TALLINN Ten years old Sofija Goryatseva received the fourth grade schoolbooks at home already in late spring. His parents were pleased. My daughter has gotten to know new books in Estonian in good time.
– He has been practicing with a private teacher in Estonia all summer. Only the last week before the start of school we let Sofija’s mother off Anastasia Goryatseva says in a semi-detached house in Tallinn’s Haaberst district.
Sofija is one of the more than 30,000 Russian-speaking children or young people living in Estonia whose language of study is changed by the government’s decision.
At the beginning of August, Estonian was introduced in all pre-school education. From the beginning of September, Estonian became the language of instruction in the 1st and 4th grades of Russian-speaking schools until now.
Those who started their studies in Estonian continue from one class to another. After the end of the transition phase in 2030, Estonian will be the only language of instruction in all elementary schools and high schools in Estonia.
Sofija Gorjatseva is confident about changing the teaching language. He says he knows Estonian quite well.
– So I understand. Speaking is a bit more difficult, I don’t speak fluently.
However, Gorjatseva, who says that her favorite subjects are natural science and humanities, believes that she will increase her Estonian vocabulary during the school year.
In addition, conversation with the children of the neighbor’s Estonian-speaking family helps to improve language skills.
However, Sofija’s parents are worried. Not so much about her daughter, but about the whole reform process.
– The idea of the reform itself is excellent. It could have been done a long time ago, mother Anastasija Gorjatseva emphasizes.
However, in his opinion, the pace of change is too fast. Everything should have started in kindergartens a couple of decades ago.
One problem is that Estonian has been taught in Russian-language schools from 1st to 2nd grade. classes only two hours a week. In the third grade, the number has increased to five hours a week.
– I think it’s too little, considering that now all teaching will be completely in Estonian, says Gorjatseva.
Hundreds of teachers are threatened with dismissal
Yaroslav Goryatsev sees the biggest risk as the deterioration of the quality of teaching.
– Some of the qualified teachers have to leave the schools.
From the beginning of August, teachers teaching in Russian must know Estonian at least at the B2 level, or the employment contract will expire. If the teacher wants to teach in Estonian, the language skill level requirement is C1.
Aalto University describes the C1 level like this: a basic level of competent language skills (for example, extensive language resources enable quite smooth and accurate communication).
A couple of years ago, about 2,300 teachers or youth workers did not know Estonian at the required level.
Some of the teachers have studied Estonian and passed the language test. In June, though more than six hundred teachers backpacked their B2 and C1 exams.
There is no exact information on how many teachers’ employment has been terminated due to insufficient language skills.
– In their place, good teachers should be found who not only know their own field, but also know how to find an approach to students, Jaroslav Gorjatsev says.
– It is very important, especially in the fourth grade.
However, finding qualified teachers with sufficient language skills is difficult. The shortage of teachers also affects Estonian-language schools.
There are approximately 170 teacher positions unfilled in the capital Tallinn alone. In many schools, job interviews are carried out feverishly well into the fall.
Principal of Tõnismäki Real School in Tallinn Andrei Kante sighs in relief.
– We were lucky. We were able to fill all vacancies.
Kante admits, however, that not all employees necessarily have full formal qualifications. That’s the price you have to pay for adequate language skills.
A politically sensitive topic
According to Kante, the school reform that started in Estonia will demand a lot from both teachers and students’ families.
– This is a very complex reform that can experience setbacks.
Teachers have to be both subject teachers and Estonian language teachers at the same time. Andrei Kante is not sure if everyone can handle the stressful situation.
– However, one thing is certain: the failure of this reform is out of the question. Everyone must strive for it.
The decline of Russian-language education is a politically sensitive topic, says principal Kante. According to him, the politicians who decided on the reform have made mistakes, especially in communication.
– Russian-language schools and the teaching they provide have been somewhat despised in public.
However, Kante believes that in the long run, the reform will bring a lot of good.
– I believe that in the future our society will be much more integrated than until now.
The same is believed in the Gorjatsev family.
– If the reform is successful, everything goes well and the quality of education does not decrease, that is definitely a plus. Children learn the Estonian language well at an early age. They have more opportunities to get into different schools, says Jaroslav Gorjatsev.