Ly Leedu

I graduated from the University of Tartu in 1996 with a degree in Estonian (as a foreign language). Since 2026, I have held a Level 6 qualification as an adult educator. I have been working at Multilingua since 1999. I teach Estonian to adults at levels A1–C1, both in one-to-one and group lessons. I also work at Multilingua as a methodology specialist and head of teaching quality. 

I think every lesson must be well-targeted and fun. I use a lot of games in the class because even learning grammar can be hidden inside a board game. The courage to speak in a foreign language is more important than mistakes. When the courage has been achieved, the interest will arise to speak more precisely and correctly. I ask my students in every class: “Any news?” On the one hand, I wonder how they are doing, but on the other hand, I would like them to really talk. I am a patriot of Estonia and the Estonian language.  

To ensure my own professional development: 

• I am a board member of the Estonian Association of Teachers of Estonian as a Second Language and an individual member of the Estonian Association of Foreign Language Teachers; I take part in their training courses and events, including as an organizer and speaker 

• I run workshops and training sessions on topics such as active learning methods, the use of board games, outdoor learning, etc.; 

• I take part in international training courses and collaborative projects; 

• I took part in the four-country strategic cooperation project ‘Developing and Sharing Adults’ Language Teachers’ (e)Skills’ from 2020 to 2022; 

• I created the Multilingua Old Town games on the Actionbound app, for which Multilingua was awarded the European Language Learning Label in 2022. Read about them HERE and HERE; 

• I am one of the co-authors of the National Library’s language learning games; 

• I am constantly creating new materials on the Wordwall platform; 

• In 2011, I took part in a television project, teaching the Estonian language to foreigners in the documentary series ‘Love Without Borders’; 

• In 2023, I taught Estonian at a summer school in Seoul, South Korea, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

You can find out more about what I do by reading the following articles: 

• Naudi suhtlemist, naudi õppimist!; Keelepraktika värskes õhus, keset päris elu ja eestlasi; 

• Miks nad eesti keelt õpivad?; 

•  “Sisserändavad välismaalased õpivad innukalt eesti keelt”. 

•  Eesti keele õpetaja Ly Leedu: mul on õppijaid rohkem kui viiekümnest riigist 

• “Language practice in the open air, amongst real life and real people.- Actionbound Multilingua Old Town Orienteering Learning Game – to whom and why?” 

Feedback from students:

• “The course was just absolutely amazing, the best language-learning experience I ever had. Ly also dealt with the constraints of Online-teaching incredibly well, creating a varied and engaging course even in the distanced format. I can only say Thankyou very much!”
• “Ly always was very polite and kind. We could freely ask her various questions. Also she encourage us to speak more with each other, for that she made rooms in zoom for dialogs and so on, that helped to know each other more and also practise estonian language in smaller groups. Actually Ly was the first teacher who was so polite and funny, had an amazing three weeks course.”
• “I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun.”
• “Ly Leedu was a great teacher and taught us Estonian in a clear, orderly way and I learned a lot in a very short time, a huge thank you to her. Also, she was always smiling and kind, which was perfect.”