Your children learning Russian or not

[Shadow]

The Little Shadows speak 4 languages.
Russian by their mother, Dutch by their father and (partially) TV, English by both parents and TV, and whatever language they use to communicate between each other which nobody except themselves seems to understand.
As a result they have a good hearing for words, as recently singing a song from one of their favorite movies in French showed.

Sometimes they pick up things we have no idea where from, as the youngest interrupted his play to go to the bathroom by telling his brother in Dutch "I will be right back".

What is clear is that both are storing almost anything they hear, and they manage to associate it correctly and use it with creativity in their play.
They both have the ability to understand humour extremely fast, and create their own jokes.

[skidoddle]

Hello North or is it JAN,

You sound almost just like me if not EXACTLY right down to the two children reading to them at night, classes, music mathematics ect.

What a coincidence....I By the way good solid site.......I know do them myself!!!!

Really great stuff.................it is very hard to believe your wife is so supportive about what u are doing I guess she has OTHER plans......that is to bad.

You have said she works for the DOJ been there done that but it was the DOD for me. Top Secret all of that during the Cold War.

I have NO DESIRE to go there ever again cuz I know all the POLITICAL Nonsense you get into once you ADVANCE which is where I was so long ago.
NAVSEA SYSTEM Command ya de la da trips to Arlington all the time so that is OLD OLD OLD and to far back in the way  back machine

Also Jan I read that you are into software programming........?? Been there done that also C Plus and even helped  a friend find Russian Software engineers for his company here so interviewed many very smart Russians
and also worked with them.

I find your post very interesting and similar to my Life. Do you kids speak
Russian ....... mine are fluent in two languages and I will be teaching them another one here soon since I live in MEXIFONIA.

By the way your trip experiences are very good  should record them!!!
SKIDODDLE

[BlondeSeeker]

This is probably not something most would want to hear here but I don't think my children should ever learn Russian. I would be more comfortable with a language that more business is done in than wasting their time. IMO... Either way, nothing but English until around 5 years old. I can't have my 2 year old screaming for things I have no clue what are. (My grandfather spoke 14 languages so no, I'm not blind to the usefulness of knowing more than one but Russian? she/he'll probably never use it except to talk to mom)

[Anotherkiwi]

This is probably not something most would want to hear here but I don't think my children should ever learn Russian. I would be more comfortable with a language that more business is done in than wasting their time. IMO... Either way, nothing but English until around 5 years old. I can't have my 2 year old screaming for things I have no clue what are. (My grandfather spoke 14 languages so no, I'm not blind to the usefulness of knowing more than one but Russian? she/he'll probably never use it except to talk to mom)

I presume from the "he/she" that you are talking about the future.  This sort of ironclad "you'll learn Russian over my dead body" won't go down well with the members here (not just the RW), and it could quite easily spell disaster for your future relationship(s) with Russian/Ukrainian women.  If you've done much reading on the forum you'll have seen the divergent opinions but, in my estimation, the majority view seems to be to teach the little darlings as many languages as they can comfortably handle at as early an age as possible.

Give your two year old some credit - he's not going to scream at you in Russian or Greek or Zulu if he knows you don't speak it - he'll scream at you in English.  You have your grandfather's example - surely it could not hinder him in life that he spoke so many languages?  In any case, going back to your own scenario above, you contradict yourself because you say, first, "I don't think my children should ever learn Russian," then, "nothing but English until around 5 years old."  Which is it to be?

There is more than one possibility:

1.  He does only talk to his mother in Russian (some, a lot or all of the time) and so you feel left out.

2.  You learn Russian yourself so that you can understand your child and, to a much lesser extent, his mother (because her English will of course be totally fluent, won't it?  ).

3.  He (and, hopefully, you) become proficient enough in Russian to be able to talk to his mother's parents in their own language.

4.  Irrespective of any trips on which he may have been taken as a child to visit relatives in Russia, his studies of the language and culture inspire him to visit Russia on his own at a later date to find out more about the land which produced his mother.

5.  He finds his own Russian wife!

[Chicagoguy]

I helped a Russian couple move here 20 years ago and they spoke zero English. Now both are very, very successful. But they spoke only Russian at home. Easier for them. And they had Russian channel on TV most of the time. Fast forward 20 years and their child could speak it fluently. But he couldn't even read a Russian menu. So while in university he started Russian language courses - and their were others in class similar to him. His mother was surprised how well he did. Now he is graduating and going on to Medical school and his mother complains he will soon be losing this ability to read from lack of use. Will not have much time and is indifferent in seeking opportunities.

So yes, it is good for the brain to learn a new language and it makes subsequent languages easier but do you NEED it. My Russian friends tell my to skip learning Russian. It is difficult and I would seldom use it.

[Елена]

As for the topic, my wife's feeling is if and when we have kids she'll attempt to teach them to speak Russian, but with greater emphasis on English. She said she may change her mind later about teaching them Russian at all. I've already told her I won't try to teach them *my* native language as I just don't see the benefit of it considering I learned to speak another *foreign* language and it proved to be futile and a waste of my time.

This is similar to some of my friends say about what to study in school and what is not . Many people say, " Why should I learn if I'm not good in life. " Soviet education was so arranged (and it was until recently) that the school and the institution in any field all studied higher mathematics , chemistry, physics , biology, history philosophy . I believe that the formulation of the question : "Why teach him if I do not come in handy in life is fundamentally wrong. " If we adhere to this point of view , the formation of large numbers of people turn to only score of 10,000 , the notion that vinegar quenches soda, and have the force of friction and gravity. Educated man differs from the savage that it has a system of knowledge . And just having more or less deep knowledge of most sciences can build a system of beliefs about the world and man's place in this world. Another method does not exist. and deep specialization in the profession is to be built on a foundation of deep knowledge in various fields . otherwise , it's just narrow-minded people , but also if they are pros in their specialty. Everything in this world is interconnected , one follows from the other. All this applies to foreign language. Knowledge in many areas extends understanding of the laws of this world, the brain learns better thinking, synthesis, analysis ,generalization . language is basis of a culture of all peoples. Waiver of any knowledge robs people. Why ? All this voluntarily ?

[Muzh]

As for the topic, my wife's feeling is if and when we have kids she'll attempt to teach them to speak Russian, but with greater emphasis on English. She said she may change her mind later about teaching them Russian at all. I've already told her I won't try to teach them *my* native language as I just don't see the benefit of it considering I learned to speak another *foreign* language and it proved to be futile and a waste of my time.

This is similar to some of my friends say about what to study in school and what is not . Many people say, " Why should I learn if I'm not good in life. " Soviet education was so arranged (and it was until recently) that the school and the institution in any field all studied higher mathematics , chemistry, physics , biology, history philosophy . I believe that the formulation of the question : "Why teach him if I do not come in handy in life is fundamentally wrong. " If we adhere to this point of view , the formation of large numbers of people turn to only score of 10,000 , the notion that vinegar quenches soda, and have the force of friction and gravity. Educated man differs from the savage that it has a system of knowledge . And just having more or less deep knowledge of most sciences can build a system of beliefs about the world and man's place in this world. Another method does not exist. and deep specialization in the profession is to be built on a foundation of deep knowledge in various fields . otherwise , it's just narrow-minded people , but also if they are pros in their specialty. Everything in this world is interconnected , one follows from the other. All this applies to foreign language. Knowledge in many areas extends understanding of the laws of this world, the brain learns better thinking, synthesis, analysis ,generalization . language is basis of a culture of all peoples. Waiver of any knowledge robs people. Why ? All this voluntarily ?

Elena, there is a "quote" function on the upper right corner of every post which will enclose the  post you are answering, if you are inclined to do so.
 
Or you can use the brackets "[ ]" and type the word quote inside the bracket at the top and then paste the part of the post you want to address and close it by again using the brackets "[]" and typing inside /quote using the forward slash.

[Елена]

 
[Elena, there is a "quote" function on the upper right corner of every post which will enclose the  post you are answering, if you are inclined to do so.
 
Or you can use the brackets "[ ]" and type the word quote inside the bracket at the top and then paste the part of the post you want to address and close it by again using the brackets "[]" and typing inside /quote using the forward slash.]
Many thanks for the tip. It seemed to me that I do so as it should, but I was wrong. Thank you!!
I've got it?

[Misha]

This is probably not something most would want to hear here but I don't think my children should ever learn Russian.

This is certainly something that you don't want to read, but read it you will, but you should really not be looking to get married to a Russian woman or any woman for that matter who speaks as her mother tongue any language other than English.

I would be more comfortable with a language that more business is done in than wasting their time. IMO... Either way, nothing but English until around 5 years old. I can't have my 2 year old screaming for things I have no clue what are.

That is a very good plan to ensure that your future wife will come to hate you or at the very least despise you. You might luck out and find a woman who hates her language and her culture, but the odds are not good.

(My grandfather spoke 14 languages so no, I'm not blind to the usefulness of knowing more than one but Russian? she/he'll probably never use it except to talk to mom)

And grandparents, and cousins, and uncles and aunts an extended kin.... Then there will be Russian friends, and the likely visits from in-laws. The only real way that you will be able to "enforce" your rules is to marry someone who only speaks English and shares your worldview.

[BlondeSeeker]

That is a very good plan to ensure that your future wife will come to hate you or at the very least despise you. You might luck out and find a woman who hates her language and her culture, but the odds are not good.

I guess I found one of those then? We have talked about it and she doesn't see a point to any kids we have knowing Russian. Might be worth noting that this is a small town girl from out in the part of Russia where roads aren't paved, many buildings are halfway standing like the whole thing collapsed/was destroyed except one wall, etc. The water works for about an hour twice a day and the rest of the day you have to pour water from the bucket next to the toilet to flush.

[pitbull]

I guess I found one of those then? We have talked about it and she doesn't see a point to any kids we have knowing Russian. Might be worth noting that this is a small town girl from out in the part of Russia where roads aren't paved, many buildings are halfway standing like the whole thing collapsed/was destroyed except one wall, etc. The water works for about an hour twice a day and the rest of the day you have to pour water from the bucket next to the toilet to flush.

Well then it makes sense that she agrees with what you want (no Russian for kids). In fact she would probably promise to stand on her head naked all day every day if you asked her, just to escape this place 


What happens after she gets acclimated and has her GC - is another story 

[Misha]

I guess I found one of those then? We have talked about it and she doesn't see a point to any kids we have knowing Russian. Might be worth noting that this is a small town girl from out in the part of Russia where roads aren't paved, many buildings are halfway standing like the whole thing collapsed/was destroyed except one wall, etc. The water works for about an hour twice a day and the rest of the day you have to pour water from the bucket next to the toilet to flush.

Does she speak English fluently? If not, what she says now may change once she is settled into a new country and has a child. What then? Also, what will you do when the in-laws come and visit you? Do they speak English fluently?

[Muzh]

[Elena, there is a "quote" function on the upper right corner of every post which will enclose the  post you are answering, if you are inclined to do so.
 
Or you can use the brackets "[ ]" and type the word quote inside the bracket at the top and then paste the part of the post you want to address and close it by again using the brackets "[]" and typing inside /quote using the forward slash.]
Many thanks for the tip. It seemed to me that I do so as it should, but I was wrong. Thank you!!
I've got it?

Okay. Look at this post and locate the link "Quote" on the upper right corner. When you click on it you should get something like this:
 

 
Notice the very first sentence which starts with a bracket "[" followed by Quote author=Елена..... and ends with another bracket "]"
 
At the end it finishes with the following /quote inside the brackets "[]"
 
This is how you quote.

[Muzh]

What happens after she gets acclimated and has her GC - is another story 

 
Shhhh!!!!
 
Spoiler alert!!!