Strengthening the Latvian environment in schools... 0 119

"The survey conducted in 2025 regarding the transition to a unified school confirms a clear and consistently positive trend in the study and use of the Latvian language. More and more students not only have a better command of the Latvian language but also actively use it both in school and outside of it, as well as recognize the importance of the state language in everyday life. At the same time, the data indicate the areas of development that would effectively improve the process of learning the Latvian language at all levels of education," stated today’s message from the Ministry of Education based on the results of the survey.

"The data clearly show where we must continue our targeted efforts — to strengthen the Latvian environment in schools, promote the active use of the language in every lesson, and reduce students' fear of making mistakes," said Roland Ozols, Deputy Secretary of State for Education Policy at the Ministry of Education and Science.

R. Ozols also noted that decisive factors include the leadership of school management teams, the professionalism of educators, and family involvement, so that knowledge of the Latvian language improves even faster and more evenly. "In the future, the Ministry of Education and Science will provide the necessary methodological, professional, and financial support to ensure that the Latvian language becomes the natural language of everyday communication and learning in every school," emphasizes R. Ozols.

The survey data indicate that although for the majority of surveyed students, Russian is their native language, one-third of students report that they also use Latvian at home. In the groups of younger classes, this trend is even more pronounced — especially in families of first-grade students, where both Latvian and one of the minority languages are increasingly used in parallel.

Students' responses also indicate an expansion of the use of the Latvian language outside the school environment. The Latvian language is used in sports training, clubs, public places, and online. One-fifth of students indicated that they only use the Latvian language at school, which is a lower figure than in the parents' responses, indicating a broader use of the language according to the students' perspective.

The survey results show that 74% of students fully or mostly understand lessons conducted in the Latvian language. Furthermore, as students age, their understanding and confidence in their language skills increase, indicating gradual and stable progress.

"It is especially important that 66% of students whose native language is not only Latvian believe that the knowledge of the Latvian language they acquire in school is essential or rather helpful outside of school. This confirms that the Latvian language is increasingly perceived not only as a prerequisite for education but as a practical and necessary resource in everyday life and the future," states the Ministry of Education.

Students cite teacher explanations as the most important support factor in learning the Latvian language, and they are increasingly using digital educational resources in Latvian, including educational platforms and artificial intelligence tools.

The results of surveys of teachers, students, and their parents provide a more detailed picture of the native and home languages of students, as well as help understand the details of students' proficiency in the Latvian language and its use in everyday situations both in school and outside of it.