Is it possible to raise a bilingual child in a Russian-speaking family? Actress Alena Khmelnitskaya shares her experience.
The most successful investment is an investment in the future of our children. Impeccable command of one or more foreign languages today is an absolute must have for a successful person. And education in British universities is received by the children of the most wealthy and influential people on the planet.
It may surprise you, but preparation for studying in another country should start literally from the cradle. The older the child becomes, the more difficult it is for him to learn a foreign language – bilingual abilities decrease with age.
But how to raise a bilingual if you live in Russia and your family speaks Russian? There is a great way out – a foreign nanny or governess. Where to find a first-class, highly qualified specialist? Professional English-speaking nannies cooperate only with trusted agencies. And there is such a thing in Russia – this is English Nanny.
English Nanny has been on the market for over 30 years and has a solid reputation. This agency is trusted by businessmen from the Forbes list and movie stars. We asked actress Alena Khmelnitskaya to talk about why she chose an English-speaking nanny for her daughter and what came of it.
How did you come to the conclusion that your child needs an English-speaking nanny?
My eldest daughter, she is 22, graduated from New York University this year. And she has long been almost bilingual. She is a really talented person in this sense and always wanted to learn languages, and it came easily to her. Then she went to study abroad. But this is a rare story, and it is impossible to count on the fact that the second child will also be just as talented in terms of languages. Therefore, in addition to just wanting to make it easier for the child, my motivation was still such that I don’t know how my eldest daughter will be, how life will turn out in that English-speaking space or here, or maybe in two countries. But I would really like that the language of my sisters would not become a barrier.
From what age does your daughter study with an English-speaking governess?
Governess in our family recently. We took her when Ksyusha was 6 years old. Prior to that, she taught English in various children’s groups. I began to lead her into the language, as soon as she began to speak Russian there, at the age of one and a half or two years she was already studying the language with me. But the problem was that she couldn’t talk. She learned the English alphabet a very long time ago and knew a lot of words in English, but she could not speak. Perhaps it would have been better to take an English-speaking governess right away.
Your daughter is studying only English so far. Are you planning to add more?
In our family, this is generally interesting. My first foreign language is French. The eldest daughter graduated from a German school. She studied English separately in courses, and plus French, she has three languages. Therefore, of course, we will not limit ourselves to one language, I think. I plan on both French and Spanish. But here we must also take into account the overall workload, this year we are going to school. And I don’t know if there’s enough time for everything. She is involved in both swimming and gymnastics.
Therefore, I would advise taking such teachers before school, because then it becomes more and more difficult.
Your daughter hasn’t been babysitting for a very long time. Are you already feeling the result?
Yes, very fast results. For example, we had just returned from Greece, and she spoke excellent English with the children there.
So she spoke? Does this barrier no longer exist?
Yes, yes, she spoke. I think another important point: there she realized that language is not something abstract that you need to know because you need to know, but it is a specific tool that helps solve many problems. For example, ordering food in a restaurant.
This happened in just a few months, right?
Yes.
Have you been looking for your nanny for a long time?
Well, to be honest, my good friends immediately advised me English Nanny. They have been working with this agency for a long time and introduced me to its manager, Valentin Grogol. So I was immediately sent to good hands. And somehow you immediately trust: if a company has been on the market for a very long time, it means that they work well.
Now we have an American Christina. And before that there was a pen test with an English girl.
Why did you decide to change?
Well, in general it is difficult to find your man. People should approach each other.
Are you satisfied now?
I really hope I found it. It is very important for me that a person speaks the same language with me, no matter English or Russian. And now, it seems to me, pah-pah-pah in all directions, I knock on wood, and it happened. I really hope it lasts a long time.
How is your daughter’s relationship with the nanny? They became friends?
Yes, they became friends. Although Ksyusha is a girl with character, and she, of course, checks how much a person can bend under her. She clearly knows what she wants, she achieves it every day.
You are satisfied?
Yes, I’m satisfied, and I would like it to last longer. By the way, the English-speaking nanny has an unexpected bonus – I also started talking in the language at the same time. There is nowhere to go. So this is also a practice for parents. So everyone is good.
It may seem that this girl is English, but she has just been studying English since childhood with a nanny from London.