Untitled

Irine Shubitidze
CCIIR, Tbilisi, Georgia
saxelmwifo enis swavlebis sakiTxebi:
problemebi da gamowvevebi
Issues of State Language Teaching;
Problems and Challenges
Bilingual Education for Ethnical Minorities in Georgia
ABSTRACT
The Article describes the necessity of study of the official language in Georgia and bilingual education as
one of the facilities of study of the Georgian language. The issue has become most actual recently
whereby the Georgian Government has started implementation of several significant projects in line of
the multilingual education. The article represents the results of the research performed in 40 pilot schools
in Georgia where the multilingual ediuucation has been put into effect. The goal of the research is to detect
the preventive factors existing in the process of implementation of the bi-/multilingual programs,
which impede their effective implementation. The object of the research is 23 randomly sampled pilot
non-Georgian speaking schools where, based on the results of the expert assessment and quantitative research,
have been detected the preventive factors and facts (the non-Georgian surrounding, low qualification
of teachers both from the aspect of knowledge of the official language and from the aspect of the bilingual
teaching methods, lack of methodical and educational materials etc.) which strongly interfere with
the multilingual education process.
INTRODUCTION
In consequence of the multiethnicity of Georgia the need in communication in more than one language
has been always on the agenda (The Language Policy and Education in Multilingual Community, 2000). Currently,
the need in and demand for learning of the second language has been increasing day after day that first
of all depends on the political course of the country and the requirements towards the society. In the recent
years one of the trends of the national policy in Georgia like in other multiethnic countries has been promotion
of the study of the official language for the representatives of minorities parallel with the preservation
and development of their mother language, culture and traditions. Integration of the minorities is significant in
order to prevent the ethnic confrontation, the precedents of which have become more frequent not only in our
country but in many developed or developing countries worldwide especially in the last period.
The process of socialization of ethnic minorities will be not effective only through implementation of the
multilingual education programs though the education is one the directions of top priority and top significance
for the civil integration and improvement of knowledge of official language. This is demonstrated by
the reforms implemented by the government in the last years in line of the general and higher education, the
policy of preferences for the minorities entering institutes of higher education and so on (The UN Association
of Georgia, 2010).
According to the 2002 data, the share of minorities in Georgia makes up 16% (the territories of the Abkhazia
Autonomous Republic and former South Ossetian Autonomous District are not covered). (The First
Report on Protection of National Minorities of Georgia, 2007). After the Georgians the largest ethnolingustic
group is represented by the Azeris (6.5%) who compactly inhabit the Kvemo Kartli Region, namely:
Marneuli, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tsalka, Tetritskaro, Rustavi etc. The other large group is represented by the
Armenians (5.7%) who are mainly settled in Samthkhe-Javakheti Region, namely in Akhalkalaki and
Ninonstminda districts where their population exceeds 95% and in Akhaltsikhe where the share of the Armenian
population makes up 36%. The compact residences of Azeris and Armenians are also in Tbilisi together
with various small ethic groups.
Depending on the existing demographical situation the education and development of the minorities is
one of the top priorities of the government in the peaceful development process. In spite of the significance of
this issue the problem of their education has remained unsolved for many years that has been resulted in the
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