New training courses for teachers to assist in the work with new immigrant students
All interested are invited to the information day of the language learning development programme
In-service training for teachers of vocational education institutions began in October
Dance project “May I be Mozart?” of the Russian Theatre jubilee season
New training courses for teachers to assist in the work with new immigrant students
From November, the University of Tartu and Tallinn University will begin training native language and class teachers whose classes are attended by students who have arrived from abroad.
The training planned with the support of the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) is already the sixth training intended for teachers to support them in teaching new immigrant children. Altogether, 70 native language and class teachers will attend the upcoming training.
“To support the children whose native language is different than the language of instruction, class and subject teachers as well as heads of schools and education officials were trained from 2006–2011. The training topics included the integration of cultural differences, bilingualism, subject and language training, and issues such as special educational needs, organisation of studies, and teaching the second language,” explained Ave Härsing, a coordinator from the MISA Multicultural Education Unit.
“Increasingly, more children come into Estonian schools whose home language is not Estonian or Russian. Often, a school becomes aware of it just before the child is about to start school and then the Estonian language and class teachers are the first that come into contact with the child coming from abroad,” said Härsing.
“In such cases, the teacher’s task is to teach the child the Estonian language and ensure his or her knowledge in different subjects because the student must be capable of obtaining the subjects necessary for a basic education in Estonian, and if they wish to successfully continue their education in Estonia,” added Härsing.
In the following two years, both universities plan to conduct additional training of 120 academic hours in eight cycles focusing on the knowledge and skills that the teachers need to have to be able to support and guide students of different nationalities, with different cultural backgrounds and with different language skills.
The universities will send more detailed information on the training directly to the schools in November and December. The contact person of the training is Monica Sakk (monica@andras.ee) at Tallinn University and Karin Soodla (karin.soodla@ut.ee) at University of Tartu.
The Foundation organised a competition for finding trainers in September 2012 and the training course is funded by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals and the Ministry of Culture within the framework of the “Estonian Integration Strategy 2008–2013”.
For more information, please contact: Ave Härsing, MISA Multicultural Education Unit, Coordinator, tel 659 9037, e-mail ave.harsing@meis.ee
All interested are invited to the information day of the language learning development programme
The team of the “Language Learning Development 2011−2013” programme, which is being financed by the European Social Fund, is to organise an information day about the interim results of the programme, during which the results of completed activities and future opportunities will be introduced on 22 November from 10.30 a.m. till 15.00 p.m. in Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel (Sadama 11a, Tallinn).
During the information day organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA), new teaching materials for content and language integrated learning for vocational educational institutions and institutions of higher education will be introduced, the experiences and results of language learning of vocational school students and public sector employees will be shared, the examples of developing content and language integrated learning in vocational education will be presented, and knowledge about language learning with a mentor and in language clubs will be introduced. An overview of the Estonian language learning materials for partially sighted people and hard-of-hearing people that are being prepared and training for the language teachers of adults will be given. The results of the survey financed by the programme on the foreign language skills of basic school graduates will also be introduced.
“On the information day, the coordinators of the programme and the people that have participated in its 11 activities within the framework of the programme will introduce the results of the activities undertaken to date and present an overview of ongoing projects and plans for 2013,” commented Eduard Odinets, the Head of MISA Lifelong Education Unit.
“For us, it is very important from time to time to share with interested parties the results of activities that support and develop language learning financed by the European Social Fund. We wish to give an account of what has been achieved in one and a half years, give a concentrated overview about this area and also receive feedback,” added Odinets.
The information day will be held in the Estonian language and is intended for people working in this area, as well as all others who are interested. Those interested can register for the information day until 15 November on the webpage of the Foundation or vie the e-mail address tea.kotkas@meis.ee.
The “Language Learning Development 2011−2013” programme is implemented within the framework of the measure “Language learning development” of the priority axis “Lifelong Education” of the “Human Resources Development Operational Plan”. The programme budget is almost 2.5 million euro.
For more information, please contact: Eduard Odinets, Head of MISA Lifelong Education Unit, tel 659 9840, e-mail eduard.odinets@meis.ee
In-service training for teachers of vocational education institutions began in October
With the support of the European Social Fund, in-service training for teachers of vocational education institutions during which the teachers can develop their speciality and language skills in a school with a different language of instruction began in October.
The in-service training programme for teachers of vocational education institutions coordinated by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) involves teachers that have already gathered experience in a school with a different language of instruction within the framework of the European Social Fund programme “Language Learning Development 2007–2010” as well as teachers that are participating for the first time.
The first in-service trainee of this academic year is a welding teacher at Tallinn Lasnamäe Mechanics School who will go to Rakvere Vocational School to exchange work and language learning experience. This academic year, a total of 28 teachers will participate in in-service training, assisted by support persons both in the sending and hosting schools.
“In-service training as one type of refresher training is organised for the teachers of vocational schools where the language of instruction is Russian in Estonian language vocational educational institutions and the teachers of Estonian vocational schools in vocational schools where the language of instruction is Russian. The teachers can enhance their skills in a school with a different language of instruction for 12 or 24 days, and before and after such in-service training the trainees are supported in this process by special support persons,” commented Eduard Odinets, the Head of MISA Lifelong Education Unit.
“Interest towards the in-service training is great due to the previous experiences, and agreements between the sending and hosting schools have now been made. The teachers that have not yet expressed their interest also have an opportunity for in-service training and both schools and teachers can let us know about their interest,” confirmed Odinets.
Since 2009, in-service training has been facilitated for 74 teachers from 16 vocational schools, of whom the support persons numbered 33 and trainees 41, assisted by the European Social Fund and coordinated by MISA.
For more information, please contact: Maria Ratassepp, MISA Lifelong Education Unit, Coordinator, tel 659 9068, e-mail maria.ratassepp@meis.ee
Dance project “May I be Mozart?” of the Russian Theatre jubilee season
The fourth and most eagerly awaited premier of the Russian Theatre jubilee season will take place on 23 November in the Great Hall of the Russian Theatre. The production is based on Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and Anton Chekhov’s story “Ward No. 6”, as well as the works of the famous 20th century poet Vladimir Vysotsky.
The creator of the production is Evgeny Kornyag (Belorussia), who is well known in Europe as a director and choreographer, and also the founder and director of Kornyag Theatre in Minsk. The critics have called him the hope of modern theatre and one of the most scandalous directors. The audience has always had a keen interest in his work and even young people watch his productions many times. Kornyag shows his perspective of the world in an expressive authorial form in which psychological issues are resolved through modern dance dynamics.
“This is a plastic production that mainly relies on movement and dance and there are almost no words,” said Evgeny Kornyag of the production. According to the director, this production is a story about lonely people, their secret world and lack of human warmth. The production speaks about people’s right to have personal desires, the fragility of human talent and the vulnerability of the soul.
Evgeni Kornyag has put the dance performance together using classical pieces from Mozart and other well-known composers. The musical dramaturgy of the production is supported by Triophonix, a popular band in Estonia, the producer and founder of which is Aleksandr Zheledyov, the musical director of the Russian Theatre.
Ksenia Agarkova, Ivan Alekseyev, Aleksandr Zhilenko, Danijl Zandberg, Jekaterina Kordas, Dmitri Kordas, Aleksandr Sinyakovitch, Olga Privis, Lyubov Agapova, Oleg Rogatchyov, Aleksandr Okunev, and Vladimir Antipp are participating in the production.
The premier is on 23 November at 19:00 in the Great Hall of the Russian Theatre. Further information about the performance is available on the homepage of the Russian Theatre.
“May I be Mozart?” is brought to the Russian Theatre with the support of the Interstate Humanitarian Cooperation Fund of CIS Member States.
For more information, please contact: Ksenia Kuzmina, Head of the Sales and Advertising Department of the Russian Theatre, tel 59129197, e-mail ksenia@veneteater.ee.
