Kindergarten groups start teaching solely in Võro, Seto languages
Two new kindergarten groups opened this autumn, with teaching conducted in the Võro and Seto languages only.
The intention is to keep alive these local languages, related to Estonian but separate from it and spoken in the historical areas of Võromaa and Setomaa.
Pre-schoolers at the "Tsirgupesäkene" Seto-language group, in the Meremäe kindergarten, started their school year a little differently this autumn, using "tere hummogust" ("Good morning") and "lähme süümä" ("Let's go eat") instead of the Estonian phrases ("Tere hommikust" and "Läheme sööma" respectively).
They have also been learning how to make their first sõir (Seto cheese) and karask (barley bread), as part of Seto Week.
"We've also done story retellings — there have been such moments too. But for the most part — animals, numbers, days of the week — the children already understand things very well," Kaja Ziugand, "Tsirgupesäkene" group teacher, told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
Parents say they are also happy with the change.
"Let's just say, the more languages you know, the better. The child already hears it from their grandparents anyway. Here, they get more knowledge about what a particular word means, as otherwise they might just hear an interesting word without knowing its meaning," said Maret Utsal, mother of five and a parent of a child at the Seto-language kindergarten group.
Meanwhile at the Tähesära kindergarten's Sõlekese branch, in Võru city, a Võro-language group called "Päävätsirgu" opened this fall too. It is the first kindergarten group in the town of 12,000 people where all instruction is conducted entirely in Võro.
The Võro and Seto Institutes together with the Võrumaa Võrumaa Arenduskeskus development center, have created study materials in the local languages and provide training for teachers.
"There is a website that offers a lot of helpful resources for kindergarten teachers. We've already listened to fairy tales, songs, and stories from there and printed out worksheets — it's been a great help, and the training is still ongoing," Ziugand noted.
The longer-term goal is to boost the number of groups like these, year by year.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Johanna Alvin
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
