Abstract:

The presentation focuses on computer-assisted learning of Estonian (less taught language, belonging to the Baltic-Finnic sub group of Finno-Ugric language family). Estonian is spoken by a relatively small number of people (1.1 million native speakers). In recent years, the number of those interested in studying Estonian outside Estonia has considerably increased, but for many learners, the e-courses are the only way to study it. The students favor web-based learning because of the flexibility of this form of study.

The presentation discusses experiences related to web-based courses that are relevant from both the teachers’ and learners’ perspective. Impulses for this presentation came from analyzing the on-line courses of Estonian, concentrating mainly on the experience of the teachers and feedback given by students.

Our aim was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of existing internet-based Estonian language courses and shortly discuss the special linguistic characteristics of Estonian, which need most attention. We thus highlight the factors that learning software developers and teachers should consider when preparing web-based study materials of the Estonian language.

Keywords:

Innovation, computer assisted Estonian learning, Learning Estonian on-line.