Russian for kids

This article will be interesting for parents who would like their kids to learn Russian. It will be also helpful for teachers teaching Russian for children up to the age of ten.

It is not a secret that it is quite difficult to teach kids Russian language. They get tired quickly and get disruptive. It is not possible to teach them a foreign language as adults. Academic traditional methods of tuition are not suitable for teaching kids. It’s impossible to draw children’s attention by working with texts and reading exercise. Much more effective to organize lessons in a form of play when the kids can run around, sing songs and listen to the fairy tales. Playing games stimulate kids’ imagination, which enables them to remember things easier and more effective. Moreover, that will also develop children’s ability for logical thinking. It’s necessary to use a lot of bright and colorful toys, pictures and drawings.

While teaching kids Russian, one always need to keep in mind that children think straight and perceive everything what is said literally. When rules or abstract things need to be explained, a teacher has to illustrate it by using an example, picture, drawings etc. Kids up to the age of 7 use simple sentences in their speech; therefore teachers should avoid long complicated phrases.

The best and most efficient way to teach kids is by making the lessons fun and to use a lot of funny poems, counting-out rhymes and songs during the lessons. They need to be fun not in terms of content but in terms of rhythm and sounds. It is desirable to use study materials illustrated by colored pictures.

Kids don’t benefit from learning either reading or grammar rules as they learn them simply as a text and will not use them in practice. Moreover, boring lessons and swotting up might provoke an aversion for Russian language.

What can you really teach kids at early age?

Children are able to memorise Russian words effortlessly. They also find reading easy. However, please note small kids usually read Russian words as they remember how they sound without memorising the reading rules. There is definitely no need to explain any grammar rules to the kids.

Children love speaking activities at Russian lessons so the best way to teach them is through using short stories and dialogues; especially if they are well illustrated.

Last but not least, an adult can easily keep the concentration for up to 90-120 minutes, whereas small kids loose their concentration and the attention drops significantly after just 25 minutes. Don't overdo it!

If you are interested in private Russian tuition for kids please get in touch or call on 0203 544 4436. We look forward to hearing from you.