Foreign language education in the Baltic states

Abstract

The article deals with the idea of creation an effective system of foreign language education for all levels in Ukraine. Considering the fact that Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have a successful experience in teaching a foreign language, it is appropriate to study the main aspects of foreign language education in the Baltic countries. The purpose of the research was to study the development of foreign language education in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).

It has been determined that foreign language education is today considered a means of forming the need of an individual to be socially mobile and feel free in the information and communication space. The study of the main principles of foreign language education on the example of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia made it possible to note that a foreign language begins to be studied in junior high school.

Schools refuse to teach in minority languages, instead increasing the use of the title language in the educational process. In the higher school, specialized subjects are taught in two languages, which graduate the opportunity to acquire specialized knowledge in a foreign language at the professional and specialized levels.

The conducted research made it possible to draw the following conclusions. In the Baltic countries, the main foreign language of study is English, and students also study French, German and Italian. Residents of the Baltic countries have a high level of foreign language proficiency, which is improving every year. As a result, the number of people studying abroad and working in international companies is increasing. In terms of the ability to communicate freely in English, the population of these countries is ahead of many economically strong European countries.

For Ukraine, it is significant experience to introduce teaching of specialized subjects into English in Baltic countries’ higher education. For Ukraine, this is a valuable experience that needs to be implemented, considering the Euro integration vector of our country's development.