The Estonian language is enchanting to foreigners
Mall Pesti teaches Estonian at the University of Washington. She is also one of the authors of “E nagu Eesti” (E as in Estonia), an Estonian-language textbook sold in about 45 countries. The textbook provides a straight-forward approach to language learning, including everyday dialogue and a minimum of grammar. Use of children’s poems has contributed to the enjoyment of the learning process.
She explains that her course is based on the textbook and the use of the Internet. By following the textbook, pupils learn the dialogue and poems, work through exercises, and compare their work against the answers provided in the textbook. A cassette is part of the course, enabling students to practice their language skills. Assignments and test are also available on the Internet. Students and teacher “chat’ via the Internet once a week for 45 minutes. The work is in Estonian and leaves very little time for reflection. An essay is required on a weekly basis.
The opportunity to develop an Internet course to teach Estonian was sponsored by the Finnish Ministry of Education. The course is part of the Laurea Technical College in Finland where Internet teaching is an integral part of the curriculum.
Mall Pesti is astounded that there is interest in the Estonian language in every corner of the globe. People
are motivated for different reasons, but Estonia is perceived to be a fairly exotic place and the Estonian language has something that seems to enchant people. Many students have personal ties with Estonia, some have started to research their roots, and others have formed business ties. University students take the course as part of a broader research effort involving Baltic history, economics, politics and culture. They also expect to visit those countries for additional research. Yet others learn Estonian without any particular motivation or reason.
Anyone interested in the Internet course can contact Mall Pesti at pestim@yahoo.com for further information about the course.
Note: The above article is an abstract of an Estonian-language article which appeared in Estonian Life (Eesti Elu) in September, 2004, based on an interview involving Kaire Tensuda of Estonian Life and Mall Pesti.
Prepared by Dave Kiil
