Estonia

Eesti

Country context

To understand the current language situation in Estonian society, we should take a look at history. Before the First World War, Estonia was part of the Russian empire for two centuries. However, the official language of state authorities was German until 1880 when Russian took over. The Estonian language achieved the status of official language during the first period of independence of the Republic of Estonia (1918-1940) on the basis of the first Constitution of Estonia of 1920. During the Soviet period (1945 – 1985), Estonian continued to be developed, but to a lesser extent than previously. At the time, centralised management across the Soviet Union in Russian prevailed in various sectors of the economy. The Russian language also spread to other areas of life. Non-Estonian speaking Soviet citizens who had moved to Estonia were employed in the public sector, but knowledge of Estonian was not required of them until 1989. Since then, more attention has been paid to creating opportunities to learn Estonian for all residents of the country, as well as for learning foreign languages. The language policy also aims to support the right of national minorities to maintain their cultures.

Languages in official documents and databases

The national language, foreign languages, and immigrant languages are dealt with in language legislation and/or language policy documents. Within the scope of Rahvuskaaslaste (Estonians Abroad) Programme continuous support is offered to the children of Estonian expatriate communities in their learning of the Estonian language and culture. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has not been signed and ratified by Estonia. The new national Law on Languages (2011), however, considers it important to protect all Estonian R/M languages.

Official nation-wide data collection mechanisms on language diversity in Estonia exist in terms of periodically updated census data. In these data collection mechanisms, national, R/M and immigrant language varieties are addressed, based on a mother tongue question plus a language proficiency question in terms of how well the language can be spoken/understood/read/written.

In addition to the Language Act, language use is also governed by the Constitution, the Citizenship Act and several other acts of law pertaining to the sphere of education in the Republic of Estonia. The Language Act focuses on the conditions of using varieties of Estonian, foreign languages, minority languages and Estonian Sign Language, plus the language use of people with special needs. Language development strategies have a significant role. The Estonian Language Council set up by the Minister of Education prepared the first strategy for the development of Estonian for the period 2004-2010; the Estonian Language Development Plan has been prepared for the period 2011-2017. Both of these documents also address issues related to multilingualism and foreign languages to a certain extent. Issues related to foreign languages are dealt with in the Estonian Foreign Language Strategy 2009-2015 (www.hm.ee/index.php?03247 ’Eesti võõrkeelte strateegia 2009-2015’).

According to the Ministry of Education and Research, in the near future the ratification of the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is not planned, but Estonia fulfils the criteria of the ECRML.

Languages in pre-primary education

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support 
FL:  all  restricted  no support 
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
NL:  all  immigrant children only  no support 
none 1 none none
Duration
≥2 years 1 year <1 year  
none 1 none none
Minimum group size requirements
 none  5-10  >10
none 3 none none
Days per week
 >1 day  0.5-1 day  <0.5 day
none 1 none none
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none
none 2 none none
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none
none 2 none none
State funding available
full partial none
none 1 none none

Languages offered in pre-primary education

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

English, German, French, Russian

Immigrant Languages

-

In nursery schools the language of instruction is mostly Estonian, but another language may be used subject to the decision of the local government. Teaching is based on the national curriculum for pre-school childcare institutions. To non-Estonian speaking children, Estonian is taught from the age of three, with the state supporting language training through local governments. Many of the nursery schools in which Estonian is taught have participated in the language immersion programme since 2003. Nursery school teachers affiliated with the programme have been specially trained. Studying Estonian as a mother tongue involves learning pronunciation, sentence structure, reading and writing, and arousing children’s interest in literature.

At the request of parents, as well as on the initiative and with the support of foreign states’ language and cultural representations, foreign languages are increasingly being taught in pre-school childcare institutions. However, there are no statistical data on foreign language learning in nursery schools.

Languages in primary education

Organisation

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
none 3 none
Languages used as a medium of instruction (CLIL)
  widespread localised absent  
none 1 none
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support
FL:  all  restricted  no support
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
none 3 none
Start of language education
from year 1 from mid-phase end-phase only  
none 2 none
Scheduling
in school hours partly in school hours  outside school hours   
none 3 none
Minimum group size requirements
none 5-10 >10  
none 3 none
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised  school based  absent   
none 2 none
Level to be achieved
Other NL: national or regional norms school norms not specified
FL: linked to CEFR national or school norms not specified
IL: national or regional norms school norms not specified
none 3 none
State funding available
full partial none  
none 3 none

 

NL

National Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3
Extra support for newcomers
before mainstream during mainstream  absent   
3
Diagnostic testing on entry
all immigrants only absent  
1
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised  school based  absent   
2

Teaching

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers  unqualified   
none 3 none
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
none 3 none
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
none 3 none
Mobility
incorporated into training informal financial support no informal financial support not applicable  
0 2 0

 

NL

National Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers  unqualified   
3
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3

Languages offered in primary education

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

Either English, German, French or Russian: one language is compulsory, the rest optional

Immigrant Languages

-

Teaching the mother tongue (Estonian language and literature or Russian language and literature) is compulsory in the first stage of primary school (as well as in all subsequent stages of schooling). Foreign languages have been taught in general education schools starting from Grade Three since the 1991/1992 academic year, with students (or parents) being able to freely choose the language to be studied (English, Russian, German or French)). In schools with a language of instruction other than Estonian, the national language is taught from Grade One. In addition to Estonian, foreign languages are taught in accordance with the schools’ curricula. The first Estonian-language study programme for schools with another language of instruction was adopted in 1997. To support learning Estonian, many such schools have joined the early language immersion programme. The curriculum for 2002 introduced to schools the opportunity to start learning foreign languages from Grade One and the obligation to start learning them from Grade Three.

Languages in secondary education

Organisation

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
none 3 1
Languages used as a medium of instruction (CLIL)
widespread localised absent  
none 1 1
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support
FL:  all  restricted  no support
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
none 3 2
Scheduling
in school hours partly in school hours outside school hours  
none 3 1
Minimum group size requirements
none 5-10 >10  
none 3 1
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised school based absent  
none 3 1
Level to be achieved
Other NL: national or regional norms school norms not specified not applicable
FL: linked to CEFR national or school norms not specified not applicable
IL: national or regional norms school norms not specified not applicable
none 3 §
State funding available
full partial none  
none 3 1

 

NL

National Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3
Extra support for newcomers
before mainstream during mainstream absent  
3
Diagnostic testing on entry
all immigrants only absent  
1
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised school based absent  
3

Teaching

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers unqualified  
none 2 2
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
none 3 2
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
none 3 2
Mobility
incorporated into training some financial support none not applicable  
0 1 0
Language level required
linked to CEFR national or region-wide standards none not applicable  
0 3 0

 

NL

National Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers unqualified  
2
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
Language level required for non-native speakers
linked to CEFR national or school-based norms not specified  
3

Languages offered in secondary education

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

English, German, French, Russian, other language; two of these languages are compulsory

Immigrant Languages

-

In 1996 the first national general education curriculum was adopted in which the contents of studies were set out by school stage. Based on the national curriculum, schools prepared their subject syllabi, including for mother tongue and literature (namely Estonian and Russian) and for foreign languages. Foreign language A, i.e. the first foreign language, was taught from Grade Three and foreign language B from Grade Six. The third foreign language, namely foreign language C, was added as an elective subject in Grade Ten. In recent years, nearly half of all secondary school students have chosen English as their first foreign language, followed by Russian as the second and German as the third. In the last academic year, German was studied by 8.9% and French by just 1.9% of all students. Of elective subjects, German is the most common choice. In addition to these languages, several schools offer the opportunity to learn other languages such as Hebrew, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Swedish or Finnish as the third foreign language.

To support the learning of Estonian as the second language from Grade Six, many schools have joined the late language immersion programme. In 2007 the transition to partially Estonian-language instruction began in schools with other languages of instruction; this academic year 60% of the minimum number of compulsory courses are taught in Estonian.

Revised national curricula for primary and secondary schools are being implemented from this academic year (2011/2012). Learning outcomes for Estonian as the second language and for foreign languages are assessed in accordance with the Council of Europe system of uniform language proficiency levels (CEFR).

Languages in Further and Higher Education

Further Education (in three institutions)

 

Institution A Institution B Institution C

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Range of language support programmes
 wide variety  limited  no specifications
none 1 none none 3 none none 2 none
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines
none 1 none none 3 none none 3 none
Level to be achieved
linked to CEFR national none not applicable
0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 none
State funding available
full partial none
none 1 none none 3 none none 3 none

Additional NL
support

National Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages
Range of language support programmes
 wide variety  limited  no specifications
none none 2
Target groups
all restricted none
none none 3
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines
none none 3
Job related skills
yes no
none none 1
General upskilling
yes no
none none 3
State funding available
full partial none
none none 3
Internships in companies
built into course optional none
none none 2
Use of EU instruments
yes no
none none 1

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Estonia

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

English, French, German, Finnish, Russian

Immigrant Languages

-

Higher Education (in three institutions)

 

Institution A

Institution B

Institution C

Language(s) of instruction
 national, foreign and R/M national and foreign national only
2 2 3
Languages on website
 national, foreign and R/M national and foreign national only
3 2 2
Target groups for additional support in the national language
all restricted none
2 2 3
Level to be achieved in foreign language instruction
linked to CEFR national or institution-based none
3 3 3
Recruitment of non-national students
 international and immigrant only international only native speakers of national language
3 2 3
Mobility for language students
obligatory optional no offer
2 2 2
Mobility for non-language students
obligatory optional no offer
2 2 2

Languages offered across 3 higher education institutions in Estonia

English, Russian, German, French, Estonian as a Second Language, Swedish

Estonian is the language of instruction in vocational schools; the use of any other language as the language of instruction is decided by the Minister of Education and Research. Vocational schools provide education in accordance with the curricula of schools and the national curricula for vocational subjects. Teaching Estonian is compulsory in vocational schools for Russian medium -classes and is formed on the basis of the level achieved at the end of basic education (that is ISCED two or ninth form). Foreign languages are taught as two different strands under curricula: foreign language and specialist foreign language. The range and number of courses of foreign languages differ across schools and specialties: the range of foreign languages and number of courses are greater for specialties taught on the basis of secondary education than those taught on the basis of basic education. While in the case of some technical disciplines there is virtually no foreign language training, for a number of service disciplines the foreign languages taught in vocational schools include English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Swedish and Finnish.

The Estonian Qualifications Authority co-ordinates the development of professional standards, which specify, inter alia, the required level of proficiency in Estonian and in foreign languages for pursuing the profession in question.

Requirements for civil servants, employees and entrepreneurs in terms of knowledge of Estonian have been established in a Government Regulation. Following an amendment introduced to the Language Act in 2008, mandatory levels of language proficiency were introduced in alignment with the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference; state Estonian language proficiency exams are conducted for the A2, B1, B2 and C1 levels.

According to the Universities Act, Estonian is the language of instruction in universities; the use of other languages is decided by the council of the university. On the one hand, the aim is to provide Estonian language higher education that ensures a high level of proficiency in Estonian; while on the other hand, in particular at higher study levels, the proportion of English-language instruction is growing in connection with internationalisation. Russian is also used as a language of instruction in institutions of higher education.

Students in Bachelor’s or diploma studies mostly take English as a general subject, followed by Russian, Estonian as a second or foreign language, German and, to a lesser extent, French. The opportunities to learn other foreign languages have expanded significantly through university language centres: it is possible to study Italian, Spanish, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish and other languages. Foreign languages are taught to foreign philologists as a specialty and to all other students as a general and specialist language. Although foreign languages can mostly be taken as optional subjects under curricula, the learning outcomes of higher education levels stipulated in the Higher Education Standard also provide for the foreign language proficiency level. This acts as an incentive to learn foreign languages. Good foreign language skills among teachers and students serve as a basis for pursuing the goals of the Higher Education Internationalisation Strategy.

Languages in Audiovisual Media and Press

 

Tallinn

Tartu

Narva

Number of languages on radio
>4 3-4 1-2 national language only
1 1 2
Number of languages on television
>4 3-4 1-2 national language only
4 4 2
Non-national language TV productions
subtitled dubbed
4 4 1
Non-national language films in cinema
subtitled dubbed
4 4 1
R/M language programmes outside of region
always regularly sometimes never
4 4 3
Availability of sign language on TV
always regularly sometimes never
4 4 4

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Estonia

Radio

Russian

Television

Russian, English, German, French, Danish, Finnish, Estonian Sign Language

Newspapers

Russian, English, German, Finnish, Italian

The common practice of subtitling TV programmes and films means that from an early age people are exposed to languages other than Estonian. However, the large majority of foreign programmes offered on Estonian television are in English, so viewers are mainly exposed to the English language, and to a lesser extent to Russian, German and Spanish. Children’s programmes, cartoons in particular, are often dubbed.

The range of languages other than Estonian offered in national television programmes is limited. An effort has been made by Estonian National Broadcasting to offer news and cultural programmes in Russian. On the other hand, satellite television and the internet provide access to programmes from all over the world and they are viewed extensively. However, those types of television providers have not been included in this study.

A limited choice of foreign language newspapers, dominated by Russian, is available in the three cities surveyed. Tourism and the presence of a big Russian community explain the linguistic offer regarding newspapers.

Languages in public services and spaces

Institutionalised language strategies at city level

> 4 3-4 1-2  national language only

frequency of practice: widely practised occasionally practised not practised

Tallinn

Tartu

Narva

City council services

4 1 4

Website presence

6 5 4

Annual municipal reports

4 0 0

External or internal translators and interpreters

2 2 1

Competencies in languages other than the national language in job descriptions of staff members

5 4 4

Plan or scheme in place to increase skills in languages

0 0 1

Recruitment of speakers of other languages to support corporate objectives

1 1 1

Offer of training in languages to employees

1 1 1

Regularly updated record of skills in languages of employees

0 0 5

Reward or promotion schemes for being able to adequately communicate in other languages

0 0 2

Oral Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 national language only

Tallinn

Tartu

Narva

Political debates and decision-making processes at the city council level

1 1 2

Educational services

3 2 2

Emergency services

3 2 2

Health services

2 2 2

Social services

2 2 2

Legal services

2 2 2

Transport services

2 2 2

Immigration and integration services

2 2 2

Tourism services

4 3 2

Theatre programmes

2 1 2

Written Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 national language only

Tallinn

Tartu

Narva

Political debates and decision-making processes at the city council level

2 1 2

Educational services

2 2 2

Emergency services

2 2 2

Health services

2 2 2

Social services

2 2 2

Legal services

2 2 2

Transport services

2 2 2

Immigration and integration services

2 1 2

Tourism services

4 3 2

Theatre programmes

2 1 2

Languages offered in public services and public spaces across 3 cities in Estonia (N ≥ 2)

Russian, English, German, Finnish, French, Swedish

The Language Act of the Estonian Republic, adopted in 1995, defines the domains in which the use of Estonian is obligatory. It also sets out the conditions and extent of the use of the languages of national minorities in state agencies and local governments. In areas where at least half of the population belongs to a national minority group, residents have the right to receive information in that minority language (in addition to Estonian) from the local government and state agencies based in that area. This is the case in two out of the three cities researched.

The services in cities surveyed are offered in several languages with Russian, English and Finnish prevailing. City web pages have language versions besides the national language also in English and Russian, in addition basic city information and tourist information is offered in Finnish, Swedish and German.

Languages in business - 24 companies

General Language Strategies

Widely Practised

Occasionally Practised

Not Practised

Availability of language strategy

5 3 16

Emphasis on language skills in recruitment

15 7 2

International mobility provision

7 5 12

Use of external translators/interpreters

6 17 1

Staff records of language skills

0 5 19

Use of networks for language training

6 3 15

Use of EU programmes/funding

0 1 23

Awareness of EU programmes/funding

0 7 17

Internal Language Strategies

Widely Practised Occasionally Practised Not Practised

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

Partnerships with education sector

4 2 3 5 5 5 15 17 16

Reward/Promotion schemes based on language skills

1 0 1 3 2 3 20 22 20

Language training provision

7 8 7 7 4 5 10 12 12

Use of CEFR

1 0 0 5 6 5 18 18 19

Language used for workplace documents/intranet

24 9 3 0 5 4 0 10 17

Language used for software, web programmes

21 13 4 3 8 1 0 3 19

External Language Strategies

Widely Practised Occasionally Practised Not Practised

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

Language used for annual/business reports

24 9 4 0 1 0 0 14 20

Language used for marketing

24 12 8 0 7 8 0 5 8

Language used for branding/identity

23 9 5 1 11 11 0 4 8

Language used for website

19 14 15 0 2 3 5 8 6

Languages other than English offered in business across 24 companies in Estonia (N ≥ 2)

Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, German, Danish, Norwegian

Historically international relations and trade have always been and still are very important for the Estonian economy, and general language practices are much stronger than companies’ written language strategies. Linguistic competencies are generally considered as an important requirement for employees, it is a common standard that for many jobs the knowledge of Russian and one additional foreign language, English or German, is a prerequisite.

The importance of multilingualism in Estonia is not reflected in Estonia’s profile of languages in business. Not all four company types investigated (banks, hotels, supermarkets, and construction companies) are necessarily company types that focus on international business e.g. small local shops and construction businesses are targeting solely local communities.

Key Findings overall

Estonia has addressed language issues over time and has done its best to preserve and develop Estonian; to enhance the language skills of the entire population; and to promote the use of various languages. In analysing its language education policy, Estonia was assisted by the language policy division of the Council of Europe. The analysis was completed in summer 2011. Strategies for Estonian and foreign languages developed over the past decade set further goals. The process of developing strategies has played an important role, bringing together specialists from different spheres, which, in turn, has improved language-related cooperation. Joint efforts have contributed to strengthening the position of Estonian at all education levels. Although all of the strategic objectives are worthwhile, their implementation depends on the availability of resources. This is felt particularly keenly in the implementation of the Foreign Language Strategy.

In conclusion, Estonia has created good conditions for teaching Estonian as a mother tongue and the state language. Among other languages, Russian and English prevail, while other languages are studied and used much less frequently. Educational institutions are seeking to introduce more diverse opportunities for learning third foreign languages in their syllabi. The development of multilingualism is supported and encouraged with the help of various projects (for the teaching of French, German, Swedish, Finnish etc.), yet Estonia still quite a long way from true multilingualism.

Promising initiatives and pilots

The objectives of promoting the learning and spread of Estonian as a mother tongue and second language set out in the Estonian Language Development Plan should be pursued. The transition to Estonian language instruction in schools with languages of instruction other than Estonian which began in 2007 has required and will require a lot of resources. The transition has been more successful in schools that joined the language immersion programme. In addition, the methodology for integrated subject and language teaching should become more widespread in schools. 

Although foreign languages are mentioned in Estonian language development plans and development plans concerning foreign languages refer to connections with the mother tongue, the objectives concerning mother tongue and foreign languages are often separated in the development plans of the language sphere. Estonia should take guidance from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment, both as regards the principles set out in the document and the language proficiency levels defined by the Council of Europe. This document was translated into Estonian in 2006 at the request of the Ministry of Education and Research. The Estonian Foreign Language Strategy aims to promote the continuity of the policy of learning and teaching foreign languages, as well as the continuity of the principles of funding the recognition and assessment of language skills. Of the many strategic objectives, those prioritised should be distinguished. 

While the assessment of adult proficiency in Estonian as a second language is based on the Council of Europe’s language proficiency levels, the development of self-assessment tools (such as the Language Portfolio) and national tests should continue and international certificates of proficiency should be accepted according to these language proficiency levels. Implementation of the national curriculum 2011 based on the Council of Europe’s language proficiency levels is a challenge for the education system. Understanding of the language proficiency levels should be disseminated and harmonised in vocational and adult education, as well as among employers.

References

Estonian Language Development Plan 2011-2017 http://www.hm.ee/index.php?03238

Language Education Policy Profile: Estonia http://www.hm.ee/index.php?044904

Estonian Foreign Language Strategy 2009-2015 http://www.hm.ee/index.php?03238

National Curriculum for Upper Secondary Schools https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/120092011002

Language Act https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/118032011001

National Curriculum for Basic Schools https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/120092011009

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