Katrin Boode

I am a teacher of Estonian as a foreign language and cultural history. In 2000, I graduated from Tallinn Pedagogical University.

I teach Estonian to children and adults. For many years I worked as an Estonian language teacher in kindergarten. At the same time, I also managed various integration projects organized by the Integration Foundation to improve the Estonian language skills of non-Estonian-speaking children. I have run exciting language camps with primary school children. An excellent format for a city camp is learning Estonian through games, handicrafts, excursions, and active communication. I work with teenagers individually, and I also organize chat clubs where we do non-formal learning. I also teach adults at A1, A2, B1, and B2 levels within the courses of the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Integration Foundation.

I think the main aspect of language learning is communication. Learning a language does not have to be a difficult, tedious and unpleasant process for the student. It can be fun, interesting, and diverse. My students appreciate the good, safe and free atmosphere we create together in the language classroom. I always pay a lot of attention to weaker students as well. I won’t let anyone sit quietly in a corner. I always try to get them to talk in every lesson, at least a few words. And when I finally succeed, I will sincerely rejoice with them. I think the best recognition I heard from my student was: “I feel like it matters to you if I speak or not. I feel that you really want me to speak, and you put a lot of effort into it. ” I always encourage my students with a sentence: “Don’t forget, if you can talk in class (and you can), you can talk outside of class.”