Hearing discussions about transitioning to Estonian-language subject-based education, I am often taken back to 25 years ago. The Riigikogu decided at the end of the 1990s already to begin the transition to Estonian-language subject-based education. The deadline was postponed for decades, but the knowledge that this is an important step has become commonplace in our society. Many parents have "voted with their feet" and placed their kids in either Estonian-language schools or language immersion programs.

Meanwhile, we're still hearing comments about how we lack experience, lack methodology, lack educational materials – speak nothing of teachers. Basically, that society isn't ready. I turn back the clock to the year 2000, and vividly recall the same claims.

Societal context has changed significantly, however. In the late 90s, one question that came up often was "Why?" which by now, with very, very few exceptions, has turned into "How?" This is great progress, because in making any change, attitudes and the shaping of values play the most important role.

Fears need to be heard, answered

If we ensure that school leaders and teachers – those actually driving this process – believe, trust and know what to do and how to do it, then that's already half the battle. Estonia's education system is no longer a closed, homogenous relational space. We ourselves have finally reached the entirely everyday and normal understanding that multiculturalism and multilingualism are ordinary and valuable.

No doubt one of the key actors in this transition is the parents, who need to be listened to very carefully, and whose fears and propagated myths need to be addressed. Every parent wants the best education for their child, and it's only natural they have certain fears. For example, how will their child do in school; how to support them; which school to send the kid to to ensure that, 12 years from now, only the sky's the limit.

I, too, had those fears, by the way, when I once sent my sons to school. For a Russian-speaking parent, these fears are likewise joined by questions of identity and language, as the concern is both how to become fluent in Estonian as well as how to develop one's own native language.

Language immersion programs

We've had a language immersion program for nearly 25 years now, involving more than 100 educational institutions. The first graduates of this program graduated school more than 12 years ago already – among them, doctors, dentists, police officers, tons of teachers that are now themselves teaching in language immersion classes, etc., etc.

They have received an education that guarantees them the freedom of choice in either continuing their education or employment. They are not oppressed by the knowledge that some doors are closed to them for linguistic reasons, as only Estonian-language higher education is free. Estonian is likewise essential in applying for meaningful and transformative positions on the job market.

Blended learning, one form of which is language immersion, has long since proven itself to work. It has proven itself as a methodology that both supports the student's linguistic development as well as provides them with knowledge of the subject. If the teacher has a good grasp of the methodology and sets subject-related, linguistic and study skills-developing objectives for the lesson, the student's sense of security and development will be guaranteed.

Parents fear that learning in another language will increase their child's study load, and that parents won't be able to help them. Years of experience in teaching in another language have shown that it's more likely a teacher teaching in their own native language that often won't notice that some kids don't understand the content, as they expect that everyone understands them, which is far from the case.

A teacher teaching in another language is constantly monitoring students' understanding. The parent's role remains to provide their child with emotional support and a safe home environment; leave the teaching up to the school.

Solution in one's thinking

Language development certainly won't happen overnight. It's clear that during the first months of learning in a second language, language development will vary significantly. Some kids will start experimenting with stringing words together on day two, while for others, a period of staying quiet may go on for months. All of this is perfectly normal, as we all develop differently physically and mentally too, regardless of what language we speak. Mixing words from different languages within the same sentence is likewise a routine and normal language development process and must be allowed to happen.

Kids must be able to experiment and play with words and sentences in a safe environment; their mistakes should not be emphasized, and it's rather their progress that should be acknowledged. There is absolutely nothing new about any of this; this is precisely how normal learning happens.

Of course the transition to Estonian-language education is no easy task, as it is a change in the thinking of many school leaders and teachers. This isn't merely a question of teaching one subject or another in another language, but rather rethinking learning and modernizing the education process altogether.

At the same time, it's crucial to start now, because we cannot lose another generation of young people who are socially disadvantaged upon graduating school, both in terms of language proficiency and in study skills.

There will always be reasons why something can't be done, but now is the time to find all these reasons, actions and wisdom for creating an equally good education system for everyone, including for young people in Russian-language schools.

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