I have written to quite a few ladies, and after a while I have made a phone call to chat with them.
But...even though these girls are around 25, they can say just a few words in English !!
They say that we could have an interpreter if we meet, but
how fun would it be to have a wife you cannot communicate properly with ?
So my question is: Donīt they learn English at school ?
I could understand if these were old ladies, but we are talking young girls!!!
There is some English required in the schools over there I think but most girls or ladies there that are fluent with English have studied it since they were 8 or 9 years old. I think there may only be 1 or 2 years required and if you have ever tried to learn a language or even seen an American student who has taken a foreign language for 1 or 2 years try to communicate with a native speaker in that language you will see that it is not easy. Add this to the fact that it is difficult to understand some people that were born English.
It will take some effort on both sides. Speech must be slow well enunciated using as simple of words as possible. As she gets used to your dialect she will learn the words you use and you will learn how she talks and what she means. I have read that if a person is dumped into a foreign speaking country they will learn to communicate in 6 months. I have an English Professor friend in Kharkov and she says if a student studies English 2 hrs a day for 2 years they can speak proficiently. That is 1,460 hours. She said for an English speaker to learn Russian is would take 3 years or 2,190 hours. I am sure this requires an intelligent being and practice after it is learned.
But it is up to you as to whether you are willing to accept these terms and learn to communicate.
Communication betweend people is only about half oral language and half body language (gestures ect.) It is much more difficult on the phone than in person. I had no russian the first time I went to Ukraine and now I have agout a 50-70 word vocabulary and with that tiny amount I can be understood. My exwife was more than 10years out of school but her english came back fairly quickly, but in the beginning we could not talk on the phone. This may sound funny at first but I actually think that the strugle to communicate brings a couple closer in the beginning. Be a little cautious though, my wife is so stubborn she will not tell me when she does not understand!