Narva high schoolers paired with Estonian-speaking peers in Järva County for language practice
A new high school elective in Estonia pairs Narva students learning Estonian as a second language with Estonian-speaking peers from Järva County. The pairs will practice speaking weekly until a final seminar in Narva in March.
A new high school elective launched in Estonia this week pairs Narva students who are learning Estonian as a second language with Estonian-speaking peers from Järva County. Narva is a city in the country's east, while Paide, where the course began, is in central Estonia. It is the first elective of its kind, and it is meant to give young people a chance to practice the language.
The elective got underway in Paide on Monday, when students from the two regions were randomly drawn into pairs. The language buddies will speak Estonian together at least once a week, and the course will end with a final seminar in Narva in March.
Who is taking part
Three schools in Järva County and three schools in Narva are participating, each contributing five students. Every group has a teacher mentor who monitors progress and helps when needed.
During their visit, Narva students praised the Paide State High School building and the chance to practice Estonian. Student Elis Markova said she enjoyed the experience. Jekaterina Bašinskaja said she wants to learn the language because she lives in Estonia and should be able to speak it.
Her new language buddy, Valeriia Melnychenko, studies at Koeru High School and is originally from Ukraine. Russian is her first language, so the two can use a mix of Estonian and Russian. Paide student Rasmus Kraak said his buddy speaks little Estonian, but they can still understand each other somewhat. Koeru student Sten-Marten Raal said the pairs will mostly keep in touch via social media, with scheduled meetings and video calls when needed.
The program was launched by Järva Municipality, which hopes the friendships will last beyond the elective. Its longer-term goal is to extend the initiative across the country. Piret Sapp, the municipality's education and youth work specialist, said that in five years the program might grow enough for every Ida-Viru County high schooler learning Estonian to have a language buddy elsewhere in Estonia.
