Why bilingual children confuse the Russian verbs идти, ехать, ходить and ездить

Why this topic seems illogical

In Russian, it is important how a person moves: on foot or by transport, once or regularly, back and forth. For a child who is used to English go, this is a lot of extra clarification.

So he might say "I'm going to the room," "we went to Abu Dhabi by car," or "I went to the table." The meaning is clear, but the Russian form sounds uneven.

What do you need to distinguish

First, it is important to separate on foot and by transport: walk - with your feet, go - by car, bus, subway. Then add regularity: go to school every day, go to Grandma's on weekends.

If you give it all at once, the baby gets confused. If we go from real situations, the topic becomes much clearer.

How to explain through a child’s life

The best examples are from an ordinary day: I go to the kitchen, I go to school, I go swimming, I go to the mall. Your child quickly remembers not a table, but phrases that are similar to his life.

You can draw routes, play with cars, discuss the schedule of the week and say: today we go, tomorrow we go, every Wednesday we go.

When to connect the rules

We need rules, but later. First, your child must accumulate live examples, hear the difference, and start using multiple sustainable designs.

Then the grammar does not hang in the air, but explains what your child already partially felt in speech. If you want to understand why school grammar topics often overload bilinguals, look also. Russian textbooks for children abroad.