ÕPETAJATE SUHTUMINE MITMEKEELSES KLASSIS ÕPETAMISSE JA EESTIKEELSELE ÕPPELE ÜLEMINEKUSSE

Based on the data collected in a 2022 school survey, the article provides an overview of the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching multilingual children whose Estonian skills are not sufficient to study in Estonian. It also investigates the use of the pupils’ mother tongue at school and the transition of the language of instruction to Estonian, as well as how much teachers are supported in coping with multilingual pupils. Responses from 2,439 teachers revealed that two-thirds of them have pupils whose knowledge of Estonian is not sufficient for studying in Estonian. In order to help teachers cope with pupils with non-Estonian backgrounds, the schools mostly provide an assistant teacher; help with teaching materials, including the purchase of materials for a fee; and offer an opportunity to attend training courses. In general, teachers are in favour of the transition to Estonian as the language of instruction. At the same time, teachers with experience in teaching pupils whose mother tongue is not Estonian have a slightly less positive attitude than the teachers without such experience. However, there is significantly less agreement that the inclusion of non-native speakers creates an environment conducive to learning for all. Teachers’ attitudes to the pupils’ use of mother tongue at school were relatively mixed, although the average score here rather indicates that teachers are not in favour of it.