My daughter Elena arrived in America 12 years ago with her friend Marianna to study in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. At that time the girls didn’t speak English very well. They could read and write, but pronouncing English words correctly was difficult for them.

One day Elena and Marianna were talking with their American friends about pets. “What is your favorite pet?” asked Phil Marianna. “Duck.” answered Marianna. “I have a big duck in my house and I like it very much. I walk it every day on a leash and I sleep with it.”

Her American friends were very amazed and thought: “Russians are so strange!” Then Phil asked Marianna, “How do you feed your duck?” “I usually give my duck meat and bone,” answered Marianna. “And what are you going to do with your duck when it dies? Are you going to eat it?” asked Phil. Now Marianna was amazed, “How can I eat my duck? Are you crazy?” she asked and thought, “Americans are so strange!”

Finally, when everybody understood that this conversation was about dogs, not ducks, everyone started laughing. Marianna pronounced, “dog” in such a way that it sounded like “duck.” It was very funny! Now Marianna and Elena speak English very well and don’t make mistakes about dogs and ducks anymore. Now I am studying English and have similar problems with pronunciation.

Ludmila Oqneva has been here about 10 months. She is from Russia. She worked as a chemistry professor at a University in Moscow.  Now she is retired and takes care of her granddaughter. Her goal is to speak and understand English well. She is an advanced ESOL student at Quinsigamond Community College.