Many sites will list a ladies ability to speak English on a scale of 0 to 5 with 0 being none, 5 being really good. I feel some of the bigger agencies many times show a ladies English ranking to be a bit higher than it actually should be.

I think being able to communicate with these ladies one-on-one is as important, if more so, than the quality of the first photo the man sends of himself and the efficiency of his first letter of introduction.  I know there are times when a man and woman have met and married and lived happily ever after with the woman having not been able to speak any English during there first meetings. And although it does happen, I think the occurrence's are not that great.

Being able to communicate with these ladies is very important. Often times we have such a short time to spend with these ladies that not being able to communicate with each other makes it really hard to get to know one another.

Anytime I saw a lady who says she speaks from a 2 on up, I would jump all over the opportunity to meet her if I were interested in her. As most Russian women are perfectionist with most anything they do, because most do not have excellent command of the English language, most do not give themselves enough credit for there ability to speak English. To tell you the truth, if a lady wrote her ability to speak English as a 1 many times I would pursue her if I was interested in her. Often times all it takes is for the woman to be able to speak just a little English to be able to communicate with her directly, one-on-one. I met a lot of ladies whose English was rated as a 1 and she spoke good enough English to speak with, although she did not think her English was that good. Having a little dictionary or translator was never further away than my camera case for the times when we ran into a word that needed to be expressed, explained or translated.

Most Russian ladies serious to learn English can do so quite quickly. One time I met a lady from Moscow I was very interested in, she spoke no English. I paid for her to take English lessons and in three months she had learned English quite well, we no longer needed an interpreter. These ladies are quite intelligent and I am amazed at how quickly many of them can learn English. The cost of English lessons will vary. In most cities of Ukraine and Russia, excluding Moscow and St. Petersburg, you can find English lessons that will run from $80 to $120 a month. This is usually good for about three lessons a week.

I visted a school recently and I was amazed at the level and high standard of english.

You can hire a personal tutor teacher with very good quailification for around 15 Grn / hour...

Do not be foooled into paying the high rates for a translator...  waste of money...  just talk...  You will find that many want to practice their english and look forward to the opportunity to talk to you...

And, those who tell you they are pretty good at English ( in their first messages to you), really can't do that well at all when you meet with them.

I guess it is the case that the more you know (about anything) the more you realize what you do not know.  Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.

But, I certainly would place no credence at all in any kind of a number assigned by the ladies or the agencies.  There are really no standards, and it is just purely subjective.

It sometimes gets really dicy trying to pin down the language skills.  Often times I have noted that the messages just don't seem to reflect the thoughts of a mature woman.  So finally I have to bluntly ask and, sure enough, the letters are being written the gal's teenage daughter.  The mother knows zero English and the plan is that the daughter will go on the dates with you.  And they really get ticked when you tell them it's finished.

JR

ID, you need to come out and point these little things out more often to us.