walk in "recreation"." This means, during the reverse. Before she altered the French word with the help of Russian suffixes. For example, she came up with the word "пусеточка" from the French "poucette", which means a stroller.
- Sometimes. For example, she might say: "взять автобус" instead of "поехать на автобусе", "я не знаю, если я буду суп" instead of "я не знаю, буду ли я суп".
- The most important thing is not to make an eternal lesson out of a child's life. There should always be moderation. And the following phrase can never be said: "I don't understand you, don't speak French." Because the child will get upset knowing she's been lied to, she can hear what language her parents use to ommunicate. This is a matter of trust.
- No, he doesn't. As long as Polina was little, it didn't bother him very much. And now he gets more and more interested, the child is growing up, the topics of conversation are changing. So a couple of months ago, my husband started to learn Russian. But Polina is terribly dissatisfied and sometimes she says things like: "Why does dad learn Russian? He will understand all our conversations." I calm her down: "Don't worry, he will not speak Russian as good as we do."
- Yes, and I'm very happy, because it shows her level of language and lack of accent. Polina is a little bit grassy, and at one time we took her to a speech therapist. But then we left it as it is, deciding that this "R" would be her little thing.
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Polina is a representative of two cultures. Sometimes she's Russian and sometimes she's French. Depending on where she is, probably. "Here in Russia, there in Russia, here in France and there in France" - all these are her phrases that change depending on the circumstances. There was a period in early childhood when she did not want to return to France after the holidays. Dad called her on Skype, and she told him: "I'm Russian, I'm staying here." The husband, fortunately, was not offended.
Now Polina is equally fond of Russia and France, she is a patriot of both countries. Here's what she wrote about herself for this article (the spelling and punctuation of the young polyglot are preserved). "I think in Russian. I dream in Russian and French. I get mad in French. I joke in Russian and French. It's easier for me to play in French. For me, the most beautiful language is Russian. I know better French because I read better, go to school (French), and play more often with French friends. I consider myself a French-Russian, I am both. - When I was at school, the language was not taught much, and then I had to make up for a lost time before entering the Institute, - says her father, Valentin Grogol. - Now I speak fluent English, but I still have an accent, and sometimes when communicating with the English people, I do not understand them. I always wanted my daughter not to have that. And if there is a person nearby who plays with her, communicates in English, then this is the development of the language in natural conditions. So there was an idea to find an English-speaking nanny.
- The first word was mother, but it sounds the same in all languages. Then came the word "bo", from the English "ball", as she called the ball. So there is a feeling that her first word was in English.
- When she started to speak, she would replace some words. She could say: "Принеси мне бол (Bring me the ball)" about the ball. But the family had a clear division of who spoke what language to her, so she stopped making mistakes. My mother and grandmother were responsible for Russian education, and my nanny and I were responsible for English education. Eva didn't even know I spoke Russian until she was 5 years old. Now she is all grown-up, she speaks English better than me, and I speak Russian with her. I don't want to hear a comment from my daughter.
- There is an opinion that if a child is a native speaker of two languages, they know fewer words. But Eva has a very large vocabulary. It is also believed that bilinguals start speaking later, in our case this was not the case. Some of them haven't spoken a single language yet, and Eva has already spoken two. I hope that she will not lose her English language skills, and that is why the nanny sometimes comes now.
- At one time we went to the American Protestant Church on Sundays to communicate with English-speaking children. While the service is going on, the children play in a separate room. In addition, we often travel, particularly to English-speaking countries.
- Yes, quite often. She speaks fluently and without an accent. I once posted a video of my daughter on the Internet. There were comments like: "don't talk nonsense, this is a foreign child, stop lying."
- Sometimes she says something in her sleep. Sometimes in Russian, and sometimes in English. So, she thinks in both languages.
- Now she likes Russian better, because she is used to speaking it. And of course, this is her native language, she considers it more beautiful.
- We just started school. I doubt that she is already fluent in writing. I'm not sure she likes it, at least I haven't seen her writing.
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- The elder's first word was the German "mehr", which means "more". The younger Tolik had a "ka" from the English word "car". Because we were living in Thailand at the time, and the housekeeper spoke to him in English. "Anatoly, Anatoly, - she used to say about approaching cars, - look, look, a car!»
In Thailand, he also started speaking Thai, communicating it with the servants and the gardener. About what — it remained a secret of Anatole, as now he does not remember a word. Then he went to English kindergarten, and English became his main language, since it was the language of communication in a group with other children. Then we went back to Germany, and by the age of 4, he had forgotten English, as well as Thai, completely. - Alik had almost no mixing of languages, only sometimes he transferred the German construction of phrases to the Russian language. For example: "Will you drink tea or?» I repeated unfamiliar words to Alik several times, for example: "please give me a spoon, spoon, spoon. Bring a plate from the kitchen, a plate." I tried to train him in this way so that he could remember the vocabulary. Alik spoke Russian with an accent, more like a German child. As for Anatole, he still inserts the words he knows into his speech. Today, for example, he forgot the word "winter" and suddenly said "hiver" in French. "In the morning it was snowing, it is a real hiver". Anatol is too lazy to think about the names of things, and he uses the first word that comes to mind, in the first language that comes to mind.
- Both first started reading in German. They can read in Russian, but they don't want to. Alik says that it is more pleasant for him to read in German, because "I like Latin letters better".
- There are many Russian schools here because there are 3 million emigrants from Russia living in the country. The disadvantage of such a school is that children are recruited by age, not by level of knowledge. And every child has different level, some children can read and writs, some do not speak the language at all. If parents work, and they have no time to deal with the child, and the grandmother doesn't speak German really well, then you realize that you need a private teacher. Thanks to my parents, they helped me teach my children Russian, I would not be able to do that alone.
- How did Polina learn French in this environment?
- Does she use French words when speaking Russian?
- Does he use French rules to build Russian phrases?
- Do you correct her?
- Does your husband speak Russian? Does he understand what you're talking about with your daughter?
- Is she mistaken for a Russian child in Russia?
- Polina is more Russian or French?
Bilingual model: learning without torment
Eva Grogol was born and lives in Moscow in a Russian-speaking family. When she was one year old, her father hired an English-speaking nanny for her. So Eva started speaking two languages at once, spending half her time with her parents and another half with her nanny. Now Eva is 7 years old, she is a bilingual child, a native speaker of Russian and English.
- In what language did Eva say her first words?
- Did eve speak two separate languages, or was it a mixture of languages?
- Did English not prevent her from speaking Russian fluently and competently?
- How not to forget English in a situation when communication with the nanny gradually fades "to nothing"?
- Is Eva often mistaken for a native English speaker?
- I wonder what language she's thinking in.
- Which language does she prefer?
- Did Eva learn to write?
The most advanced experts say that bilingualism is useful, it develops the brain. According to research, bilinguals are less likely to have brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's, in old age. Reference "MK". The demand for foreign nannies, English, French, and Chinese, is limited by people's financial capabilities. Those who have less wealth can afford a nanny not from England, but from English – speaking African countries – Nigeria and Ghana.
As for the English nanny, her time cost starts from 1000 pounds per week. There are families where the child is taken care of by several foreign nannies. The child in this case begins to speak three, four, five languages. However, the older they get, the less time they have to communicate with nannies. But parents don't give up. In the morning, a Spanish nanny prepares breakfast for the child, an English nanny takes him/her to school, and in the evening he/she is met by a French tutor. So each language takes up about an hour a day.
The beauty of Latin letters
Albert and Anatole Sonntag live in Cologne. But at home they are Alik and Tolik, because they have a Russian mother. From early childhood, they spoke to her in Russian, and they spoke German their father. Now they are 16 and 12 years old, both children consider themselves Germans, but the younger Anatol loves the Russian language more. The mother, Olga Sonntag, tells the bilingual story of each of her children.
- Did the children try to replace unfamiliar words with words of another language?
- Do they read in both languages?
- How do your children learn Russian in Germany? Do they attend a Russian school?
While we were talking to Olga via Skype, the boys came home and were happy to answer my questions. Here's what they said about themselves (the author's style is preserved):
Albert: In Russia, I think automatically in Russian, in Germany — it's different. I have never forgotten neither the one nor the other language. Always after arrival in Russia or Germany could speak in the first day. We speak German with my brother, because this way Tolya understands me better. Because it's a fast-speaking language. If I scold Tolya, it is also more convenient to do in German, because German is much harder than Russian, it's not so soft. But if there are Germans around who can understand us, it is more convenient to speak Russian. I consider myself a German, but I think Tolya is more Russian. Tolya looks like a Russian.
Anatol: When I speak Russian I think in Russian when I speak German I think in German. I consider myself German because I live here. I like Russian better, but it's easier for me to speak German. I sometimes insert German, French, or English words in my speech when I speak Russian. I forget words and replace them. I can read in Russian, but I like to read in German more. I never forgot the language, I could always speak Russian, sometimes a little worse when I didn't come to Russia for a long time. But then everything was good again. I learn English at school. English is very easy... Who likes to learn languages? Nobody. Everyone only likes to speak in them.
Speech therapist's comment. Marina Shpakovskaya, speech therapist, psychologist, preschool and primary teacher: "We have two speech zones in the cerebral cortex: Broca's area and Wernicke's area. If these zones have developed normally, they are responsible for understanding and reproducing one or more languages. Bilingualism does not affect whether children start speaking earlier or later. No matter how many languages are spoken in the family, in any case, the child goes through the stages of speech development. If the child is healthy, with the normal functioning of different areas of the cerebral cortex, then learning a second language will develop their attention, thinking, and memory.
If we talk about international families, then, depending on where they live, the child still has one native language, and it dominates. Sometimes both languages are developed in the same way, but still one will be ahead — the one children learn at school. The second language, in which they communicate at home with one of the parents, becomes their everyday language. It is important to understand that the language learning system is very serious and complex, and to differentiate between these two concepts: spoken language and language as a science. If we think that the child speaks well to us in everyday language, it is not a fact that he is also literate and writes well.
I would not recommend learning two languages at the same time. It is one thing to introduce it in a playful way, but it is another thing to engage in it at an academic level from an early age. I spoke with bilingual families living in Russia. Parents want their children to write letters and have the correct pronunciation. And then the difficulties arise, because the child has not yet mastered their native language, and they are expected to have brilliant knowledge of the second language already. Child's problems accumulate, follow them throughout their school life, and then these students end up with a low score for their examinations. Therefore, if a bilingual child is studying in Russia, then of course, first of all, the phonetics and grammar of the Russian language should be introduced. And then you should start teaching the second language which your children previously used in the day to day life."