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ARMENIANS IN AKHALKALAKI STRUGGLE TO LEARN GEORGIAN
Democracy & Freedom Watch
dec 26 2014
by Inga Popovaite | Dec 26, 2014
(DF Watch.)
TBILISI, DFWatch-The Armenians from Samtskhe-Javakheti have a dilemma:
They feel isolated from Georgian society because they don't speak the
state language, but at the same time they don't have enough motivation
to learn it.
Shushana Shirinian, a journalist from Akhalkalaki, has lived in
Georgia for all her live, but she does not speak Georgian. However,
she needs it on a daily basis, because of her occupation. "All
official information and the majority of news are in Georgian, so one
must know this language to follow what is going on in the country,"
Shirinian explains.
Her story is not unique, as the language which is most heard on the
streets of Akhalkalaki is not Georgian, but Armenian.
Knowledge of Georgian is not beneficial?
Shirinian says she has attended several Georgian language courses
organized by the government and various organizations. However, she
did not like the methodology and felt that she did not learn as much
as she could. In Shirinian's opinion, if someone really wants to learn
Georgian, they should hire a private teacher for individual lessons.
But locals see that knowing Georgian does not necessarily lead to a
job, and a lot of employed people do not speak any Georgian at all,
she explained. Thus some feel that to hire a private Georgian teacher
would be a waste of money, especially if they are unemployed at the
moment. One ninety-minute individual Georgian language lesson costs
up to 10 laris.
Georgian language teacher Dali Aghdgomeladze agrees that one can
see a lack of motivation among locals toward learning Georgian,
as people are hired not on the basis of their specific knowledge,
Georgian included, but based on their social contacts. "So it is
wrong to say that if you don't know the state language, you can't
find a job. For example, our local politicians do not know Georgian,
but that doesn't prevent them from performing their duties," she adds.
MP: we need to motivate people
Georgian MP from Akhalkalaki Samvel Petrosian stressed that it is
important to be able to communicate freely in the official language,
but it is not enough just to speak it to be integrated and represented
in Georgian society. "Armenians in Tbilisi speak Georgian even better
than some Georgians. But are there any of them in politics? None. It's
the same here in this region. So instead of pointing out that people
here don't know Georgian, we should stress that if someone knows the
state language, it enables them, they can become president or prime
minister, work in the government and so on. It would motivate people,"
the MP explained.
At the moment, the Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration
provides free Georgian courses for public sector employees, including
school teachers, but there are no such programs for private sector
workers or those who are unemployed.
Preferences are changing
Things are changing and the new generation seems to be more motivated
to learn the official language than their parents. Sanetik Maitesian,
director of the House of the Future, a community center which provides
post-school activities for students, told DF Watch that there are 20
students from Armenian and Russian schools who are attending Georgian
classes in the afternoons.
In addition, as DF Watch has reported before, there are plans in
the Ministry of Education to improve current bilingual education
programs, not only by teaching Georgian to Armenian teachers, but
also by employing Georgian-speaking teachers to work side-by-side
with their Armenian counterparts.
"Youth want to study Georgian as they see themselves studying and
working in this country," Shirinian explained.
http://dfwatch.net/armenians-in-akhalkalaki-struggle-to-learn-georgian-18393
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Democracy & Freedom Watch
dec 26 2014
by Inga Popovaite | Dec 26, 2014
(DF Watch.)
TBILISI, DFWatch-The Armenians from Samtskhe-Javakheti have a dilemma:
They feel isolated from Georgian society because they don't speak the
state language, but at the same time they don't have enough motivation
to learn it.
Shushana Shirinian, a journalist from Akhalkalaki, has lived in
Georgia for all her live, but she does not speak Georgian. However,
she needs it on a daily basis, because of her occupation. "All
official information and the majority of news are in Georgian, so one
must know this language to follow what is going on in the country,"
Shirinian explains.
Her story is not unique, as the language which is most heard on the
streets of Akhalkalaki is not Georgian, but Armenian.
Knowledge of Georgian is not beneficial?
Shirinian says she has attended several Georgian language courses
organized by the government and various organizations. However, she
did not like the methodology and felt that she did not learn as much
as she could. In Shirinian's opinion, if someone really wants to learn
Georgian, they should hire a private teacher for individual lessons.
But locals see that knowing Georgian does not necessarily lead to a
job, and a lot of employed people do not speak any Georgian at all,
she explained. Thus some feel that to hire a private Georgian teacher
would be a waste of money, especially if they are unemployed at the
moment. One ninety-minute individual Georgian language lesson costs
up to 10 laris.
Georgian language teacher Dali Aghdgomeladze agrees that one can
see a lack of motivation among locals toward learning Georgian,
as people are hired not on the basis of their specific knowledge,
Georgian included, but based on their social contacts. "So it is
wrong to say that if you don't know the state language, you can't
find a job. For example, our local politicians do not know Georgian,
but that doesn't prevent them from performing their duties," she adds.
MP: we need to motivate people
Georgian MP from Akhalkalaki Samvel Petrosian stressed that it is
important to be able to communicate freely in the official language,
but it is not enough just to speak it to be integrated and represented
in Georgian society. "Armenians in Tbilisi speak Georgian even better
than some Georgians. But are there any of them in politics? None. It's
the same here in this region. So instead of pointing out that people
here don't know Georgian, we should stress that if someone knows the
state language, it enables them, they can become president or prime
minister, work in the government and so on. It would motivate people,"
the MP explained.
At the moment, the Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration
provides free Georgian courses for public sector employees, including
school teachers, but there are no such programs for private sector
workers or those who are unemployed.
Preferences are changing
Things are changing and the new generation seems to be more motivated
to learn the official language than their parents. Sanetik Maitesian,
director of the House of the Future, a community center which provides
post-school activities for students, told DF Watch that there are 20
students from Armenian and Russian schools who are attending Georgian
classes in the afternoons.
In addition, as DF Watch has reported before, there are plans in
the Ministry of Education to improve current bilingual education
programs, not only by teaching Georgian to Armenian teachers, but
also by employing Georgian-speaking teachers to work side-by-side
with their Armenian counterparts.
"Youth want to study Georgian as they see themselves studying and
working in this country," Shirinian explained.
http://dfwatch.net/armenians-in-akhalkalaki-struggle-to-learn-georgian-18393
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress