Guide to learning Estonian for incoming students
Kas te räägite eesti keelt?
While you can easily survive student life in Estonia without knowledge of the Estonian language, you may encounter situations where you are speaking to someone who does not know English that well. In this case, it can be good to know some basic phrases in Estonian.
Before coming to Estonia:
Speakly (webpage, app): teaches Estonian words in the context of grammatically correct sentences. You can use the codes EV100 or WORKINESTONIA to gain access to the free Estonian language course for a year.
Lingvist (webpage, app): has a free course of 100 words in Estonian to give you an introduction to the language and culture.
Keeleklikk (webpage): Online course that teaches the Estonian language from 0 (absolute beginner) to A2 (elementary knowledge).
Memrise, Quizlet (webpage, app): here you can find for free user-created flashcard decks with basic words and phrases in Estonian.
After arriving in Estonia:
As a first-year student, the optimal way to learn is to sign up for the Estonian Language and Culture course at TalTech that will teach you practical Estonian phrases to use in everyday life, as well as facts about Estonian traditions and history.
Other organizations that offer Estonian language courses are the Integration Foundation and the Opus Lingua language school. Tallinn University also runs three-week winter and summer schools in January and July where you can study the Estonian language.
If you prefer to study by yourself, I recommend to use the textbooks E nagu Eesti (for beginners) and K nagu Kihnu (for intermediate learners), which can be found in the TalTech library or bought in various bookstores in Tallinn.
Edu!
