Online Russian lessons for bilingual kids growing up abroad — so your child keeps speaking, understanding and loving Russian. One-on-one classes with native Russian teachers who specialise in children’s speech.
Your child understands Russian but answers in English?
You speak to your child in Russian — and they answer in English. Russian words seem to fade: your child “forgets” simple words and switches to the language of the country you live in. This isn’t laziness. It’s how bilingualism works — the language a child studies, plays and makes friends in naturally becomes the stronger one. The home language has to be kept alive, or it quietly slips away.
Online Russian lessons for kids at GOVORIKA are one-on-one classes where a native Russian teacher works with your child on Russian as a living language: bringing back confident speech, fixing sounds, growing vocabulary, and teaching reading and writing. In a playful format — not “once a week in a Saturday-school group”.
Sound familiar? This is what parents tell us most often
“We want to keep Russian alive so it isn’t pushed out by English.”
“I speak to her in Russian, and she answers in English.”
“We don’t really see a problem — we’d just like to grow his vocabulary and keep his Russian.”
“What I really need is a Russian teacher — not a speech therapist.”
If even one of these sounds like you — you’re not alone. Almost every Russian-speaking family abroad goes through this. And it’s solvable — if you work on Russian as a language, instead of waiting for your child to “catch up on their own”.
Why tutors, cartoons and Saturday school didn’t help
You’ve probably already tried something. And honestly — most of the usual options do very little. Here’s why:
A local tutor or a random online teacher
Often not a specialist in bilingual kids — doesn’t hear where the second language “breaks” Russian pronunciation, and drills grammar the child finds boring. Lessons get dropped.
Cartoons and YouTube in Russian
Your child understands — but doesn’t speak. Passive Russian grows, active Russian stays put. The answer still comes back in English.
Teaching it yourself at home
“I’m not a teacher” — and that’s completely normal. Kids don’t accept mum and dad as teachers; the lesson turns into pleading and tears.
Saturday / Sunday Russian school
Once a week, a group of ten kids, no attention to one child’s level and sounds. Why Saturday schools often don’t work →
We’ll check your child’s Russian for free
A teacher who specialises in children’s speech runs a one-on-one class and sends you a written report: what your child already does well, what’s worth working on, and a plan for the first weeks. No one else hands you a report like this.
Free, 30–45 minutes, online. No obligations.
How our Russian lessons bring the language back
GOVORIKA is an online school of Russian speech for diaspora children. For 16 years we’ve worked only with bilingual kids — those growing up in English-, German-, Hebrew-speaking environments. We know how “immigrant” Russian sounds, and we know how to straighten it out.
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Real speaking, through play
No drilling, no “repeat after me”. The teacher plays with your child — and in play the child starts speaking Russian on their own, without being forced.
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Sounds and clear speech
We set the Russian R, L, Sh, S sounds, clear up the accent and the “mush”. Our teachers specialise in speech: they hear where English is breaking Russian pronunciation.
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Vocabulary
We grow the active vocabulary — so your child stops inserting English words and reaches for Russian ones freely, not “trying to remember” them.
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Reading and writing
We teach reading and writing in Russian — from scratch or catching up. So Russian isn’t only “by ear”, but on paper too.
Who works with your child
Your child works with qualified teachers who are specialists in speech (including bilingual speech-language therapists) — not a “tutor from an ad” and not a student. A speech specialist hears what an ordinary teacher misses: the interference of two languages, “floating” sounds, a thin active vocabulary. And they know how to straighten it out in a bilingual child specifically.
Our founder, Tatiana Demina, lives in Spain and is raising a bilingual daughter herself. “As a mum of a bilingual child, I know how important it is to keep the connection with your native language” — that’s how GOVORIKA began.
Where to start: a free level check + written report
You don’t have to pay upfront and “buy a pig in a poke”. Start with a free check of your child’s Russian. A teacher works one-on-one with your child for 30–45 minutes, and you get a written report in your hands: strengths, what’s worth pulling up, and a plan for the first weeks. No one else gives you that artefact — with others it’s just a “free lesson” on paper.
We’ll check your child’s Russian for free
A teacher who specialises in children’s speech runs a one-on-one class and sends you a written report: what your child already does well, what’s worth working on, and a plan for the first weeks. No one else hands you a report like this.
Free, 30–45 minutes, online. No obligations.
How much it costs
$22 for a one-on-one 30-minute lesson — just your child and the teacher, so the whole lesson your child is speaking and working, not waiting their turn in a group. For comparison: at other schools individual lessons run $17–35, and for that same money a child is often placed in a group. With us it’s one-on-one — at the price others charge to put a child in a group.
✅ One-on-one all 30 minutes — no group
✅ A written report in your hands after the check
✅ Visible progress — you see what you’re paying for
✅ Playful format — your child doesn’t resist
Frequently asked questions
My child understands Russian but barely speaks it. Can you help?
Yes, this is the most common request. Passive Russian (understanding) is there; active Russian (speaking) lags behind. The teacher gently gets your child talking through play: first short answers, then phrases, then free speech. Answering in English fades away gradually, without pressure.
Is this the same as a speech therapist? We don’t have a speech disorder.
No. We don’t “fix a defect” — we work on Russian as a language: speech, vocabulary, reading, writing. If a sound needs setting along the way (R, L, Sh), our teachers can do it, because they specialise in speech. But we don’t come in with a “something’s wrong with your child” label — we come in to keep and grow the Russian.
My child is 4 / 10 — is it too early or too late?
We work with children aged 3 to 14. The earlier you start, the easier it is to hold on to Russian before the country’s language becomes fully dominant. But even at 10–12 bringing back confident speech is absolutely realistic — the programme is tailored to age and level.
Does online really work? My child gets distracted.
The one-on-one, playful format is exactly what holds attention — your child is engaged, and the teacher runs the whole lesson just for them. For 16 years, 24,000+ families in 93 countries have studied with us online. At the free check you’ll see for yourself how your child responds.
Helpful reading
Keeping Russian alive abroad: why Saturday schools don’t work →
Losing the native language in bilingual kids: how to prevent it →
See also
Russian lessons for kids online (RU) →
Russian for kids in Germany →
Russian for bilingual kids →
We’ll check your child’s Russian for free
A teacher who specialises in children’s speech runs a one-on-one class and sends you a written report: what your child already does well, what’s worth working on, and a plan for the first weeks. No one else hands you a report like this.
Free, 30–45 minutes, online. No obligations.