Tuuli Rehemaa

I graduated from the University of Tartu in 2000 as a teacher of the Estonian language and literature and went to work at the Mäetaguse Basic School in Ida-Viru County. In 2006 an offer came to work at the Institute of the Estonian Language, where I have been working as a language planner for 13 years. These years include participation in the compilation and editing of several dictionaries, lectures of Estonian language both in Estonia and abroad, work on several terminology committees, longer and shorter articles on language issues, and above all, answering a large number of language-related questions via e-mail and telephone.

I have been interested in teaching Estonian as a foreign language since the days I was working in Mäetaguse because in those years the Mäetaguse Basic School had both Estonian and Russian classes. From 2011 to 2012, I was a member of the Innove C1 Estonian language proficiency examination team. In 2017, I decided to become a teacher of Estonian as a second language at Tallinn University, and the main impetus for this move was probably given by the persons asking for language advice and for whom Estonian is not their mother tongue.

Due to my work as a language planner, I have good knowledge and experience of Estonian.  As a teacher, I want to be open and friendly, discover each student’s strengths and create synergies where we can all learn together. I keep finding enjoyment, fun, and happiness in the Estonian language, and I hope to infect learners with these feelings.