Volume: 26  Number: 5  Page: 442–452

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity of the Baltic States in a New Europe

Ineta Savickienė1 and Violeta Kalėdaitė2 1Department of Regional Studies, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania and 2English Philology Department, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Language questions are increasingly on the agenda in Europe. This paper addresses some problematic aspects of language teaching and learning that have come to the fore in the Baltic states after the European Union enlargement of 2004. First, the paper aims at providing relevant information about language policies in the former USSR and the independent Baltic states of today. This material is discussed in the light of the sociolinguistic changes that have occurred in the three Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, over the last 15 years or so. Another issue under consideration is the current status and future prospects of teaching Lithuanian to foreigners in an enlarged Europe. Multilingualism is a value much asserted by European authorities. However, the goal of ensuring that the citizens of Europe are actually multilingual is far from being attained. While independence and the new status of Lithuanian as a state language have extended its area of use and increased demand for the teaching of Lithuanian, a new approach to methodologies and material design for teaching Lithuanian as a foreign language have to be developed in order to meet the requirements of the new prospective learners.

Keywords: Baltic states, EU enlargement, language policy, promotion of foreign language studies, teaching and learning Lithuanian as a foreign language

© 2005 I. Savickien&ė; & V. Kalėdaitė

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