The Prime Minister of Lithuania recently suggested that students could learn Polish instead of Russian, however, the implementation of the plan will be bumpy, writes the Lithuanian public media LRT.
Russian as a foreign language is still very popular in Lithuanian schools, about 70 percent of students choose it as a second foreign language. However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some politicians have indicated that this is a problem. Lithuanian Education Minister Jurgita Šiugždinienė recently said that she wants to reduce the number of students who choose to learn Russian to 30 percent within the next five years. The ministry led by Šiugždinienė has proposed to replace the Russian language with the Polish language from the next academic year. This can prove problematic.
The Adam Mickiewicz Lyceum in Vilnius is a school for Polish-speaking students and currently has four Polish teachers. Iwona Czerniawska, the director of the school, said that this is enough for the school, however, there may be a shortage of teachers in the coming years. In addition, lyceum teachers work with native Polish speakers, which does not necessarily mean that they will be able to teach Polish as a foreign language.
Universities that offers pedagogy programs state that every year about ten students choose the specialty of a Polish language teacher, which is not enough even for Vilnius alone.
The lack of teaching materials is also a concern. Lina Kaminskienė, head of the Vytautas Magnus University Education Academy, pointed out that there are not enough textbooks if Polish becomes the second or third most popular language.
The Ministry of Education believes that increasing the offer of the Polish language in schools next year is realistic. Only Polish could not be taught throughout the country. Deputy Minister of Education Ramūnas Skaudžius said that there are greater opportunities to introduce the Polish language in schools in Vilnius and its surroundings.
Currently, there are about 130 teachers specializing in the Polish language in Lithuania. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Education, the teaching of the Latvian language in schools was also considered, but the idea did not receive sufficient support.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1888776/lithuania-wants-to-teach-kids-polish-instead-of-russian-but-doesn-t-have-enough-teachers