Russian for Russian-speaking Americans at school and at university - two big differences

I have not written about the university for a long time, and all because I have not been there for three weeks. After all, we have holidays right up to September 26 - and I enjoy them to the fullest. And schoolchildren in our district began to study two weeks ago. Their vacations are too short, shares with our readers a bilingualist, a teacher of Russian at the American University and a popular blogger Anna Ice.

In general, I am still moving away from our summer school program. More precisely, from the depression that I had after it ended. I love my work very much, I love to observe the success of my students, I am happy with their achievements. “Children” usually enroll in my course at the university, who at one time did not pay much attention to the Russian language, but then they switched something - and they wanted to catch up. They understand a lot, try very hard and strive for something new. Often they literally “find themselves”, learn new things about their family and its culture, begin to communicate better with their grandparents and are proud of their achievements. Of course, there are exceptions: some come for the "easy five", but even they usually learn something new or (if "everyone" really knows), they share their knowledge with fellow students, that is, they still enjoy the course. I think the whole point is that they enroll in the course themselves ...
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With schoolchildren, the story is completely different ... of course, in the summer I had kids who really wanted to speak and / or write Russian better. They tried very hard, and if not for them, I simply wouldn’t know what I was doing. However, most of my students were brought by the parents to the university waiting for (as it seemed to me) that in four weeks I I will teach their children perfectly speak, read and write in Russian. Needless to say, the miracle did not happen. And the main reason for this, in my humble opinion, is that the Russian language is not supported by them at home.

Here is an example of one of dozens of similar conversations that I heard at recess:

- Do your parents make you speak Russian? (Do your parents make you speak Russian?)
- Well, they kinda do ... sometimes. After time, my mom tells me to speak Russian only but it doesn't last ... She forgets to speak Russian herself (well, something like that ... sometimes ... Sometimes my mom tells me that I should only speak Russian, but usually it won't be long She forgets to speak Russian herself).

In addition, the knowledge of many of these children about Russian culture is limited by the fact that “the most important Russian holiday is the New Year (for which they put a Christmas tree, eat and drink a lot - that's all!)”. They do not know a single fairy-tale character, cartoon hero or Russian writer. Although one boy watched as a child “Well, wait!”.

Here are the things here. Nowhere to take the awareness of the importance of language in their lives. The school does not teach this, and the summer program is even more so if it is not in the family.
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In general, such here I have afterthoughts after the program. I want to believe that at least I taught them something. At least, they now know who Cheburashka and Carlson are, and what their name is in Russian, the name of Winnie the Pooh's friends.
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There was a period, even during the program, and even more so after it (when NONE of the parents came to our festive dinner with parents ...) that it seemed to me that all my research, our courses and so on were not needed at all, I wanted everything quit and move away from this very university and even delete this “absolutely useless page”.
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I want to believe that if research on bilingualism and the preservation of immigrant languages ​​are conducted so actively, it means that someone needs it!

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