Reading as a way to prevent attrition in children who are heritage speakers of Russian

Importance. The connection between language attrition in children from Russian-speaking families living abroad and reading books in Russian is considered. It is hypothesized that reading is the primary method of preventing attrition caused by the influence of the dominant language in the country of residence. The relevance of the topic arises from the need to support the Russian language abroad, especially among the younger generation of native speakers. The aim of the study is to confirm or refute the hypothesis that reading plays a priority role in forming a child’s competent spoken language in conditions where the use of the native (family) and dominant (school and society) languages is clearly separated.

Materials and Methods. The research material consisted of results from a longitudinal survey and observation conducted within the Russian-speaking community of Dubai (UAE) from 2023 to 2025. Data was analyzed across three age groups of children from Russian-speaking families studying in English at international schools. Parents (43 respondents) participated in written and oral surveys, describing the characteristics of their children’s speech development (70 children) after moving abroad.

Results and Discussion. The collected data was systematized, processed, and presented in charts and diagrams. The primary methods included studying scientific literature and statistical data, questionnaire surveys, oral interviews, naturalistic observation without experimental intervention, analysis, and mathematical data processing. The research is based on a communicative-activity approach, which establishes the interrelation of speech activity types; the theory of speech input (S. Krashen); and the concept of heritage language (S. Montrul, S. Köpke, et al.).

Conclusion. Despite Russian being used as the only family language, the spoken language of children living in conditions of a dominant second language is subject to attrition if they do not read books in Russian. Reading difficulties are caused by insufficient motivating actions from parents, limited access to free books, and the lack of reading skills in Russian developed at school. The role of reading in preventing attrition outweighs the influence of other types of speech input (such as watching cartoons, internet content, etc. in Russian), which was most clearly observed in children of primary school age.