Shift to Estonian-language education proving tough in former Russian schools
The transition to Estonian-language learning is moving slowly in former Russian-language schools, as teachers face heavy workloads and uncertainty over teaching methods.
At Mahtra Basic School in Tallinn's Lasnamäe District, most students speak Russian at home. Like elsewhere in Estonia, first- and fourth-graders were switched to Estonian-language instruction this fall, continuing the gradual transition that started last year.
Principal Edgar Roditšenko said the process has been anything but easy. "It's going as expected — meaning, it's extremely difficult," he said, adding that everyone understands the change is necessary.
Teaching a 10- or 11-year-old in a language that's not their own, he noted, is "an enormous challenge for any educator."
He said expectations for teachers remain high and workloads are heavy even as fatigue is setting in after a difficult first year.
Fifth-grade teacher Elise Müür described the main challenge as a lack of vocabulary among students. "When we started in fourth grade, even 'hello' and 'goodbye' were hard," she said. That made it impossible to move on to topics like planets — and the same problem continues this year.
The Ministry of Education and Research found after the first year that teachers still lack support materials for teaching Russian-speaking students in Estonian at all.
Deputy Secretary General Kairi Kaldoja said the ministry has now made e-textbooks available to all teachers involved in the transition.
"We've held long and detailed negotiations and reached the point where every teacher at transitioning schools can access digital teaching guides," she said.
But Müür said that hasn't solved the problem. "Nothing much has changed," she noted.
She still often creates her own slides and worksheets and said some subjects don't even have workbooks suitable for her students' level.
Principal Roditšenko said fifth-graders' Estonian skills have already improved after a year of immersion. As teachers remain overstretched, however, the City of Tallinn wants to ease the burden by hiring more educators.
Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) said the city has raised teacher pay and tried to reduce workloads. "Some teachers want fewer hours, while others say they need more [hours] in order to earn more," he added.
Despite the challenges, Müür remains optimistic. The Mahtra Basic School teacher believes students' academic performance won't suffer from the switch to Estonian.
With enough effort from teachers, she said, anything is possible.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Aili Vahtla
