On August 4, the Israeli Knesset’s Committee on Education, Culture and Sports discussed a proposal by Vice Speaker Alex Miller and public immigrant organizations, led by the Israeli Association for Immigrant Children, to make changes in the country’s school curriculum. The proposal aims to give all students the opportunity to study Russian as a second foreign language at the elementary and secondary school levels. We asked Dr. Marina Niznik, an instructor at Tel Aviv University, to comment on the Israeli deputies’ initiative and the general situation with Russian language education in Israel. Dr. Niznik is the head author of an innovative textbook called “Russian Without Borders,” which was published with the support of the Russkiy Mir Foundation and designed for use with children from Russian-speaking families living abroad.
– Russian has been taught in schools since the early nineties. This is a so-called elective, in other words, a class that can be taken free of choice. In high school, study of a second foreign language is compulsory (from seventh to ninth grades). Students (in theory) are able to choose between Arabic, French and Russian. In some schools, German, Spanish, Amharic (the language of people of Ethiopia) and Yiddish are offered. In practice, however, the study of Arabic is supported above all, for reasons that are obvious. With regard to French, Israel has a longstanding agreement with France under which there are three schools in which one cannot receive a certificate without having studied French and passing the graduation exam. France, for its part, is helping these schools with teaching materials, hosting the best students, and organizing the training of teachers (funded by the French government). Perhaps this is not a bad idea for Russia?
– Why is this issue being discussed at the highest state level only today?
– This issue has been discussed numerous times already at the state level. Several years ago the ministry virtually ceased funding for Russian language studies, but at the last minute, due to the actions of the Russian-speaking community, the press and politicians, funding was restored.
– The children of immigrants are able to study Russian in schools today. Could you explain the difference between the norms that exist today and those that are being proposed?
– Today, instruction in any given school depends on the goodwill of the director or inspector. Our goal is to make it so everyone who wants to study Russian can do so.
– Can we say that the Knesset committee supported the proposal put forth by the organizations of Russian immigrants? Can we hope the ministry’s support will increase awareness in Israel? According to a representative from the ministry, Dr. Alon, it is prepared to support the initiative on the condition that the necessary funding is provided.
– I spoke with Dr. Alon – a very educated man and understanding of the importance of studying foreign languages for such a small country as Israel. Let’s hope that he will be our ally in the ministry.
– Should Russian become a means of consolidating the emigrants from the Soviet Union and the CIS, or, more likely, should it be a means of ensuring immigrants’ rights? How long does the process of assimilation normally take in Israel?
– I don’t think it’s a matter of consolidation. Today, there are three main groups in the population. The majority of older people don’t know Hebrew and are not at the point where they’re going to study it. They watch Russian television or Israeli television in Russian, read Russian newspapers and listen to Russian radio.
Middle-aged people, such as my friends and I, are usually fluent in Hebrew. We choose TV programs that have content we’re interested in. We read two and sometimes three languages. In Israel, for a professional to be considered qualified, fluent knowledge of English is required. Russian, of course, remains the mother tongue, though.
Young people speak Hebrew better. For the majority of young people, what is decisive is whether they studied in school in Russia or the CIS. Many of those who studied in Israel and have not studied Russian at school can neither read nor write in Russian. This group is continuously growing in number.
Many of those who left in the seventies with enormous difficulties wanted to remove Russia entirely from their lives. In addition, many thought that the sooner their children forgot Russian, the more quickly they would learn to speak Hebrew. Today, fortunately, many people realize that this is nonsense.
– What are the main factors that influence the younger generation’s preservation of their “Russian” identity? What percentage of young immigrants from Russian families consider themselves to be Russians?
– It’s a difficult question. Very few people consider themselves to be exclusively Russian. These young people consider themselves to be Russian Jews or Russian Israelis. The Russian component is important for the majority, but the question is the degree to which it is important. Preservation of Russian identity is affected by a lot things, including family and school. Whether grandparents take an active role in raising a child is very important. If they do, then there’s a greater chance of the child preserving his Russian identity.
– What does it mean to be a Russian in Israel? On the one hand, there’s probably an internal values system (the meaning of language, for example), and on the other hand, a system of long-standing stereotypes in terms of how the native Israelis look at immigrants.
– Russians in Israel are both united and fractured at the same time. Immigrants from large cities who speak a more pure Russian usually consider themselves to be an elite. Incidentally, this doesn’t necessarily mean that others also consider them an elite... Graduates of major universities also consider themselves “blue bloods.” There’s a major stratification in terms of property. By the way, computer programmers and trained engineers live much better than others.
The internal values system... I think that education remains a particular value for the majority of immigrants. People go to great lengths to see that their children are widely educated. Russians’ presence here has meant that even in the most remote places chess clubs, ballet sections and music schools have appeared. It’s very important for Russian-speaking parents that their children study well in school. Local teachers complain that only Russian parents are so strict with children who don’t get the grades that they expect. Everyone strives to have their children enter the university. Unfortunately, though, not everyone achieves this.
– During the committee’s discussions, a new textbook developed under your direction called “Russian Without Borders” was presented. What was the reaction?
– Everyone liked it. By the way, it’s proven itself very well in Israel, Germany and in America. My colleagues and I have received dozens of letters expressing gratitude.
– How is your textbook unique in comparison to the other ones that exist? Is there competition in this area?
– We wrote the textbook on the Russian language as a family language, taking into account the theoretical developments that exist in this area. One of the authors – Professor Olga Kagan – is a leading global authority in this field. I have also published several works on the subject. The others in our team are experts with a wealth of experience doing very successful work. The textbook is aimed at children of different levels, which is where the originality lies. Of the three parts – introduction, grammar and literature – teachers can choose what suits a particular group of children. They can vary the lessons, giving some children more simple exercises and more difficult ones to others. All the exercises are based on the principle of increasing complexity. We also took into account the demands of the educational systems in western countries. For example, in all three countries (the United States, Germany and Israel) it is unacceptable to use religious themes in these kinds of textbooks. For the Americans it was important that grammar exercises use the masculine and feminine equally. We took into account all the requirements of political correctness – without this, the schools would not have accepted the book.
Of course there is competition, and that is a good thing. Our ministry has published textbooks. We took into account their objectives and learned from their mistakes. The more books there are, the easier it is to work, and the more choices a teacher has. It’s not interesting to be the best if you’re the only one. There are people who do not like our textbook, which is normal. We have published a textbook that reflects our views on teaching, rather than on dollars and euros.
– Speaking at the recent Assembly of the Russian World in November 2008, you talked about the principles that guided your group in the creation of the textbook. You quoted a Chinese proverb that a teacher only reveals the door to the world of knowledge. How was this principle realized when you were working on the textbook? Can it be understood in the sense that at the center there is not a complete collection of materials, but rather the desire to make the textbook interesting for children above all?
– A textbook is not an encyclopedia. With its creation, there is always some material that is “left behind.” The problem of selecting materials is one of the most difficult and painful in the creation of teaching materials. A textbook like ours must be interesting. Russian is not a required subject for children of immigrants, so if they get bored, they’ll run away from it.
– What kind of demand have you experienced for the textbook? Which countries are already using it? Who are your contacts in this regard?
– You know, we were even surprised at the extent of demand. If we were selling it, I think we probably could have retired on the proceeds. (The Russkiy Mir Foundation distributes the textbook free of charge - Editor’s note). Tens of thousands have already downloaded the textbook from the Foundation’s website. People are begging me to send it for any amount of money, but unfortunately, the number of printed copies is limited. The book was released only in May. By the end of the school year I think we will have more information, but now it is being used in the Netherlands, France, the United States, Canada and Germany.
