So, Nikki's dad left on Friday and we're almost done with the post-visit clean up! We're getting back into the swing of things and there are several new Russian phrases in constant usage and a lot of mixed sentences (where he only says part of it in Russian).
More importantly, we have loads of great new Russian resources to make my life easier! Woohoo!
Best of all, Nikki has lost a lot of his reluctance to say things in Russian. They say that once children reach the stage that they are good at communicating in their native language they lose intrest in speaking other languages (that are not part of their daily lives) and are especially reluctant to speak in the language they are less confident in if the person that speaks it with them also speaks to them in their first language. This was happening with Nikki. He was resisting my attempts to get him to speak Russian with the stubbornness only a toddler can command! Ironically, he showed none of this with Chinese - perhaps only because I wasn't trying to start conversations in it, or perhaps because he knows that I speak less Chinese than him!
Anyhow, he is now back to his old Russian-speaking self. He has a few more adorable mispronunciations (sa-bi-ba instead of spa-ci-ba for thank you is my fav) and is on his way to speaking phrases!
Now that I have some more resources, I will be able to post semi-regular updates on our Russian progress. Up until now we have done mostly oral work with repeating the same games/activities I do in English. Now, I have flashcards and posters and workbooks!
More importantly, we have loads of great new Russian resources to make my life easier! Woohoo!
Best of all, Nikki has lost a lot of his reluctance to say things in Russian. They say that once children reach the stage that they are good at communicating in their native language they lose intrest in speaking other languages (that are not part of their daily lives) and are especially reluctant to speak in the language they are less confident in if the person that speaks it with them also speaks to them in their first language. This was happening with Nikki. He was resisting my attempts to get him to speak Russian with the stubbornness only a toddler can command! Ironically, he showed none of this with Chinese - perhaps only because I wasn't trying to start conversations in it, or perhaps because he knows that I speak less Chinese than him!
Anyhow, he is now back to his old Russian-speaking self. He has a few more adorable mispronunciations (sa-bi-ba instead of spa-ci-ba for thank you is my fav) and is on his way to speaking phrases!
Now that I have some more resources, I will be able to post semi-regular updates on our Russian progress. Up until now we have done mostly oral work with repeating the same games/activities I do in English. Now, I have flashcards and posters and workbooks!
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