Education and Science, Estonia

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 05:44

Estonia: Integration Foundation seeking partners for organizing language study in families

BC, Tallinn, 21.01.2020.Print version
The Integration Foundation has announced a round of applications to find partners for organizing family stay language and culture learning for young people whose first language is not Estonian, informed LETA/BNS.

Applications are open to non-profit organizations registered in Estonia until February 19, spokespeople for the foundation said on Tuesday.


According to the Integration Foundation, family studies are an effective way of familiarizing young people aged 7-19 who are living in Estonia but whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian with Estonian cultural space and of offering them the opportunity to form contacts with people of the same age who speak Estonian as their mother tongue. The aim of studying the language while staying with a family is to support young people in acquiring Estonian through communication with their peers and by actively taking part in activities.


"Due to the great interest in learning the Estonian language and culture in families, we plan to increase the volume of family studies this year by providing it to at least 200 young people with a mother tongue other than Estonian and acquiring more organizers of family studies," Jana Tondi, head of language learning activities at the Integration Foundation, said.


The budget for the round of applications is 100,000 euros. The minimum grant requested is 15,000 euros and the maximum amount is 50,000 euros per application.


"In planning language and culture studies in families, it is important to think about ways to get young people involved in family activities as much as possible, to help them connect with the children being raised in the family and other Estonian-speaking young people of the same age, introduce the neighborhood or other places in Estonia and offer more opportunities for practicing the Estonian language," Tondi said. "Families suitable for receiving young people are families that are ready to take care of at least one young person for 10-14 days in the summer and help them with learning and practicing Estonian. We encourage all grant applicants to consider working with schools, which can be a good partner for finding families to host young people as well as for those who want to participate in family studies," she added.


Last year, 86 young people from different schools all over Estonia took part in language and cultural studies in families organized with the support of the Integration Foundation. The studies took place in Voru County and Tartu.


Support for the organization of Estonian language learning in families can be applied for via the grant processing information system of the Ministry of Culture. The round of applications is being financed by the Ministry of Culture.






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