'I love my wife in Siberia': how Russian is taught at an American college

Facebook account WHO is WHO published funny video — the video shows how Americans were taught Russian in an American college in 1960. We have recorded the dialogues for you.

Photo: Shutterstock

In the first shots, two young men are talking.

- Where is Nikolai?
- He works.
-Where is Ivan?
- He works too. Everyone is working.
- And you?
— I don’t like to work.
—You never work?
- No, sometimes I work too.
- What are you doing?
- I think a lot.
- Well, goodbye.
- Goodbye.

This is followed by a dialogue between the two girls.

- Hello, Masha.
— Vera, good morning.
- How are you doing?
- OK, thank you. I have a friend.
- Where does he work?
— He works in a hospital.
- He is a doctor?
- He is a doctor, he is an engineer, he is a poet.
- What is the last name?
- Ivan Ivanovich. He is a genius.
- Here's the news!
- Goodbye.

On the subject: 'Russians are like coconuts, Americans are like peaches': the opinion of a US resident about people from Russia

The last conversation is between a girl and a young man.

- Hello.
- Hello.
- How are you doing?
- OK, thank you. And you?
- Good good.
- As a wife?
- She's well. She's in Siberia.
- Unhappy! It snows in Siberia, day and night.
- It’s okay, she loves snow.
- Do you love your wife?
- Yes, I love my wife in Siberia. I feel good at home without her.
- Oh, that's how it is! Well, goodbye.
- Goodbye.

On the subject: Why Americans are bad with geography: the nuances of school education in the USA and in Russia

The page subscribers found these dialogues similar to those taught to Soviet schoolchildren and students. Here are some striking comments:

Polina:

• “It’s like those stupid dialogues and texts that were in our English textbooks, when from “Who is on duty today?” in two or three sentences the schoolboy proceeded to talk about the factories of his city, in which he lives, and about his daily routine, starting with the fact that he does exercises in the morning. Moreover, textbooks before 1974 contain transitions as illogical as these dialogues in the video.”

Larisa:

• “If Americans listened to our students’ dialogues in English, they would find it funny too.”

Alexei:

• “It seems that the teacher was an emigrant of the first post-revolutionary wave, and from impoverished nobles at that.”

Leah:

• “Publish an English lesson from 1960 in the USSR. For comparison."

Alexander:

• “A person who speaks Soviet school English will only be understood by a person who studied English in a Soviet school...”

Jane:

• “What’s the last name?” “Ivan Ivanovich,” what’s his last name?”

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

Many paid attention to the delight of the “husband” from the last dialogue about the fact that his beloved wife is now not with him, but in distant Siberia.

Dima:

• “Everyone loves their wife when she’s in Siberia...”

Jevgeniya:

• “The last dialogue is simply a masterpiece!”

Aman:

• “I love my wife in Siberia, but outside Siberia she will stop loving me.”

And here is the video itself:

Read also on ForumDaily:

'Always forward': how a Russian-speaking immigrant came to the USA with $ 500 and built a multimillion-dollar business

Personal experience: things that Americans cannot live without

Americans and post-Soviet countries: where the State Department does not advise US citizens to go

How salaries at McDonald's in the United States compare with the incomes of residents of post-Soviet countries

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.