Language levels
There are five modules, and each of them is for a different language level. Module I is meant for beginners who have never learned Estonian before. If you have learned Estonian before but are unsure which level to choose, don't worry. There will be a short test and interview for modules I–IV on the first day to ensure everyone is in a group best suited to their needs.
The objectives and content for each course are defined and selected in accordance with CEFR. Each module is worth 4,5 ECTS and corresponds to 54 academic hours of language lessons.
The materials used in the summer school programme are all compiled by our language teachers. The coursebooks are a collection of well-chosen materials that never leave grammar alone and always pair it with practical exercises to cover all four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Click on the course title below to see the general topics and grammar covered at each level.
Teacher: Linda Palts
Topics:
- Hello! Let's get acquainted
- I am a student
- My favourites
- In the shop and in the café
- My family
Grammar:
- Pronouns, possessive pronouns
- Verb conjugation in present tense
- Grammatical cases (Nominative, Genitive, Partitive)
- Semantic cases (Local cases etc)
- Constructions: Who has...? Who likes ...?
Upon completing the course the students will be able to:
- understand and use Estonian cases in singular, conjugate Estonian verbs in the present tense, use the imperative, use adjectives and cardinal numbers;
- communicate in everyday situations in the street, in a shop, at a restaurant and socialize in a group, talk and write about themselves, their eating habits, and express (dis)approval;
- understand and create elementary-level oral and written texts.
Coursebook is compiled by Piret Toomet, Linda Palts, Sille Midt and Katrin Jänese.
Teacher: Piret Toomet
Vocabulary and conversation topics:
- Let’s get acquainted, small talk, how’s the weather today, forming and asking questions
- Time, daily routine, plans for the weekend, making appointments
- Activities, what are you doing today, what did you do yesterday, what did you do last year
- What do you like to do, what you can do, what do you have to do
- Let’s describe people and things: adjectives and opposites, appearance and clothes
- Where are you, where are you going - different places and spaces
Grammar:
- Revision of interrogatives, personal pronouns, verbs, cardinal and ordinal numbers
- Adjectives, opposites, nominative plural case
- Comparison of adjectives
- Present tense and imperfect (simple past tense), ma- and da-infinitive
- Local cases
Coursebook compiled by Piret Toomet.
Teacher: Gerli Lokk
Vocabulary and conversation:
- me and Estonia;
- my hobbies and free time;
- education and professions;
- travelling.
Grammar:
- revision of past simple and present simple;
- present perfect;
- usage of ma- and da-infinitive;
- mine-sufix;
- verb tegelema;
- usage of verbs käima, minema and tulema;
- constructions õppima kelleks?, saama kelleks?, töötama kellena?;
- cases in plural;
- reading dates;
- revision of locative cases;
- revision of comparison of adjectives and adverbials;
- constructions in conditional mood (tahaks, meeldiks, peaks etc).
Coursebook compiled by Gerli Lokk.
Teacher: Monika Urb
Topics:
- Estonia and Estonians
- Home
- Health and eating habits
- Clothes, appearances, character
Grammar:
- declination system
- -ma and -da infinitive
- local cases, postpositions
- numerals
- conditional mood
- imperative mood
- comparative and superlative
- partitive plural
- total and partial object
Coursebook compiled by Sälly Salusoo.
Teacher: Tatjana Kodas
Topics:
- schools and education in Estonia
- demographic situation in Estonia, statistics; health and life expectancy
- literature and journalism; changing society, changing media
- social and economic welfare; real estate market
Grammar:
- conjunctions and complex sentences
- ma-infinitive and da-infinitive
- the passive voice; verb government
- impersonal voice
- objective and non-objective verbs
Coursebook compiled by Linda Palts.
