Today Vilnius city municipality introduced measures to strengthen the teaching of the Lithuanian language in schools for national minorities. Starting from the next academic year, at least six weekly hours of Lithuanian language teaching must be introduced in primary education in schools for national minorities. This goal is included in the annual tasks of the heads of these schools. Until now, in most schools for national minorities in the capital, four or five weekly hours have been allocated to the Lithuanian language.
"Representatives of national minorities are citizens of Lithuania. However, due to gaps in their knowledge of the state language, they face additional difficulties when applying to universities in Lithuania and looking for qualified work. This social exclusion must be reduced, and the first step to do this is to pay more attention to teaching the Lithuanian language in schools for national minorities. In this way, without depriving students of the opportunity to learn their native language and national culture, they will be able to successfully integrate into the country's society," says Vilnius Vice-Mayor Vytautas Mitalas.
The results of the 2020-2024 Vilnius State Matura Examinations (VBE) for schoolchildren show that there are differences in achievement results between students studying in Lithuanian as the language of instruction and those studying in other languages. The average passing rate of the Lithuanian language and literature VBE in Vilnius in 2020 was 49,5 percent in Lithuanian-language schools, 34,2 percent in Polish-language schools, and 32,8 percent in Russian-language schools. This gap prevails every year. In 2024, the average passing rate of the Lithuanian language and literature VBE in Vilnius in Lithuanian-language schools reached 57,3 percent, Polish language – 42 percent, and Russian language – 40,3 percent. A similar trend is observed when comparing the VBE results of other subjects in Vilnius.
“The differences between the results of students studying in Lithuanian as the language of instruction and those studying in other languages are already evident in the eighth grade, when a standardized reading test in Lithuanian language and literature is administered. These differences persist in both the tenth and twelfth grades. Scientific research shows that learning a language is much easier at an earlier age, so in order to reduce this gap, we need to invest in the earliest age of children – preschool and primary education,” says Unė Kaunaitė, head of Edu Vilnius.
Danutė Mišrienė, the principal of Vilnius Naujamiestis School, where the language of instruction is Russian, says that primary school children in her school already have seven Lithuanian language lessons per week. During a discussion in the school community, parents raised the expectation of creating favorable conditions for learning the state language. In order to implement this expectation, since September 2024, Lithuanian language teaching has been strengthened at Naujamiestis School. According to D. Mišrienė, this was achieved by redistributing the hours specified in the General Education Plans for learning Russian as a native language and Lithuanian, allocating 1 weekly Lithuanian language hours in grades 4-7 (2 in grade 6), and 5 weekly Lithuanian language hours in grades 6-6. In this school, Lithuanian language learning is integrated into all academic subjects and other educational activities.
"The change regarding the increase in the number of Lithuanian language lessons was received positively by the school community. Students note in their annual reflections that they feel safer because they can understand Lithuanian speakers in various situations outside of school. Teachers notice that students' skills in both Lithuanian and their native language have improved, because students can 'feel' both languages. Not only their linguistic skills, but also their thinking and cognitive skills are improving," says Danutė Mišrienė.
Increasing the number of weekly hours devoted to the Lithuanian language poses the challenge of a shortage of Lithuanian language teachers. In order to solve this problem, Vilnius annually finances both new teachers and retraining studies for existing ones. Last year, almost 1 million euros were allocated for this, and studies were financed for 311 people. From autumn, special attention will be paid to the training of Lithuanian language teachers, and 9 people who want to become Lithuanian language teachers have currently submitted applications.
The capital also operates a program for beginning teachers, "I'm Starting to Teach in Vilnius," which this year attracted four times more applicants than last year. Long-term Lithuanian language training is also offered to educators whose native language is not Lithuanian. Last year, 130 teachers took advantage of this opportunity.
The introduction of additional Lithuanian language lessons in minority schools is not the only means of strengthening the state language proficiency used in Vilnius. The introduction of bilingual education is being expanded annually in the capital's minority preschool institutions. It consists of teaching the native language and the state Lithuanian language. This is also encouraged in Russian-speaking kindergartens-schools.
“We started implementing bilingual education in our foreign-language institutions two years ago. We found a good solution for introducing the Lithuanian language to the youngest Vilnius residents precisely when they are most receptive to learning other languages – in early childhood. I am very happy that this idea has worked out and is gaining momentum. The communities of parents of multilingual kindergartens themselves express the need to create bilingual education groups, because they understand that the quality of their children’s future depends on their ability to fully integrate into the country in which they live,” says Vilnius Vice-Mayor Donalda Meiželytė.
This summer, a new summer camp project is also being piloted for the first time in the capital, aiming to strengthen students' Lithuanian language and math skills. The camp pays special attention to children from ethnic minority schools in order to strengthen their language skills.
Vilnius also participates in the national progress program "Millennium Schools", among the selected schools are 4 ethnic minority schools, which have received exceptional support during this year. Among the activities carried out, a specially designed reading comprehension and literacy promotion program has been launched.
It is expected that the allocation of six weekly hours for Lithuanian language lessons in Vilnius national minority schools will strengthen students' preparation for exams and help overcome the challenges arising from the language barrier. Tasks for strengthening Lithuanian language teaching have also been formulated for Vilnius schools that achieved the weakest results in the Lithuanian language and literature exam in the Lithuanian language of instruction.
