Children: Learn Russian & English together from birth, or learn Russian later?

[Manny]

My question is this: Should a baby learn Russian and English together from birth, or learn Russian later?

If you have had a baby with your wife, I am interested to know the way you and your wife dealt with the language issue; a child becoming bilingual from birth (or not, as the case may be). It is a given that with a Russian Mother, the child should learn Russian language. English must be the childs primary language though for obvious reasons.

I am thinking that a baby having a Mother speaking to it in Russian and a Father speaking in English will impair the child's language development, as the two languages will intermingle in the child's head. This would be further complicated - I feel - when the kid is maybe 3 and learning to write. Learning Cyrillic and Latin alphabets simultaneously may be too challenging and confusing.

I am interested to know how others have dealt with this and/or opinions generally. (Мнение лингвистов, родителей особо приветствуется)

[mendeleyev]

Part of my growing up years was in the Netherlands Antilles and kids there spoke Dutch (official language), Spanish, Portuguese, English and Papiamento (local dialect- Portuguese Creole) with no problems.  Since I was not born there and had not started under those conditions, learning Dutch was a struggle for me and which I never accomplished to any degree of success.

Kids in my USA state of Arizona often speak both Spanish and English fluently.

Language professionals generally agree that very young children have the ability to distinguish and separate languages appropiately if they are started at a very young age.  In fact, if they start early enough they can master effectively the native accent of each language and appear to speak each as a "native speaker."

[alenika]

I am familiar with this issue as live in country where there are many bi-lingual families. There is one theory which states that child develops slower if hear 2 languages. Other theory says that yes, they start to speak later but this doesn't mean slow development. That they start speaking a bit later but 2 languages right away.
I think that it is better to teach both languages right away.

[mendeleyev]

Alenika and Manny, I just read this and found it very interesting.  Professor Laura-Ann Petitto is a cognitive neuroscientist teaching at Dartmouth College, where she also serves as Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory for Language & Child Development in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, and Professor in the Department of Education.

Her research indicates that the brain is not designed to be "monolinguistic" and in fact can handle more than one language easily--especially for children who begin early.

She writes that, "a child who's exposed early in life to two languages achieves each and every milestone on the same timetable as the other language -- and also on the same overall timetable as a monolingual child. There was no timing deviance. These children were acquiring language on the same developmental time course in each language."

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/oela/summit/Petitto.htm

[Manny]

Thanks for the replies up to now! It had not occured to me that families in the US have the same issue with Spanish, Canada have the same issue with French, and also Georgian and Russian languages coexist in Georgia!

BTW - Thats a great article Mendy!

[bobjf]

manny we found it a problem with our little bloke,for long time he wouldn't try either way.
at 3 his english is improving very fast but so far he  has not said any russian words even though there is plenty of russian spoken with the girls about.
his understanding & use of english words is very good but takes no notice when spoken to in russian,maybe when he is older.
galina speaks both languages fluently & her accent is slowly changing to

[pwmcon]

HI My Rw wife and I have a 2 yrs old, actually 27 mo. He is speech delayed and she speaks and her mother speaks russian to him and I speak english of  course. After the time he should of been talking I was against the russian part as I thought it was too confusing and adding to the delay. Hes now in Speech therapy. To me if your child is reaching the language milestones or not much behind, like 10% then go with it, or else dro the russian altogether. It can alwasy be brought in later at 4-5 yrs old or so. We now have the baby in day care 100% 5 days per week for the past 3 months so his exposure to russian is much less.

[Wild Orchid]

Most parents speak their native language to the child. I think if you want the child to learn the language that is not wide spread in the country it has to be done from birth, it will be more difficult if not impossible later.

Most of bilingual children start talking later, but some kids start talking very late even with parents of the same language. My step-granddaughter is 3 and a half.. What writing? She can't speak properly yet. At what age do you teach children to write in UK? In Russia we are lucky if they can read by the age 5-6, writing comes a bit later.


I knew one french lady who taught all her children (there was 4 of them) French, they were born in Au. When I asked her what language she uses when she talks to them, she said "I'd rather teach them good French than not so good English". Kids will learn to speak English very fast regardless of your efforts. If you want you child to know another language, that is what your family should concentrate on. IMHO

[Chris]

It had not occured to me that families in the US have the same issue with Spanish, Canada have the same issue with French, and also Georgian and Russian languages coexist in Georgia!

BTW - Thats a great article Mendy!

Manny, I bet you also get that here with Urdu and English and perhaps others and English, when she gets older they have dual language books now which help them, they can compare the two styles of language, but obviously that is for the future.

[Mila]

To my mind, a child can learn two languages in the same time, but the parents must control the process and help a lot, as there is a very big probability of mixing the languages. I know that, as when i was learning English and French in University, sometimes it was really difficult, as i strarted to mix the two languages even without noticing it sometimes. So, i think, the process of learning two languages in the same time is rather difficult and takes lots of effords and patience

[dwfunk]

My question is this: Should a baby learn Russian and English together from birth, or learn Russian later?

If you have had a baby with your wife, I am interested to know the way you and your wife dealt with the language issue; a child becoming bilingual from birth (or not, as the case may be). It is a given that with a Russian Mother, the child should learn Russian language. English must be the childs primary language though for obvious reasons.

I am thinking that a baby having a Mother speaking to it in Russian and a Father speaking in English will impair the child's language development, as the two languages will intermingle in the child's head. This would be further complicated - I feel - when the kid is maybe 3 and learning to write. Learning Cyrillic and Latin alphabets simultaneously may be too challenging and confusing.

I am interested to know how others have dealt with this and/or opinions generally. (Мнение лингвистов, родителей особо приветствуется)

Start the child in both languages the second s/he is born.  What they need at the earliest possible time is to get the sound patterns imprinted into the brain.  Even if the child doesn't learn the second language right away, s/he will easily pick it up later as the sound patterns are already imprinted.  (This 'imprinting' is why Asians for example have such difficult with certain sounds in English, those sounds do not exist in their original language)

As to confusing a child with multiple languages, nope.  Kids are smarter than we give them credit for.  For example, I have 2 grandsons, mom speaks Spanish, dad speaks English.  The boys are now 8 and 7 and fluent in both Spanish and English.  If spoken to in Spanish, they will reply in Spanish, same with English.  They know that Abuela only speaks Spanish, and that Grandpa mostly speaks English.  Their only confusion comes from me, when I mix languages on them, especially if it's Russian!   

I have a small granddaughter who's mother speaks English and who's father speaks Chinese, Portuguese and French.  She currently responds in 3 languages.

You won't confuse the child, but they might confuse you by mixing languages sometimes and be correct in what they mix.

They will also adapt easier than you think to the two different alphabets.

The biggest problem is that we project our difficulties on learning new languages on to the child.  They're little learning sponges, while we're rather dried out . . . .   



-david

[Rasputin]

It is best to speak to the child in both languages from birth. However, each parent must choose one language and consistently speak to that child in that language. That way, the child will learn to distinguish the two languages, learn both, and avoid any linguistic confusion.

[Manny]

It is best to speak to the child in both languages from birth. However, each parent must choose one language and consistently speak to that child in that language. That way, the child will learn to distinguish the two languages, learn both, and avoid any linguistic confusion.

Thanks Rasputin and others who have commented on this. This is the course we have chosen with our novaya dochinka. The comments here and the things my wife has read on other sites support this view also.

Tak, now I must learn more Russian to be able to keep up with what my wife is saying to our dochinka. 

[fireeater]

It is best to speak to the child in both languages from birth. However, each parent must choose one language and consistently speak to that child in that language. That way, the child will learn to distinguish the two languages, learn both, and avoid any linguistic confusion.

Thanks Rasputin and others who have commented on this. This is the course we have chosen with our novaya dochinka. The comments here and the things my wife has read on other sites support this view also.

Tak, now I must learn more Russian to be able to keep up with what my wife is saying to our dochinka. 

Could be worse think about what you may have to learn if she knew more then two langauges. 

[james7585]

my son is 21 months old. we started teaching him 2 languages right away. He understands both languages perfectly, russian a little bit better (i worked hard, because russian is much more difficult to learn). however he uses english words much more. i think because it's much easier for him to pronounce. short words in russian he can say and he says only a half of long words. anyway, i am satisfied with results.
nadia

[Simoni]

Language professionals generally agree that very young children have the ability to distinguish and separate languages appropiately if they are started at a very young age.  In fact, if they start early enough they can master effectively the native accent of each language and appear to speak each as a "native speaker."

True statement.  Go for it, Manny.

I also talked with professors in our language department and they agree.  A French prof speaks only French to their daughter, and the mother only English.  Their five year old is fluent in both languages.

We have three international marriage friends, and their experience is the same.  One child even speaks Russian, English and Spanish, as the parents are Columbian and Russian and speak to each other in English. It's a fun world!

Manny-- mom's tend to be more verbal with children.  You can make up for it by reading good children's books to the baby every day.  And yes, start when she or he is an infant.

You'll love the process.

[froid]

What about a situation where there is another sibling already? 

Mom speaks Russian
Dad speaks English
Brother speaks both depending on which parent he is dealing with. 

Would that cause the learning process to confuse the languages? 

 

[Rasputin]

Would that cause the learning process to confuse the languages?  

The process is confused when the child is surrounded by people who speak a mixture of two language: i.e. speak sentences with some words from both languages or switch half way through a sentence from one language to the other.

[froid]

So really this method will only work for the FIRST child. 

The second one will be confused by the first. 

[fireeater]

So really this method will only work for the FIRST child. 

The second one will be confused by the first. 

That might depend on the child itself, as to how well they can handle it.   

You do have to take the childs personalty into account for anything in life. 

[Rasputin]

So really this method will only work for the FIRST child. 

The second one will be confused by the first. 

No, just as long as the parents or other adults consistently use one language and only one language. Then there is the media: you can show Russian movies for children and English movies for children. 

[Simoni]

So really this method will only work for the FIRST child. 

The second one will be confused by the first. 

No, it's ok for both children.

We have friends with two daughters and THREE languages in the house and they are not confused at all.

Never underestimate what Noam Chomsky termed the Language Acquisition Device (LAD).    A child's brain is very, very smart.

[Rasputin]

Never underestimate what Noam Chomsky termed the Language Acquisition Device (LAD).    A child's brain is very, very smart.

Yes, makes you wonder what happens between childhood and adulthood for most people (present company excepted of course) 

[mendeleyev]

my son is 21 months old.

Hi Nadia and James, its nice to have you here! Welcome and thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[supranatural]

It's already been decided (moreso by me) by my wife and I that our children will be exposed to, and taught, 4 languages from birth - English, Russian, Ukranian and Chinse.  We don't see a problem as I was easily bi-lingual from the time I was 4.