Reading in Two Languages

WOW! Russian-that's awesome! I'm not sure what the right answer would be for your child. I agree with Dawn T. Try it and if it's too much, drop Russian until you feel your child is ready. I can tell you from personal experience that I grew up in a bilingual home and I learned both languages at the same time, speaking & reading. English dominated but by elementary school I was reading and speaking both languages at my age level. Now in adulthood I can fluently speak and read both languages and now I say thank you to my parents for educating me like they did. I've done the same thing with my kids and it's working fine but they can only speak the language, not read. My daughter in Kindergarten at age 4 had a friend who spoke English & Japanese and could read AND write both languages. Boy did she impress the pants off me! Children at a young age learn better. They are like sponges. Teaching at a young age is key. I say go for it!

Everything is more difficult and confusing when you are learning two languages, but the end result is well worth it. If you would like your child to be truly bilingual he needs to be able to read both languages. The best time to start on that is when he is young. You will just need to be prepared to spend extra time helping him. Keep in mind that it takes several years to become fluent so some learning lags may occur and are acceptable. I would continue learning both languages at the same time. If it seems like too much you can always drop one.

Well, my kids are bi-lingual.... in speech and hearing it. Fluent.

My daughter is 7 now... and NOW, she is able to read in both languages.
My son is 3.5... he does not read in English fluently nor his other language.
As a lay-person/Mom... I would hold off on his reading classes for Russian, at this age. For now until he is older, maybe when he is in Elementary school.

Speaking/hearing.. then reading in other languages in tandem... happens in stages, per the age juncture of the child. At this age, 3.... they are still learning about their primary language, recognizing forms of the letters, "reading" and comprehension, sight recognition etc.

Learning acquisition... occurs, per their age. Each age, they learn certain things developmentally... and "mastery" of it, is per their age as well.

My son, had a Speech Therapist before... and through this, I learned that speech/talking/language attainment occurs in age-stages, BASED upon the age development of the child. So, if expecting certain things from a child, that is NOT age appropriate nor developmentally geared... they may not get it or be able to do it. Because, these things are developmental based.

PLUS, the Russian School he attends... is this just for 3 year olds? Is the Teacher teaching the kids per age development? Or is the class comprised of all ages of kids? THAT makes a big difference as well.
It has to be developmental based. ie: if a 3 year old is in a class with 5 year olds... they are on DIFFERENT learning abilities and stages. NO matter what, the teaching and methods, has to be age appropriate.

All the best,
Susan

I would ask both teachers for their opinions and recommendations and go from there.

The stewardesses on European flights sometimes can speak 6 or 7 languages, many learned in their early childhood. I think the infantile brain can sort it all out. Not sure about the particulars of sounding phonics, etc., but the multilanguage kids don't seem to have had to struggle with such things. Of course, being in Europe is like: if you're in Germany, going over to France or down to Italy is like living in Colorado and running down to south Texas, or from Kansas to California, so the distances aren't as great and even though you're crossing national borders rather than state, I'm sure the languages bleed and flow over the lines all the time economically and familially.

Sorry I don't have any answers, but could you give me the contact information for the Russian school. I'm interested in checking into it for my son.

He'll be able to diffrentiate between the two languages and learn to read and write in both simultaneously. My four-year-old daughter is in a Spanish immersion preschool, and we speak primarily English at home. She is reading and writing words in both English and Spanish now. She understands the different sounds that letters make in each language (although the sounds in English and Spanish are more similar than in Russian and English).

When I work with my daughter on letters and words, I tell her (or she tells me!) which language we're working in this time so she can "switch over" to the appropriate language. But frequently, we combine the languages for games that we make up ("Say that word in Spanish/English", "Let's count to 100 in Spanish/English").

I would go ahead with the Russian school and see how he does with it. If he seems to regress in one of the languages, maybe work a little more with him on the weaknesses until he's more comfortable with it. By being exposed to good instruction in both languages, he should do well with both. This is the best time for him to learn a new language, so sieze the opportunity!

Good luck with the school, and congratulations for helping your child become bilingual!

I learned to read in Spanish and English at the same time at a bilingual school (and although all the letters are the same, some have different sounds as well). I never had any trouble figuring out that these were two different situations with different rules. In fact, I used Spanish (which is mostly phonetic) to help me learn spelling in English (which is not so simple). Kids can learn lots of different things simultaneously, without getting confused. It probably just builds more connections in their brains for later in life. I must say, though, I'm totally impressed your 3 yr old is reading. You might notice some confusion early on, but like with all things, mistakes are opportunities to learn, and it will work itself out.