EILC language courses at Estonian Academy of Security Sciences

"In August 2010 I participated at the Estonian EILC at the Academy of Security Science. Being one of 16 students with eight different nationalities enabled me to share a lot of stories and new impressions with different kinds of people. During the entire course the staff of Sisekaitseakadeemia was extraordinary friendly and helpful. Our language teacher Katrin helped us to achieve great skills in the new language. I was surprised how quickly we were able to learn and apply new words and grammar.
But not only the course itself was great. The cultural program which was organized for us exceeded all expectations. The head organizer Kaisa, as well as our wonderful tutors Svetlana and Thea, have always been there for us and helped us with every occuring problem. By showing us not only significant sights, but also making us familiar with every day life actions in Estonia they managed to make us feel at home immediately.
But not only the life in Tallinn was introduced. Morover we went on trips to the north and east of Estonia which was a great chance to get to know the culture much better. The service of being taken everywhere by our very own bus, provided by the Academy made traveling very convenient.
At the end of the course, after only four weeks of language training, we were able to perform our very own play on the stage in the main building of the Acadamy. For this event we invited all the staff and friends. It was a nice opportunity to say thanks and show our appreciation for the amazing time we had. I am very glad to have chosen Sisekaitseakadeemia for my EILC, as I believe there wouldn't be any better place to start off life in Estonia. I felt very well prepared and the family-like atmosphere in the Academy helped us adapt to our new lifes very quickly."   Tina Habelt 2010

The Estonian Academy of Security Sciences has organised the EILC languages courses from year 2007. The teachers are Kai Veispak and Katrin Tääker. They have long term-experience of teaching Estonian to foreigners - 6 different EILC courses at the Estonian Public Service.

The main objective of the language-cultural course is to acquire the effective use of the Estonian language on a level that enables the learners to understand their conversational partner in everyday communication situations and to be understood by others – this is accomplished through active communication in Estonian using the acquired knowledge in real life situations. After passing the course in the Estonian language it is easier for the students to start their studies while in an Estonian language living environment as well as continue studying Estonian in their hosting institution.

The goals of the course are:

• Acquisition of a basic vocabulary necessary for daily communication and practical use of the acquired language (role playing, dialogues in class, extra-curricular activities that will help to revise the learned vocabulary through daily communication with peers);
• Creation of a study environment supporting the studies of the Estonian language, increasing the study motivation of the learners and creating interest towards learning the Estonian language;
• Enhancing and further development of the previously acquired skills in the view of self development;
• To introduce Estonia, Tallinn, different counties - sightseeing, nature, culture, education etc.

We deem it necessary that:

• the relationship between the teacher and the student are equal partners, acting on the basis of the principle of cooperation – the teacher wants to teach and the students want to study (self motivating learner);
• students are involved in the study process from the creation of the course work through and including the evaluation of the work of their co-students;
• The course work of the study involves utilizing different learner activating methods;
• Compilation of the course work is started from the end product that needs to be achieved - a picture of an ideal graduate of the course – his/her knowledge and skills are described. Based on the acquired picture, a course program is then compiled, suitable study materials (usually compiled by the teacher) and the methodologies of teaching are selected, taking into consideration the earlier experiences of language learning of previous participants of the course;
• The contents of the course and the methodology of carrying out the course is continuously supplemented, taking into account any changing needs, interests and wishes of the learners.

Cultural component of the course:

The aim of the cultural program is to introduce historical context, political actualities and cultural heritage of Estonia. The cultural program is built up for students with little or no knowledge about Estonia, Estonian language and people helping them to survive, get acquainted and understand the new culture. The students will have different introducing lectures about Estonian politics, educational system. We will visit Estonian Parliament; meet with some member of the Parliament. We will show different historical films. We try to give the students the possibility to see Estonian life- national folkdance lesson and Estonian traditions. There will have an international dinner where we serve typical Estonian meals. We will visit different small Estonian cities, like Pärnu, Võru, Viljandi. Those cities have a lot to offer but are not the typical cities that an Erasmus student will visit. There are quit a lot of “non-official” events with EASS tutors organized by the tutors themselves, that show the student life of Estonians in Estonia.