Adults in Daugavpils use free courses to learn Latvian

Adults in Daugavpils can learn Latvian through several programmes, including free courses, LSM reports. The opportunities are actively used in the city, where the share of Latvian residents is the lowest in Latvia.

Olena Nikolaychuk, who is from the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, has lived in Daugavpils for a year and a half. She has just learned that she passed the state language examination and will begin studying the next level in August.

Olena learned Latvian in free courses for Ukrainian civilians in Latvia. Completing the courses does not require participants to take the state language examination, but she chose to do so herself.

“In Daugavpils, of course, there is not really anyone to speak Latvian with. Only if you want to do it yourself. If you start speaking Latvian, people will speak Latvian with you too. After these courses, it has become much easier for me. In a shop, I can read what I am buying and what it is, for example, the ingredients of a product. I can also communicate with government institutions,” Olena said.

Daugavpils funds courses for 15 groups

Free Latvian courses in Daugavpils are available through several programmes. Some projects funded by the European Union or the state are intended for Ukrainian civilians, while others are aimed at citizens of third countries.

The Daugavpils municipality also funds its own programme for city residents. It has identified three priority groups, according to Ilze Onzule, a specialist in adult education at the city’s Education Department.

“The priority is those who want to obtain Latvian citizenship. The second priority is those who have already passed at least the A2 level and want to obtain either the B1 or B2 level. The third group is parents,” Onzule said.

She said parents in Daugavpils may not always try to speak the official language because they assume that everything will happen automatically. Since education in schools is conducted in Latvian, the courses can help parents support their children not only with basic language skills but also with more difficult tasks, such as writing essays or understanding complex subjects.

This year, the Daugavpils municipality allocated 23,000 euros for Latvian courses for 15 groups. Seven groups, comprising 73 people, have already completed the 100-hour programme, although some participants have discontinued their studies.