Those who can read in Russian learn faster
Reading is one of the key skills that children should develop at an early age. Here are some benefits of reading for preschoolers:
Vocabulary Expansion: Reading helps children learn new words and their meanings, which contributes to vocabulary expansion.
Developing critical thinking: Reading requires children to analyze and evaluate information, which helps to develop critical thinking.
Improving Writing Skills: Reading texts helps children understand grammar and spelling rules, which improves their writing skills.
Stimulating Imagination: Reading stimulates children’s imagination by helping them create their own stories and images.
Self-esteem Boost: Reading books can boost children’s self-esteem by helping them feel confident and competent.
Understanding Culture: Reading books about different cultures helps children understand and respect other points of view and cultures.
Israeli scientists say knowing how to read and write Russian early in life can give children a linguistic advantage.
The University of Haifa researchers, led by Mila Schwartz, discovered children whose mother tongue is Russian and who acquired literacy in their home language before entering first grade receive higher grades
on reading skills tests than their peers who speak only Hebrew or those who speak Russian, but have not learned how to read it.
Schwartz theorizes because of the linguistic complexity of the Russian language, knowing how to read and write Russian gives children an advantage when learning to read other languages.
Schwartz said the research, conducted with Mark Leikin and Professor David Share, supports existing theories that bilingualism alone does not enhance development of reading skills, but that reading skill acquisition is easier when a child already knows how to read another language.
The researchers also found even those who learn how to read Russian, but rarely use it, demonstrate increased abilities in reading acquisition.
Russian may seem difficult to adults, but for children everything is much simpler. Russian is considered one of the easiest languages to learn, as it has many words with similar roots and structures. If you learn it from childhood, the process of learning the language will be more natural and simple.