THE ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES OF EMPLOYING E-LEARNING FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ESTONIAN

This study focuses on computer-assisted learning of Estonian, a less taught language, belonging to the Finno-Ugric language family. Estonian is spoken by a relatively small number of people. Impulses for this article came from analyzing the on-line courses of Estonian, concentrating mainly on the experience of the teachers and feedback given by students of the teacher-assisted Estonian courses that started in the University of Tartu in autumn 2010. These courses help the students to develop different skills and to get acquainted with the vocabulary and the grammatical structure of the Estonian language. Courses activities are structured around access to online resources and communication via social media (Skype). The year-long courses for beginners are based on English. The courses are available in the University of Tartu learning environment Moodle. This presentation will offer a broader analysis of Internet-based language learning, considering both the positive and the negative aspects of this learning method. The special linguistic characteristics of Estonian that make its learning and teaching via Internet different from teaching and learning of the other languages will also be discussed - when developing learning materials and e-courses, in addition to general didactic principles one should consider the grammatical structure and other characteristics of a specific language. This survey also discusses the attitude of the students towards the computer assisted Estonian learning. Data to gain information about student's opinions about the most difficult aspects of the Estonian language was collected via a questionnaire survey. The students of Estonian courses evaluated the content and structure of the course materials. Additionally, the students pointed out the aspects of the Estonian language that are difficult to learn.