Estonian schools don’t teach in Russian anymore – level 2

Estonian schools dont teach in Russian anymore

28-02-2025 07:00

Estonia has many Russian speakers who used to study in Russian. After Russia attacked Ukraine, Estonia decided that all students must now learn in Estonian.

Schools planned this for years, but it was difficult to start. Some people were afraid that Russian speakers wouldn’t like the change. Victoria, who is eight years old, now studies everything in Estonian. Her mother speaks some Estonian and can help, but many children have problems because their parents only speak Russian. This is difficult, especially in places where most people speak Russian.

Before, Russian-speaking students did worse in school than Estonian speakers. Estonia has very good schools, and the government wants all students to have the same chances. Victoria works hard because she wants to go to an Estonian university one day.

Difficult words: speaker (a person who speaks a certain language), chance (opportunity to be successful).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.

What challenges have emerged with students now learning entirely in Estonian, and how is Victoria approaching these difficulties?

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