Introducing of Intensive Multilingual Teaching in Non-Georgian Schools is Underway

Newspaper  - “24 Hours

Gvantsa Kilasonia

Schoolchildren of non-Georgian schools of Georgia will study the Georgian language intensively. Changes will be introduced in Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijanian schools as well. Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia plans many innovations in this field. For the first time this year, non-Georgian schoolchildren will study 30% of history and geography in Georgian with the multilingual books that are already published. In the next years the number of Georgian textbooks in all subjects will increase. This will enable the non-Georgian schoolchildren to study the state language thoroughly.

MES carries out important policy for the civil integration of ethnic minorities. The policy is designed to support the accessibility of education for ethnic minorities as well as make the state language popular.

Koka Seperteladze, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science: “Multilingual education is one of the priorities of MES. This will give the schoolchildren opportunity to thoroughly develop the intellectual possibilities. The privilege of multilingual education is that it will support the development of intercultural duties and tolerance among the schoolchildren. As the result, peaceful society will be developed in multiethnic country”.

In the framework of Multilingual Teaching Supporting program, piloting of multilingual teaching programs is being held in 40 non-Georgian schools. It is designed to create the education system as the main instrument for integrating ethnic minorities in the society.

Trained teachers, relevant textbooks and educational material define the development of multilingual teaching at schools. Development of effective multilingual programs for supporting the state language is underway in Georgia. 1. According to Multilingual Development Education program, teaching of the subjects and group of subjects included in the national curriculum will be directed in the state language as well as the native language in order to achieve the equivalent competency in the native and state languages. 2. Teaching will be held in the state as well as native languages in the scope of Multilingual Transitional Education program. But studying the subjects in the state language will increase after time. Transition to the state language will be held step by step. 3. According to Native Language Supporting Multilingual Education Program, subjects envisaged in the national curriculum will be taught in the state language, but the native language will be taught as the subject and it will be given maximal hours. 4. Dual Language Multilingual Education envisages teaching of subjects and subject groups included in the national curriculum equally in the state and non state languages. Georgian as well as non-Georgian schoolchildren are equally distributed.

Different methodologies are developed by the experts for using two or more languages at schools, for example: Art and music can be taught in native languages, but mathematics or informatics – in the state language. It is desirable to change the language in primary classes according to the themes rather than subjects, for example: schoolchildren can discuss the environment protection in the native language but the weather topic - in the state language. Effective opportunity represents also involvement of the teachers who speak in the different languages. They will give the integrated lesson in different languages at the same time. But, the school Multilingual Education Program should envisage the subjects and the subject groups that are included in the national curriculum. Teaching hours should be coincided with the teaching hours defined by MES.

Koka Seperteladze: “Studying of different subjects in two or three languages will support to develop the positive approach towards the foreign languages. Most important is that multilingual education is the main supporter of human rights protection and integration. These enable us to maintain identity of ethnic minorities and at the same time achieve the universal high quality knowledge”.