Enjoy Estonian (Brain-friendly Estonian course)
The workshop „Enjoy Estonian (Brain-friendly Estonian course)“ was carried out from June 25 to July 2, 2013 in Tallinn. 12 participants were from nine different EU countries.
The aim of the workshop was to improve and activate spoken Estonian in social situations, gain confidence and fluency in Estonian. The language material was presented in the form of an interactive performance. During the workshop the participants were engaged in different activities where they found out about Old Town, and its landmarks, experienced Estonian lifestyle, culture, traditions, national cuisine. While practicing Estonian language the participants had an opportunity to sing in a choir, enjoy a folkdance, make a tour of Tallinn and virtual tour of Estonia. They communicated with local people, learned about the countries and cultures of other participants.
They experienced a range of techniques for different learning styles:
- activating vocabulary with music, songs and visuals,
- learning grammar with rap and rhythm,
- drawing mind maps,
- using dramatization of stories and dialogues, etc.
Key outcomes:
- participants activated their spoken Estonian in social situations, gained confidence and fluency in Estonian
- participants learned about Estonian culture, history, traditions and became more aware of its historic background and aspirations
- all learners of Estonian enhanced their self-esteem and social skills (communication, team-work),
- participants gained motivation to meet next challenges in lifelong learning process