Online language learning expands access across Estonia

Online foreign-language learning is becoming more common in Estonia, with 40 percent of people taking courses through the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Integration Foundation studying online, ERR reported. The courses have 28,000 participants, most of them refugees and recent immigrants. At private language schools, 70 percent of students use online learning.

Pille Põiklik, an adviser in the language policy department of Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research, said the number of online programmes was continuing to grow.

Britta Tamverk, head of the City Language School, said the shift accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. Many students moved online or realised that language learning was possible that way, she said, adding that online courses had opened access for people living outside Tallinn who could not easily find a language school nearby.

Ivar Soone, a board member of Tallinn Language School, said individual online courses were often taken by people who found it difficult to attend in person because they lived outside a city, had demanding work schedules or faced other restrictions. Some students live in other countries, he added, making online learning their only option.

Kati Bakradze-Pank, chair of the Estonian Association of Foreign Language Teachers, said some skills, including speaking, could suffer online. However, she said it was important to ensure access to high-quality online language education.

“It is difficult to assess online which skills, and perhaps which language levels, will be reached, but today the teacher’s expertise plays a more important role,” Bakradze-Pank said.

Tamverk said motivation was more important than the method used. Both online and in-person learning can lead to language acquisition, she said, but the outcome ultimately depends on the individual.