The Soviet Union collapsed more than 20 years ago, but the traces left in occupied countries by this monstrous system still affect the lives of millions of people. Under the glittering surface of newsworthy events that regularly appear in the mass media, there are many other wounds hard to heal. The system of education is one of the social…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the sociolinguistic situation in Estonia. The paper opens with a historic overview, followed by an overview of the current demographic situation and of post-Soviet language and education policies and practices. It is argued that Estonia represents a success story in terms of language policy,…

This paper describes multiple Estonian-Russian language contacts in Estonia. For synchronic microsociolinguistic research it is usual to concentrate on the impact of a sociolinguistically dominant language A on an immigrant/minority language B. In the Soviet setting, the dominant language was usually Russian (despite Russians being a minority).…

The present research was undertaken to identify sociocultural variables that influence whether Russian-speaking parents living in Estonia choose Russian, Estonian, or bilingual (Russian and Estonian) instruction for their children. To examine which sociocultural variables are related to parents' choice of language of instruction, 346…

Focuses on the language situation in the Russian diaspora in Latvia and Estonia and analyzes these factors that are critical in determining language outcomes for a language community within one country that speaks a majority language of another. Examines the possibility of three outcomes: language maintenance, bilingualism, and language shift in a…

In 2000, Estonia launched a voluntary Estonian language CLIL programme for seven year-olds in four Russian-medium schools. The programme has expanded rapidly to a total of 48 kindergartens and schools. This paper reports on research into stakeholder perspectives on programme management. In addition to surveying parents, teachers, vice-principals…

Discusses Latvia's decision to make Latvian the sole official language of Latvia in the post-Soviet era. Argues that the Latvians found themselves in the position of a majority whose language had been minoritized by the Soviet form of colonization. (Author/VWL)

This exploratory study identifies factors affecting parental choice of language of instruction, based on semistructured interviews with 16 Russian-speaking parents in three urban areas of Estonia. We investigated three different types of language programs: Russian schools, which provided education in the children's first language; Estonian…

Explores how Americanization and Russification differed in terms of their imperialist language policies and how these policies led two colonialized societies, Puerto Rico and Estonia, to respond in dramatically different ways to the pressures to learn English and Russian respectively. (Author/VWL)

This thesis, covering the years 1918-2000, is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the interwar history of non-Estonian education with particular emphasis on the diversity of the non-Estonian population, the legislation protecting the right of minority groups to mother tongue instruction, and the inclusion of Estonian language and civics…

The present paper concentrates on several issues relevant to research into multilingualism in Estonia. It is argued that a macrosociolinguistic approach is insufficient when not counterbalanced with microsociolinguistic studies (case studies of actual linguistic behaviour, linguistic creativity, mechanisms and practices of multilingual…

Examines how language-of-instruction choice affects Estonian Russian-speaking minority students following legislation requiring Estonian-only secondary education. Research indicates that Russian-speaking choice parents selecting Estonian-speaking schools differ from nonchoice Russian-speaking parents in resourcefulness. Despite Soviet-era…

For emerging democracies civic education issues have special meaning. Often these issues play a vital role in the process of nation building and democratic consolidation, which makes the interplay between the school system and the socio-political environment particularly important. Estonia, which inherited from the half-century Soviet occupation a…

The development of the Russian intelligentsia is closely related to discourses concerning Russia's position vis-a-vis Europe and the Western world, such as those of Slavophiles and Westernisers. This paper is about Russian authors and painters who are now becoming part of Europe, as the country in which they live, Estonia, has recently entered the…

Discussion of the role of non-Russian languages in the Soviet Union (USSR) focuses on the history of ethnic group languages and language policy in Estonia since the collapse of totalitarianism. A historical overview of Soviet Union language policy is offered, with attention given to the ideological goals influencing policy, and their realization…