The Integration Foundation launched the Language Friends programme in 2020 to provide language learners with the opportunity to continue practising language online due to the emergency situation in effect at the time. The programme got off to a good start and has continued successfully also after the end of the emergency situation. To this day, a total of 5,365 language learners have taken part in the programme. This year, the largest number of people so far – 827 learners and 810 mentors – found a language friend.

Mailis Sütiste-Gnannt, an Estonian national who is a German and Estonian language teacher, freelance journalist, interpreter, and translator living in Guermantes, near Paris, France for most of the year, was a mentor to Emine Cetinkaya, a Turkish housewife living in Tallinn, for two and a half months this spring. The women kindly agreed to share with us their impressions of the journey they had together.

How did you benefit from participating in the programme and what did you like most about it?

Emine: It is always exciting to meet new people. My language partner Mailis is a wonderful person. We chatted on Skype on Tuesdays for 30–40 minutes at a time. Mailis also wrote down the words and expressions that came up during the conversation in the chat window and explained the grammar with different examples if necessary. That was particularly useful, as I now always have the option to review the words if I happen to forget something.

Mailis: I have been involved in the Language Friends programme since the beginning and this was my fifth season. It is great to help others and especially to encourage them to speak our language. My language friend Emine is warm like the sun, always cheerful and very positive. I learned a lot of interesting things about Turkish life, customs, and food. She was always happy to talk about what she is doing and share her recipes. The interviews also coincided with the Ramadan period, when she ate nothing and drank no water from sunrise to sunset. It is amazing how much willpower a person must have to do this.

What was the most challenging part for you?

Emine: The most difficult part was definitely the grammar. It is hard! Mailis explained the different rules to me over and over again and I also reviewed everything I was learning in the Estonian language course. Mailis was a great support to me!

Mailis: We did not really encounter anything too complicated. The only misunderstanding we had was not because of the language at all, but because Estonia and France have a time difference and there was a small misunderstanding about the time of our meeting.

Why should other language learners and mentors participate in the programme?

Emine: That is because we only speak Estonian here and these conversations are very practical. I wish to continue participating in the programme as well. I feel it is very necessary for me. I think the programme could be even longer; I would like to speak Estonian much more!

Mailis: It is great to contribute and help language learners of other nationalities. It is also an enriching experience for you, as you can broaden your world view with new insights into other cultures and customs.

Do you plan to continue your conversations in the future?

Mailis: We only got to see each other in real life for the first time in the Estonian Language House in Tallinn after the official programme had ended. We took a picture together and afterwards sat in a café and chatted about our lives and the weather. We will definitely meet again when I come back to Estonia this summer. Emine’s firm wish is to provide us with home-made Turkish food.

Emine: The programme is not actually over for us yet. We continue to chat online every Tuesday morning, just as we did during the study period. We have probably missed the meeting only once or twice. I am really looking forward to our new meetings!

In March this year, the Integration Foundation started organising language missions for people with another mother tongue working in the public sector to provide them with Estonian language practice in an Estonian-speaking work environment. The language missions take place during 12–30 calendar days in an organisation in the same field in another county or city. The language missions are for people who wish to improve their Estonian language skills to fulfil their work tasks. The language missions, or the labour mission programme for language learning, is financed by the European Social Fund.

At the beginning of April, Tatiana Podpovedkina, a class teacher at the Soldino School in Narva, spent two intense and exciting work weeks at the Pärnu Kuninga Street Basic School, where she was mentored by one of the school’s class teachers Katrin Kurvits. Both teachers have kindly agreed to share their experiences, emotions, and plans for the future.

What inspired you to join the language mission programme?

Tatiana Podpovedkina (TP): First and foremost, I wanted to improve my Estonian language skills. However, my class in Narva is also a language immersion class, so I really wanted to create opportunities for the future, to bring my students together with children from other Estonian schools, so that they could improve their language skills by playing and communicating with each other. It is difficult to achieve this locally in Narva.

Katrin Kurvits (KK): Our school joined this programme for the first time. I am usually open to new challenges, which is why I decided to participate in the programme. As a quick responder, I immediately grabbed the first (and only) class teacher from the list. This turned out to be Tatiana. To be honest: at first, I had no idea what was in store for me. It just seemed exciting, something I had not done before. Tatiana’s expectations became clear to me only when we met.

Do schools in Pärnu and Narva differ a lot – in terms of their teaching methods, work culture, or something else?

TP: I had always had the impression that children in Estonian schools are generally more restrained and do not run around as much as here. In fact, children are the same everywhere, especially the younger ones. In terms of teaching, however, it was noticeable that Estonian teachers, for example, try to calm down the children who were just playing outside as the lesson starts, so that they could focus better. Katrin, for example, says hello to each child separately in the morning and wishes them a good school day. This alone immediately helps the children adjust to the day of learning. At first, it seemed like a waste of class time, but later, I realised how useful it really is. And in class, the children truly are really polite and obedient. However, all of this very much depends on the teacher. It was quite amazing to see how patient both the teachers and other school staff can be with the children. Children are taught discipline from the ground up and it shows in the school, especially in older students.

Now that the language mission is over, how do you see it in retrospect – was it all worth the trouble?

KK: At this point, I am extremely happy that I made this decision and that it happened to be Tatiana who I ended up working with. The kind of energy that Tatiana has, was very much needed. The children in my class liked Tatiana straight away and quickly accepted her. The presence of a guest in the class was not unusual because we often have interns or other guests in class.

Those two weeks with Tatiana were what I always dreamed of. I was not alone with my burden of responsibility, but had another teacher by my side with whom I could discuss things. Tatiana was a real help and we got along very well. She came and stayed as if we were old friends.

Our schedule was very packed and it was not only confined within school walls. There were only a few days when we did not do something together after class. Walking home from the theatre late one night, I admitted to Tatiana that I would have a class at 8 in the morning, but I had not had time to prepare anything and needed to improvise. I used an Estonian expression (puusalt tulistama) to describe my situation, but Tatiana was not familiar with it. Once I explained what it meant, Tatiana immediately offered to deal with the students herself in the morning, so that I could prepare the next lessons I had that day.

During the lessons, Tatiana diligently wrote down various Estonian expressions that I used, and then I had to explain them to her during breaks. However, it often happened that I had to go to our Estonian language teacher myself and ask her why some expressions are the way they are. There were lessons for everyone! That is how breaks turned out to be some of the best language lessons for us.

TP: My time in Pärnu gave me much more than I could have hoped for. I had the opportunity to communicate with many other primary school teachers and gain a lot of valuable experience and get advice and language practice, of course. I wanted to communicate with the children as much as possible as well. In the first days, it was difficult for us to make contact, because our language barrier was still hindering us at first, but we got over it pretty quickly. Communicating with children in particular opens you up to a so-called living language – one that you can never get from textbooks alone. Katrin and I really spent a lot of time together outside of school. We went to the theatre, exhibitions, and museums several times. I can only be grateful and happy that I received a mentor like Katrin!

On my last day in Pärnu, Katrin asked her students to write me letters to take with me. We read them in Narva together with my class. It was very warm and touching.

Does this method work for language learning and for bringing different communities together?

KK: Before Tatiana’s arrival, I had heard about the issues of language education in Ida Viru County only from the TV. It was a problem that I was aware of, but it was so far away. It was only when I was directly communicating with Tatiana that I realised how difficult the situation really is. Thanks to her, I have more motivation to visit Narva and Ida Viru County more. I have done this in the past too, but as I did not have any personal connections there until now, it has not been a priority. Hence, communication at this level will certainly contribute to the convergence of our different communities and the better understanding of one another.

Have you made plans for future cooperation?

TP: Just recently, we organised a joint online class for our students. We sang songs together; I made a presentation about the city of Narva and Katrin about Pärnu. Afterwards, we made a quiz about each other’s knowledge based on what people from Narva and Pärnu remembered about the other cities. In the end, the children shared phone numbers with each other to communicate more in the future. While we were in Pärnu, Katrin, and I also went to the Jõulumäe sports centre and made plans on how we could bring our students for joint events there.

KK: Our cooperation in Pärnu turned out so well that now, we are planning to visit Narva and Ida Viru County for four days in August with all the teachers from Pärnu who participated in this programme. I have a definite plan to see Tatiana teaching at her school sometime in the autumn and to shadow her. This programme could also work the other way around – teachers from all over Estonia could go to Ida Viru County and help their colleagues in learning the Estonian language.

TP: I am also planning to go to Pärnu again this autumn and continue my studies with the help of Katrin.

KK: It would be ideal if all language learners could have such a personal mentor in their field of work with whom they could discuss work matters even every day, if necessary, and who would be there and offer support when needed. It is a good feeling to know that you are doing someone good by simply being there and talking to them!

Urve Krause, the principal of the Pärnu Kuninga Street Basic School:

Pärnu Kuninga Street Basic School has hosted teachers from Narva Soldino School, Jõhvi Central School, Narva Central School, and Narva Kreenholm School as part of the Language Swallows’ Project. All the teachers at these schools have been very friendly and interested in the teaching and educational work done in our school. Their interest in the Estonian language, culture, and customs makes us really happy. We had long conversations about the culture of our school, work with parents, and creating a cooperative school team. The whole school welcomed the guests and they became members of our family. They participated actively in school life and events. The whole school was happy that we could share our experiences with our colleagues. We are certainly willing to host truly motivated teachers, who will share our experiences in other schools in the future. Participating in a language mission gives the school new experiences and acquaintances, as well as opportunities to learn from other schools.

The Integration Foundation awaits public sector organisations – schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. – that employ people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds who need Estonian language practice to join the language mission programme. We ask that the head of the organisation or the employee themselves notify us of their desire to participate in the language dispatch. Read more about language missions on the Integration Foundation’s website: https://integratsioon.ee/keelelahetus.

The language mission is funded by the European Social Fund’s programme ‘Activities supporting the competitiveness of people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and returnees on the labour market’ as a sub-activity ‘Offering a labour force mission programme for language learning’.

Just a few months after the start of Russia’s full-scale war of conquest in Ukraine, Inna arrived in Estonia as a war refugee. Today, she speaks good Estonian and works as a doctor.

How did you arrive in Estonia and why did you decide to build a new life here?

I am a citizen of Ukraine, a Ukrainian. I worked as a doctor for 20 years in Ukraine. I finished my practice of anaesthesiology in Ukraine in 2004. For the first three years, I worked as an anaesthesiologist and intensive care physician in a multidisciplinary hospital, and from 2007 to 2022, as an intensive care physician at the Kyiv Heart Institute. I arrived in Estonia in April 2022 as a war refugee. I currently live and work in Kohtla-Järve; I work with former colleagues from Ukraine. I came here with my three-year-old daughter and my mother. At first, we came to Kohtla-Järve to visit colleagues, but now, we rent an apartment. I immediately came to Kohtla-Järve upon arriving in Estonia. My main job is at the Kohtla-Järve hospital, but a few months ago, I also started working in Tallinn.

Adapting to Estonia was not difficult because my friends live here. Several people from other countries work with me in the hospital – from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. They help me a lot. Unfortunately, there are not many opportunities to meet Estonians here in Ida Viru County. Living here, I do not experience an entirely Estonian-speaking world.

How did you adapt to Estonia?

It did not take me long to settle in. To work as a doctor in Estonia, I had to complete an internship and then take an exam. In total, the internship lasted six months, four of which I lived in Tartu and two in Rakvere. In these cities, I could experience the Estonian-speaking world and practice the Estonian language. I work as a general practitioner in Estonia – I feel almost like an Estonian medical student who has passed the final exam at university but has not completed her residency yet. I definitely want to complete an anaesthesiology residency in Estonia as well.

English was the first thing that helped me in Estonia – it was like a bridge. After that, I started communicating in Estonian.

How did you study Estonian?

When I arrived in Estonia, a friend told me that I already knew two words – sidrun (lemon) and sibul (onion), which are similar in Ukrainian. I immediately started learning Estonian. I tried to go to Tallinn to complete an A1 level course. It was a tough commute. There were no online classes then. I learned Estonian at the A1 level independently with the help of the Tere books and the Keeleklikk programme, then started courses at the A2 level. By then, courses were already offered online. I passed the A2 level exam last year. Today, I have also passed the B2 level exam. I use the Sõnaveeb website a lot, as it helps me get a better grasp on Estonian. I am very grateful to all my Estonian language teachers – Inna Nurk, Ene Peterson, and Erika Lindsalu.

Is the Estonian language very difficult compared to Ukrainian?

Estonian belongs to a different language group than Ukrainian and all the words are new to me; very few are similar to Ukrainian, just like with English and Russian. The structure of the Estonian language is comprehensible to me. Russian is sometimes more complicated than the Estonian language. German too.

I never felt that I wanted to stop studying Estonian. My big wish was to work as a doctor, in which case language skills are absolutely necessary. That motivated me.

Do you use Estonian daily?

A lot of Russian is spoken in Ida-Virumaa. The work process is in Estonian and I communicate with other parents in my daughter’s kindergarten in Estonian. I also speak Estonian in Tallinn.

In Ida-Virumaa, we must seek out opportunities to speak and hear Estonian. My friend who came from Ukraine seven years ago sings in an Estonian choir, for example.

Have your mother and daughter also studied Estonian?

My mother only studied Estonian at the A1 level. My mother is 73 and although she has a higher education in engineering, she could not work for a long time for reasons beyond her control and started fearing everything new. A1-level courses are mandatory for residing in Estonia, and that is great. My mother participated in the Settle in Estonia adaptation programme online with a group of people of different ages and educational levels. It was wonderful to watch her study diligently and enthusiastically. The teacher was at a very good level – she encouraged the student to make an effort and speak. I am very grateful to the teacher, Svetlana Sergeeva, for supporting my mother. Currently, my mother refuses to continue studying, claiming that she is too old for that. Then again, she notes that there are many older people living in Estonia who, despite their physical limitations, remain active and take care of themselves. I think it positively affects my mother’s world view and the desire to keep up with the times.

My daughter has the opportunity to practice Estonian in kindergarten and she will soon go to a different one where she can speak more Estonian. My daughter is already 5 years old.

I have made plenty of friends at work, but unfortunately, there are not many Estonians here and I do not have many friends outside of work. I would like to communicate more in Estonian. I listen to the radio, podcasts, and search for information in Estonian. I really try my best.

I would like to have more Estonian friends. For example, the other parents at my daughter’s kindergarten are very lovely.

What would you recommend to other new arrivals?

You cannot gain language skills without effort. Languages need to be learned; they need time and work. If you want to learn, do not be afraid, the language will come to you step by step. If your language level is already at B1, we laugh more than we talk. It is not possible to communicate if a person’s language level is too low. You must try and learn. Courses, TV, radio, communicating with people – all of this is important. Language courses are good – they teach you organisation skills and motivate you; you will also be able to use textbooks. Do not be afraid!

I like Estonia very much. It is a great digital country; everything works perfectly. The people are very calm; I like that a lot. It is also good that people raise several children. It is quite normal to have three or more children in the family in Estonia. All the children are very calm and good. My child gets along well with Estonian children.

On the photos: with colleagues and supervisors at the Ida-Viru Central Hospital and with her dearest Estonian teacher Erika Lindsalu from the Kersti Võlu Language School

The Settle in Estonia Programme is a free educational programme provided by the Estonian state which is intended to help the foreigners who have arrived in Estonia to adapt and become accustomed to local life more easily. We offer courses for people who have come to live or study in Estonia and have lived here for less than 5 years. For example, war refugees to whom Estonia offers international or temporary protection, as well as people who have come to Estonia to work or do business here or relocate with their family member. We offer language training and other courses to help you cope with everyday life in Estonia. Read more and register: www.settleinestonia.ee. The adaptation programme is co-funded by the European Union and the state budget.