Moldova offers free Romanian language courses for ethnic minorities
Over 2,000 people have graduated from Romanian language courses for ethnic minorities, a free program introduced by the government at the republican level this year. As a result, people who do not speak Romanian have the opportunity to better integrate into the workforce and public life.
I met Natalia while she was taking the final exam for her Romanian language course. She works as an accountant and has been living in the capital for many years, but she communicates more in Russian, both at home and at work. She says that, over time, knowledge of Romanian has become essential, so, three months ago, she enrolled in the national program offered by the state.
"I really like the Romanian language and I want to master it. I need to speak and write correctly at work. I like to read and watch the news in Romanian, and I want to understand everything. My parents also enrolled in the course, but online, because they are old," says Natalia Bejanciuc, a student.
To date, over 2,200 people have participated in Romanian language classes held both online and in 45 educational institutions in Bălți, Chișinău, the Gagauz Autonomous Territorial Unit, and Taraclia. These are also aimed at adults who want to improve their knowledge or learn Romanian from scratch.
VOX:
- "My mother is Moldovan, but my father is Ukrainian, and we speak Russian, but I really want to know Romanian because I consider it my language."
- "I'm retired, I have a lot of free time, I learn a lot, the group is great, we write, communicate, I joke a lot. It was a dream of mine for a long time."
- "I want to speak Romanian for work. I'm from Tiraspol and I haven't learned Romanian. I'm trying to convince my husband."
"For them, these courses are a good opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Romanian and to overcome the emotional barrier of speaking Romanian and speaking specifically with natives. They already understand very well and know how to introduce themselves, maintain a short dialogue, and ask how much something costs when they go shopping," says Doina Coropcean, a Romanian language teacher.
According to the Ministry of Education, by the end of this year, over 6,000 people will benefit from Romanian language courses.
"First of all, they are teachers, kindergarten educators, teachers who teach in languages other than Romanian, from different fields, economists, lawyers, they are more people who, by virtue of their position or the position they hold, need a good knowledge of Romanian. We have cases when it is also mother and daughter, we are referring to adults, so there are no unique criteria," says Adriana Cazacu, state secretary at the Ministry of Education.
The national program for learning Romanian was approved by the government and will run until 2025.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
