However, the current system assumes teachers and students will independently develop an interest in educating themselves on the topic.

When the transition began, people motivated by a sense of mission went to work in Russian-language schools to contribute to the reform. However, they lacked knowledge about working with Russian-speaking children, and as a result, some have already left the job, said Aurika Meimre, coordinator of the transition to Estonian-language education at the Tallinn Education Department.

"A large number of so-called career-changers have come to schools, people who lack a pedagogical education, or even if they do have such an education, they lack knowledge of integrated content and language learning methodology," Meimre explained.

"Teaching a child in Estonian whose first language is different is quite different from teaching children in their native language. The techniques and strategies used there need to be known, and in this respect, universities could and should come to the aid of transition schools."

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a universal language-learning method in which language and subject matter are learned together. One form of this is language immersion, which has been systematically implemented in Estonia since 2000. In addition to Russian-language schools, it has been used in Tallinn English College and Tallinn German Gymnasium.

Although preparations for the transition began four years ago, language-learning methods have still not been added to the training of teachers of other subjects.

Instead of changing curricula, continuing education

Initially, the Estonian state placed emphasis on in-service training. The Ministry of Education and Research funds 17 CLIL methodology centers across Estonia to support those who teach children whose native language is not Estonian. The state only began discussions with universities on the issue last autumn, said Helna Karu, head of the ministry's department responsible for the transition to Estonian-language education.

"The Ministry of Education and Research has started negotiations with universities to offer content and language integrated learning in all teacher-training curricula. When universities begin to change their curricula, it is a very lengthy process and requires extended negotiations," Karu said.

This raises the question of why the ministry did not approach universities immediately when planning the education reform.

Because changing university curricula in Estonia is a lengthy process, it is more practical to continue teaching integrated language methodologies through in-service training during the ongoing education reform, Karu explained.

"From the universities' perspective, all teaching methodologies are important. Students need to be given an overview of all of them, and afterwards the teacher can choose in the classroom which one is most suitable," she added.

According to Meimre, when the reform was launched, there was not sufficient readiness to provide more teachers with knowledge about integrated content and language learning.

"It was no coincidence that teachers and school leaders said right from the start that teaching materials were lacking, because in addition to methodology, appropriate learning materials are also necessary. There was an urgent need to start filling this gap," Meimre said.

When a teacher does not know what to do with a student who understands very little Estonian, one of the main tools tends to be translation. By doing so, however, the teacher does the child a disservice, Meimre explained.

"The child quickly realizes that this makes things much easier and then stops making an effort. Even parents think they are helping their child by translating workbook assignments into Russian, for example — but they once again demotivate the child by showing there is an easier way to cope," she said.

According to Meimre, the lack of teachers' expertise is felt especially acutely when adapting teaching materials, which causes lesson preparation to take several times longer than when teaching children whose native language is Estonian.

In Ida-Viru County, efforts are being made to prevent Estonian-speaking teachers who have come from other parts of the country from giving up on their jobs, said Piret Kärtner, director of studies at the University of Tartu Narva College. In addition to limited knowledge of content and language integrated learning, one of the difficulties is the predominantly Russian-speaking environment.

"Even at Narva Estonian High School, most students come from mixed families where Russian is the home language. If we go a bit deeper into basic schools, then in classrooms all the students — and all the teachers — are Russian-speaking. This is a very big challenge. Schools have great difficulty finding teachers, and if they do find an Estonian-speaking teacher, it is very difficult to retain them," Kärtner said.

More individualized support is offered in Narva

For this reason, Narva College, which primarily trains language teachers, has updated its curricula and focused more on ensuring that when people go to work in schools, they actually stay. Kärtner sees individualized support as one key factor.

At the end of April, Narva College will open a methodology center to support subject teachers in CLIL-related issues. According to Kärtner, the focus there will be more on a personalized approach.

"Usually, if a teacher is working full time and lacks the appropriate teacher training, they spend the rest of their evenings preparing lessons for the next day or the following week. We see that teachers may actually need not so much mass training, but very practical help," Kärtner explained.

This may include preparing lessons together and simplifying texts, which is one of the most important tasks. According to Kärtner, textbooks often contain very complex language, making them difficult to understand even for students whose native language is Estonian. This is where CLIL methods come into play as well — shortening sentences, using synonyms and images, and so on. Kärtner also adds translation to the list.

"If explaining something would be easier in students' native language, then that native language should be used. Because the native language is just another teaching tool, exactly like a picture, a video, paraphrasing, or using a synonym," the director of studies explained, adding that in Ida-Viru County one must also take into account that all the students in the classroom — as well as the teacher — speak Russian as their native language.

Kärtner gave an example from a recent situation in which a lecturer asked how to explain the word "majestic" to a non-native-speaking child. The answer "grand" was not suitable because that, too, was a new word for the students. As another option, a student suggested showing the children a picture of Queen Elizabeth II and saying that she is majestic.

"The child looks and thinks: an old lady in nice clothes," Kärtner summarized, concluding that in some cases there is no need to search endlessly — sometimes it is better to simply translate the word.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!