Untitled

saxelmwifo enis swavlebis sakiTxebi:
problemebi da gamowvevebi
Issues of State Language Teaching;
Problems and Challenges
As a result of the quantitative research there have been marked some important preventive factors which
interfere with the effective implementation of the multilingual education at schools:
� Low motivation of students – 52%;
� Low linguistic competence of students in the official language – 52.2%;
� The non-Georgian-speaking surrounding – 65.2% (especially for the compactly inhabited areas. The
majority of those who have not agreed with this opinion were Tbilisi Kurds where the situation with the Georgian-speaking
surrounding is much better).
� Poorly trained teachers – 52.7%;
� The low linguistic competence of teachers in the official language has been fixed only in 8.7 % cases;
� Low motivation of teachers – 30.4%;
� Lack of educational material – 82%.
� 43.5% of respondents agree in full or partially with the fact of unconformity of the educational material
(difficulty) with the language competence of students, and the remained 56.5% who have not agreed with
this opinion are mainly the Tbilisi school principals. They state that for the students of schools of the capital
city the material is too easy that causes their indifference during the teaching process. Their language competence
enables them to master much more complex and diversified material.
� Low competence of teachers from the aspect of teaching of school subjects – 91.4%;
� Low competence of teachers in the bilingual teaching methods – 100%.
In spite of the existing difficulties the school principals state that the majority of teachers (88.3%) have
positively faced the novelty – introduction of the multilingual teaching at schools. As to the priority teaching
language, 82.6% have noted that lately the interest in learning of the official language has increased. Noteworthy
also is that in private conversation the majority of principals stated that after the held information briefings,
meetings, workshops and other arrangements the bilingual education has not been already perceived by
the non-Georgian-speaking population as a threat of their assimilation.
39.2% of pollees noted that a great part of non-Georgian-speaking students have got higher education
abroad, mainly in their historical motherland because due to the lack of knowledge of the official language
they could not enter the higher school in Georgia. However, the “preference policy” having been carried out in
respect of the minorities has enabled them to enroll in the one-year preparation department at Georgian higher
schools based on the results of one exam only (the general skills) passed in their native language. During the
studies at that preparation department they are mastering the Georgian language (within 60 credits) for further
studies. The reform has promoted the demand for learning of the official language at schools whereupon
the number of those who wish to get the higher education in Georgia has increased significantly, as 81.4%
respondents confirm.
In connection with the growth of prestige of the official language 52.2% of the polled schools applies the
multilingual education program of support of the official language and 21.7% - the program of support of the
native language.
52.2% of the pollees stated that the main language at schools is the Georgian language, the second place
is held by the Armenian language (43.5%), then comes the Russian language (39.1%) and Azeri (30.4%).
Noteworthy is that the majority of schools where the main language of teaching is Russian are using the mixed
multilingual teaching model as for the major part of the students the Russian language is not native . At such
schools the students of the mixed ethnolinguistic group are studying.
In Tbilisi and regions the priority languages have been distributed rather differently. This demonstrates
once more how the surrounding and needs determine the prestige of a language. At Tbilisi schools the priority
teaching languages are Georgian (50%) and Russian (50%) and at the regional schools – native (75%) and
official language (17.6%).
Conclusion
As a result of the qualitative research there has been separated the problem of the Russian-speaking
schools especially for those students for whom the Russian is the second language. The demand for Russianspeaking
schools is a vestige of the Soviet period, the elimination of which requires great efforts and time.
The demand for the Russian language in the compactly inhabited areas is also favored by the non-Georgian-
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