Imagine your child being fluent in two languages — as if both were native. Not only speaking, but actually thinking in both languages at once.
This ability is called bilingualism. And people who have it are called bilinguals.
Right now, your child has the chance to become one! You're lucky that they are growing up surrounded by English speakers while still holding on to the Russian language.
Just look at what they could achieve thanks to this skill!
Famous People Who Are Bilingual
Among the world’s most renowned individuals, many are talented bilinguals. And who knows—maybe this helped them succeed!
Popular Actresses:
- Milla Jovovich. The Hollywood star moved from the USSR to the United States as a child, but she still speaks and understands Russian well—and even starred in a Russian film.
- Mila Kunis. This actress also came from the USSR, but managed to preserve her ability to speak her native language.
- Sandra Bullock. The Hollywood actress spent 12 years living in Germany, which is why she is fluent in both English and German.
- Natalie Portman. Born in Israel, she moved to the U.S. at age 3. She never sought fame and studied even while working on film sets. Thanks to her dedication, Natalie speaks six languages: English, Hebrew, French, Arabic, Japanese, and German.
Bilingual Entrepreneurs and Politicians
Mark Zuckerberg. The founder of Facebook took learning Chinese seriously — thanks to his Chinese-American wife — and achieved remarkable progress.
Sergey Brin. The Google co-founder was born in Moscow and emigrated to the U.S. with his family at the age of six.
Jan Kum. Another well-known programmer and the co-founder of WhatsApp, he moved from Ukraine to the U.S. at the age of 16.
Cultural Figures
During the Silver Age of Russian poetry, many intellectuals were bilingual. In noble families, French was learned from early childhood and commonly spoken in high society.
For example, writers like Alexander Pushkin and Oscar Wilde were multilingual. Others who wrote and created in more than one language include:
- Joseph Brodsky (Russian and English)
- Vladimir Nabokov (Russian, English, and French)
- Leo Tolstoy (Russian, German, and French)
- Alexander Griboedov (Russian, English, German, Italian, and French).
- And many more.
Political and Historical Figures
- Catherine the Great. Her native language was German, but she mastered Russian nearly to perfection and also spoke English, French, and Italian.
- Joseph Stalin. Russian was not his native language either, yet he learned to speak and write in it fluently, despite many challenges.
Studies show that bilingualism in children helps them succeed in school and later in life. It boosts memory, attention, reaction speed, logic, and even math skills. And the ability to speak and think in two languages is not something you're simply born with—it can be developed.
But how can you preserve your child’s native language while living abroad and one day proudly say: “My children are bilingual”?
Maintaining conversational skills isn’t enough—you also need to stay connected to the native culture. That’s where we come in!
If you want to raise a bilingual, then sign up for a free trial lesson at Palme School via the form below.
