“I taught Lithuanians living abroad, but with a connection to Lithuania, as one or both parents are Lithuanian. Most of my students were born outside of Lithuania, and Lithuanian is not their first language. They often speak Lithuanian at home, communicate with grandparents in Lithuania, and participate in Lithuanian community events in their countries,” says Emilija Malinauskaitė-Sigurdarson, a teacher at Queen Morta Lithuanian School.
In this interview, Emilija discusses the opportunities to learn Lithuanian remotely.
Emilija, based on your double last name, you clearly know what it’s like to live abroad? How did you start teaching children Lithuanian remotely?
Among educators, there’s a popular saying: “The future of the world is in my classroom today.” This is absolutely true: I teach and mentor, meaning I shape young people who will work, create, and care for others in the future. This means that the kind of people they become is also influenced by me.
When my husband and I decided to try living abroad, I didn’t want to leave my teaching job at Queen Morta School. I’m glad that we found a solution with the school: I became a teacher at the Lithuanian School. This year, I lived between Denmark and Lithuania, and I conducted lessons remotely for children. Twice a week, we had lessons with first and second graders: I – from my home in Denmark, and they – from their homes in various countries around the world.
Do you follow any specific program, or do you apply your own ideas? Can you share some examples of what you think best helps with learning the language?
My lessons are partly academic (I follow the general Lithuanian language curriculum), and partly exploratory. At Queen Morta School, context is important: lessons are planned so that the children are surrounded by a specific theme, and academic subjects are taught within that theme. I try to teach this way too: for example, in December, second graders learned plural forms of nouns, and the vocabulary was related to winter: “slidė” – “slidės,” “šalikas” – “šalikai,” “pačiūža” – “pačiūžos.” A month later, the students practiced writing short messages, and I framed the task this way: write a message to your parents about going downhill on sleds, when you’ll return, and which friends you’ll go with. At the beginning of the lesson, I showed photos of their peers in Lithuania sledding down hills during winter. This is both a Lithuanian language and Lithuanian culture lesson: surrounded by context, they learned to write and express their thoughts in Lithuanian, and added knowledge about children’s winter activities in Lithuania.
Another example from the first graders’ lesson at the beginning of summer: the goal was to describe a plant. I started the lesson by reading a story about an oak tree: we explored unknown words, and the children answered questions about the text. Then we listened to a Lithuanian folk song about the oak tree, watched a video of the song and the folk dance. Later, we watched an informational video about the Stelmužė oak tree.
At the end, I introduced an encyclopedia about Lithuanian trees, and we read about what makes oaks special, how they grow, and what makes acorns unique. After a break, the students created their own descriptions of the oak tree. In the next lesson, I introduced the traditions and history of the Song Festival. This year’s festival was called “May the Forest Thrive”: first graders already knew what “giria” (forest) and “žaliuoti” (to thrive) meant from previous lessons. In the same lesson, the students read a text I created, where they had to identify verbs, diphthongs, and soft sign words.
Contextual tasks engage students: a specific theme, context piques their interest, and once interested, academic tasks become easier. Students learn when they connect new information with what they already know. We all love discovering and understanding connections, and those “Aha!” moments motivate us. I know what I want to share about Lithuania with the children, I know what tasks are outlined in the curriculum, and I combine all of this in my lessons. I receive compliments from parents, saying that they are also interested in the topics: I know that after my lessons, they often discuss these topics at home, sharing their experiences and knowledge. My students do not live in Lithuania, but Lithuania is becoming more familiar, close, and loved by them.
Is the focus on learning the language stronger when it’s relevant? Do children actively participate in lessons?
Language is learned when it is relevant. Children are curious, and they are interested in many things. My job is to prepare lessons in a way that they learn not only about Lithuania, but also engage with the tasks, stay interested, and have the opportunity to speak Lithuanian and express themselves. Learning is communication: it requires listening, speaking, and understanding. Students actively participate when the topic is interesting and relevant to them. Sometimes, I plan various tasks, but we end up doing only half or less because the children are engaged: they raise their hands and want to share, talk to each other, and listen. I just moderate because I understand that the topic is important to them, and they are communicating in Lithuanian and feel good doing so. In my eyes, these are very successful lessons.
Do you have any students who are beginners, or is this school designed for children who already speak or want to speak better?
All of my students joined the school already able to speak Lithuanian. There were some children who were a bit shy to speak Lithuanian at first, but after a while, with encouragement and questions, they all started speaking. Sometimes their vocabulary is not extensive, but even with just a couple of lessons per week, they found it easier to speak, and their vocabulary expanded. My students speak Lithuanian at home, or several languages, and during lessons, we communicate only in Lithuanian. Occasionally, they want to say something but don’t know the word in Lithuanian, so either I or other children translate it into Lithuanian. When I teach first graders, I notice that sometimes a mom or dad is in the room and helps with missing words, or forms a sentence.
How do you expand vocabulary, and what methods help the most? Can you share any stories?
One reason why I value contextual learning is that context really helps in learning. Children don’t learn words in isolation – they need to be used, heard, and understood in various formats. When preparing for lessons, I always consider that there may be unfamiliar words, so I prepare visual aids. With the children, we write dictations every couple of lessons. I quickly realized that this was difficult because they need to understand the dictation text, not just write the words they hear. So I started creating illustrations for the dictations. Now, I always do this: I show the illustration on the screen, we discuss what they see and what the objects are called. Then I dictate the text, and the children know what they are writing – the results are much better. I do the same with reading texts: I illustrate them, and the children read, then I read aloud, and we answer questions.
Almost every lesson ends with me reading books aloud to the children. I choose stories, poems, and tales written by Lithuanian authors. We stop and discuss the meaning of new words, and the children can understand them from the context or illustrations. For example, we read a poem with a line that said, “Around the bubbles floated / Bath bubbles.” The word “pleveno” (floated) was unfamiliar to the children, but they understood that if a bubble floats, it moves slowly. In another book, I read about a chameleon that was “sėlinantis” (slinking). What does “sėlinti” (to slink) mean if there is no context? But when you read the word with the right intonation, show with your fingers how it moves, and point to the chameleon in the illustration, the word becomes clear.
Reading aloud and discussing books, watching videos, listening to songs, my stories, dictations, and illustrated texts, imagining situations, talking, and discussions – all of this helps the students get familiar with new words, use them in appropriate situations.
Why is it important for you to be, to feel Lithuanian? Is this a result of upbringing? What about children of current immigrants?
I am Lithuanian – it is one of the most important parts of my identity. I grew up in Vilnius, spent almost my entire life here – I went to school, studied at Vilnius University, and this city means a lot to me. Now, when I remember my childhood in Vilnius, I see how much it has changed, how it has become cleaner, more comfortable, and convenient. When I look at historical photos of Vilnius, I remember some things, like how trolleybuses used to drive down Gedimino Avenue or how houses, squares, hotels, parks were being built and restored.
From my parents’ stories and old photos, I recognize their Vilnius. My mother told me how, in early January of 1991, she and my father went to stand guard at the Seimas or how people came to our house – we lived in the center, on Vilniaus Street – to warm up and eat. I know that on January 12th, my parents told their friends they were going to stand guard again, leaving me and my brother asleep. They came back, and I don’t remember those days, but from their stories, as well as from school lessons, I could put together a picture and a feeling of what it is like to fight for freedom, to be scared, to worry. I am very grateful to my environment for instilling in me love for Lithuania through stories, images, and songs.
Later, when I started working at Vaikystės Sodas and Karalienės Mortos School, I was even more surrounded by Lithuanian identity, freedom, and citizenship topics. At school, every Monday begins with the national anthem, and national holidays are celebrated by the whole school. In the mornings, when reviewing the day’s plans, we also discuss current events in Lithuania.
Children, whom I teach at the Lithuanian school, feel their connection to Lithuania through their dear ones, usually grandparents. These children grow up abroad, but despite this, Lithuania is important to them. They show great interest in learning about Lithuania’s history, people, dishes, and other aspects of the country. When I met my students last September, all of them spoke Lithuanian – that’s thanks to their families. I deepen their knowledge about Lithuania, ask questions, encourage speaking, writing, and reading in Lithuanian, while also strengthening their bond with the country where they do not live, but whose important part they are.
What would you advise families living abroad?
If you want your child to have a connection with Lithuania, it’s worth speaking Lithuanian with them. I know that many of my students speak only Lithuanian at home – that’s the house rule, and I support it. The child will naturally be surrounded by the other language – they will hear it at school, in stores, at the library, on the radio, and in other environments. Living abroad, Lithuanian can be heard at home and in community meetings, and also in Lithuanian school lessons.
To make sure that the child understands Lithuanian, can use it, and communicate, effort is required. Speaking Lithuanian with your child, listening to them, creating opportunities to read Lithuanian books, enriching their vocabulary, watching news about Lithuania, telling stories about it, expressing longing for Lithuania, calling friends and grandparents, writing postcards in Lithuanian, celebrating Lithuanian holidays, and nurturing traditions – this will create and maintain the connection with Lithuania.
What is the main motivation for immigrant children to learn Lithuanian?
The motivation and interest in learning the language usually arise when the child feels a connection with someone who speaks that language. When a child is born (or even before), the child is spoken to, stories are told, and books are read in the language. Whatever language the dear ones speak with the child, that language will be learned. Even when learning two languages simultaneously (e.g., when one parent speaks one language, and the other speaks another), the child learns both because they hear, repeat, understand, and begin using them. Language is learned naturally, so in my opinion, the best way to learn a language is through the immersion method: when communication with the student happens only in that language.
By the way, at Queen Morta School, all foreign languages are taught this way: from preschool, foreign language teachers speak only in the foreign language with children, and there is no Lithuanian in those lessons: the children gradually begin to understand what is being said, a lot of visual aids are used, and soon they start using the foreign language. By reading to children and speaking with them, their vocabulary fills up, and the teachers use the same grammatical constructions every day, and the students adopt them.
At home, this happens naturally: we constantly speak to the child, they hear our language, imitate it, understand what words mean, and how to name things and actions. When the children come to my lessons, we deepen that knowledge and skills, learn grammar rules (e.g., when to use the nasal letter in the singular accusative case or remember words with difficult spelling), learn about descriptive words, and remember riddles, etc. School lessons complement the parents’ work at home.
How much does the language relate to our country’s culture and history? How do you choose or even create texts for the teaching program?
The principle of contextual learning is to surround the subject with a specific, interesting theme for the children. Lithuania has beautiful nature, interesting traditions, many events, and a rich culture in a broad sense, so it becomes the context, the theme around which I “wrap” the subjects we teach, such as reading, writing, and storytelling.
Let me share an example from second graders this spring. The theme was adjectives. First, I introduced questions to the children that could be answered with adjectives. We read an excerpt from an encyclopedia about squirrels in Lithuanian forests, where the students searched for adjectives. Then we watched a video about other forest dwellers in Lithuania and read descriptions, with the students pointing out which description with adjectives fit which animal.
Then we played a game: the children had to think of an animal, not say its name, and their classmates guessed the animal by asking questions with adjectives, such as, “Does the animal have a long tail?” or “Is the animal smaller than a cat?” Later, we learned how to describe a person’s appearance and character traits. In one lesson, I showed what a traditional costume looks like, and the children created descriptions of costumes: blue vest, long belt, high boots. We listened to the song “Mamos suknelė” (Mother’s Dress), and the children tried to find adjectives. During the lesson before Mother’s Day, second graders made cards for their mothers and wrote descriptions of their mothers: what color her hair is, what color her eyes are, what her favorite clothes are, etc.
For reading texts in lessons, I almost always create them myself: this ensures they fit the lesson’s theme, are at the right level for the children, and contain details we can discuss. I’m happy when I find Lithuanian songs with lyrics that contain the needed grammatical structures: while listening to V. Kernagis’s song “Baltas paukštis” (White Bird), the students looked for verbs, and in the bard’s “Senelės pasakoje” (Grandmother’s Story) – nouns in the singular accusative case.
I usually finish lessons by reading Lithuanian books to the children – this year I’ve read 12 books. I always introduce the author and illustrator, read a few pages, and then we discuss the text: what new words the children have learned, who the characters are, and if they’ve experienced similar situations. I strongly believe in the power of books: children who read and are read to use a broader vocabulary and speak more correctly. At the end of the school year, many families thanked me for making the children interested in reading in Lithuanian: they now eagerly choose books in Lithuanian at the bookstores in Lithuania and ask their grandparents to send them Lithuanian books.
Sometimes children speak, but do they read and write in Lithuanian? Do you also aim to teach them that?
All of my students were speaking Lithuanian at the beginning of the school year – this is thanks to their parents, and often grandparents. I’m glad that their reading skills are quite good too: they read the text and are able to answer related questions. Sometimes it’s difficult to tackle longer words, but this is a matter of practice. Writing at the beginning of the school year presents challenges: without knowing grammar rules, they often make common mistakes. Students tend to write as they hear, not using the nasal letters, writing -eu instead of -iau, and facing challenges with consonant assimilation and diphthongs.
I introduce one rule to the children at a time, we constantly review it, and then we learn new ones. By the end of the school year, the children are writing more correctly. Although I rely on the general Lithuanian language curriculum, I understand that due to the fewer lessons per week and the specific needs of the students, I can’t have the same expectations as if my students were learning Lithuanian in Lithuania. Almost all their environment is non-Lithuanian, so other languages – the one spoken in the country – are more prevalent.
That other language is the one they think in, read, write, and use naturally. Sometimes, even speaking Lithuanian, they mispronounce words, like “Letuva,” “ąžiuolas,” “kačukas.” They write as they pronounce, but at every step, we don’t always remember all the rules.
When writing a long text (e.g., a story), they double-check their spelling, try to apply the rules, but when writing a short text, they don’t always pay attention to the rules. Of course, students are different, some find it easier, some harder: this year, I had students who, after a few attempts, write correctly and are able to explain why they wrote a specific word the way they did, which rule they applied.
Nevertheless, my goal in the lessons is to introduce the rules, apply them in engaging tasks, but mostly I want the children to feel connected to Lithuania, to get to know it better, to feel like Lithuanians, and to be ambassadors of Lithuania.
Source: Mamos žurnalas