Quote Originally Posted by Robert Dupuy
My daughter's first language was russian, ...
In their homes, only russian is spoken by the adults, but the children, while retaining and understanding of russian, speak english in return.
...
...anyway, thats our experience, her russian understanding is still astounding, and I often wonder why she can't just speak what she knows....but she doesn't and I guess, perhaps that is a harder skill for a child than for an adult.
My son spoke Russian till 2.5. TV was always on, but it did not affect him. Only when he went to daycare and realized that children speak English he moved to English. I think I understand how children feel: they have to fit in. It is still the same with my son: he does what other kids his age do, period. I was lucky enough always place him between good kids, so he does not have a bad crowd to fit in.
(If somebody wants to correct my poor English, it would be appreciated. )