Social media debate over Russian-speaking pupils grouping together in Latvian school class

A discussion about language use in Latvian schools has flared up again on the social platform Threads. A mother writing under the name Ilze shared her daughter's experience in a Latvian-language class of 20 pupils, where, according to her, only three children speak Latvian to one another.

Ilze said her daughter told her that "we are only three Latvians" in the class. The mother explained that the Russian-speaking pupils in the class have formed their own closed circle: when addressed in Latvian, they respond in Latvian, but among themselves they speak only Russian, effectively keeping to their own group.

Mixed reactions online

The post drew numerous comments reflecting differing experiences. Another mother said her own child, whose native language is Russian, speaks Latvian with Latvian classmates and Russian with Russian-speaking ones, without any issues arising.

One commenter argued the situation is not unusual and can actually help children learn both languages from each other, recalling a personal childhood experience of mutual language exchange with Latvian peers that has remained useful decades later.

Several users pointed out that friend groups are not always shaped by language alone, noting that Latvian children, too, sometimes form their own closed circles. Another commenter mentioned that her child had observed Russian-speaking classmates conversing in English among themselves. The discussion also included recollections of childhood, when attitudes toward language use in the classroom differed from today.