Lithuania

Lietuva

Country context

According to the preliminary data of the population and housing census on 1 March 2011, there are 3.054 million ordinary residents in Lithuania. Compared to the data from 2001 (3.484 million), the number of Lithuanian residents has decreased by 12% (430,200 people). The major cause of such a decline is emigration (76%) – 328,300 citizens left and only 64,200 arrived. Negative natural change has also had a significant impact on the decline of the population (24%, or 101,900 people).

Lithuanian citizens are of various ethnic origins. The data collected during the 2001 census shows that there are 115 nationalities living in Lithuania, but only 29 nationalities have 100 or more representatives.

Lithuanians constitute the absolute majority of residents of Lithuania (83.5% in 2001). The latest censuses suggest that the population in Lithuania is becoming more and more homogeneous.

The most variegated ethnic composition is in Vilnius: in 2001 Lithuanians totalled 57.8%; Polish 18.7%; and Russians 14% of the total population in the city. The second city in terms of ethnic composition is Klaipėda which has 71.3% Lithuanians, 21.3% Russians, and approximately 2% Ukrainians and Belarusians.

The incoming flow of people into Lithuania is relatively small, and due to the recent economic downturn it has decreased even further. According to the Department of Statistics, in 2010 Lithuania received 5,231 people from abroad, the number of immigrants per 1,000 citizens was 1.6 (compared with 2.8 in 2008). Most of the newcomers were citizens of the Republic of Lithuania returning to live in their homeland.

In 2001, the census reported that 40% of the overall population know one language besides their mother tongue, a quarter of the population know two languages, and about 6% know three or more languages besides their native language (the level of proficiency was not surveyed).

Languages in official documents and databases

The national language, foreign languages and R/M languages are dealt with in language legislation and/or language policy documents. The learning and teaching of the national language abroad for children and/or adults originating from Lithuania is (co-)funded in Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has not been signed/ratified by Lithuania. At the national level, however, three R/M languages are recognised, protected and promoted in official country documents or legislation: Russian, Polish and Belarusan. These three languages plus Hebrew are also officially provided in education.

Official nation-wide data collection mechanisms on language diversity in Lithuania exist in terms of periodically updated census data. In these data collection mechanisms, national, R/M and immigrant language varieties are addressed, based on a mother tongue question.

Lithuania particularly cares about the status and usage of its state language. In 1995, the Law on the State Language of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted and now a revision of this document has been submitted to the Seimas. The purpose of the law is to determine the domains of the protection and usage of the state language; the duties of public authorities and institutions with respect to the state language; the right of citizens to use the state language in various domains; and the national guarantees to the support and protection of the state language. The law allows for a more transparent and rational language policy, it helps to ensure the functioning of Lithuanian in various spheres of life, promotes the further consolidation of the civil society of Lithuania. The new law will further contribute to the protection and enhancement of the uniqueness, richness and vitality of the Lithuanian language – the greatest common asset of the people of Lithuania – in the context of a multicultural and multilingual European community of nations.

As for the rights of ethnic minorities, including the right to preserve their own languages and cultures, Lithuania has taken on board as many responsibilities as possible in terms of the protection of minority rights. Article 29 in the Lithuanian Constitution states that a person may not have his or her rights restricted on the basis of his or her nationality or language. The article follows the classical tradition of the concept of human rights that puts discrimination based on language on the same level as that which is based on race or gender. In comparison, the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union) does not mention discrimination on the basis of language at all. From 1989 until 2009 the use of other languages was regulated by the Law of Ethnic Minorities. At present, multilingualism in education is governed by specific laws and the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ratified on 8 March 2000). Lithuania, like eight other members of the EU, has not ratified the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages because we believe that the EU authorities should review the concepts of regional and ethnic minorities and formulate a new approach to the fostering of linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe. This approach should also reflect the new reality – the fact that in some member states a state language finds itself in the position of a language spoken by a minority of the population rather than majority. 

The Lithuanian approach to multilingualism is also reflected in the population census. In all the censuses, citizens have been asked about the languages they know, but in 2011, the census questionnaire was improved. In order to collect data on bilingualism / multilingualism, citizens had the option to declare two or more native languages instead of one.

Languages in pre-primary education

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LN - SOUTIEN SUP: tous enfants de migrants uniquement aucun soutien 
3 none none 3
Durée
≥ 2 ans 1 an <1 an   
3 none none 3
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune  5-10  >10
3 none none 3
Jours par semaine
 >1 jour  0.5-1 jour  <0.5 jour
1 none none 2
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune 
3 none none 3
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune 
3 none none 2
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
3 none none 3

Languages offered in pre-primary education

R/M Languages

Belarusan, Hebrew, Polish, Russian

Langues étrangères

-

Langues des migrants

-

According to the Ministry of Education, there are around 700 pre-school institutions in Lithuania. In most of them, the language of education is Lithuanian, but there are some institutions in which children are taught in Russian, Polish, Hebrew, French or Belarusian. It should be noted that in 1995 the Government officially recognised sign language as a native language of deaf people. The majority of children of pre-school age begin to learn a foreign language one to two years prior to school, but there are also many pre-primary schools where upon parents' request, children start being taught other languages (usually English) from the age of three.

Languages in primary education

Organisation

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices   
3 3 none
Enseignement EMILE (enseignement d'une matière intégrée à une langue étrangère)
  généralisé localisé aucun   
3 2 none
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
3 3 none
Démarrage de l'enseignement en langue
A partir de la 1ère année à mi-étape en fin d'étape uniquement   
3 3 none
Planification
pendant le temps scolaire en partie pendant le temps scolaire hors temps scolaire    
3 3 none
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune 5-10 >10  
3 3 none
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
2 2 none
Niveau requis
Autres LN: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié 
LE: dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou de l'établissement non spécifié 
LM: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié 
3 2 none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun   
3 3 none

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices   
3
Soutien supplémentaire pour les nouveaux arrivants
avant la phase d'intégration pendant aucun   
3
Evaluation diagnostique à l'entrée
tous immigrants uniquement aucune   
3
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3

Teaching

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3 3 none
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Mobilité
intégrée dans la formation soutien financier informel aucune non applicable  
0 2 0

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3

Languages offered in primary education

R/M Languages

Belarusan, Hebrew, Polish, Russian

Langues étrangères

Compulsory: one language from English, French and German

Langues des migrants

-

Primary education is carried out in native languages (Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Hebrew, and Belarusan) in accordance with the programme adopted by the Ministry of Education. However, upon the request of parents or guardians, some selected curriculum subjects may be taught in the official state language. A foreign language (English, French or German) is compulsory from the second year at school. As for immigrant languages, (pre) primary education is neither practised nor governed by any legislation.

In Lithuania great attention is paid to teacher training –only individuals who have obtained the qualification of primary school teacher can work in primary schools and only those who have a certain degree of competence in the particular language can teach a foreign language. There is no special training for teachers who work with ethnic minorities, but it is assumed that the necessary methodological skills teachers receive during their higher education are common to all languages.

Languages in secondary education

Organisation

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3 3 none
Enseignement EMILE (enseignement d'une matière intégrée à une langue étrangère)
généralisé localisé aucun   
3 2 none
Groupes cibles
LRM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien 
LE: tous restreint aucun soutien 
LM: tous locuteurs natifs uniquement aucun soutien
3 3 none
Planification
pendant le temps scolaire en partie pendant le temps scolaire hors temps scolaire   
3 3 none
Taille minimale des groupes
aucune 5-10 >10  
3 1 none
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3 2 none
Niveau requis
Autres LN: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement non spécifié not applicable
LE: dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié not applicable
LM: normes nationales ou régionales normes propres à l'établissement pas de normes not applicable
3 3 none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun   
3 3 none

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3
Soutien supplémentaire pour les nouveaux arrivants
avant pendant aucun   
3
Evaluation diagnostique à l'entrée
tous immigrants uniquement aucune   
2
Surveillance des compétences linguistiques
surveillance nationale standardisée propre à l'établissement aucune   
3

Teaching

 

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3 3 none
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3 3 none
Mobilité
intégrée dans la formation soutien financier informel aucune non applicable  
0 2 0
Niveau de langue requis
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou régionales non spécifié non applicable  
3 1 none

 

LN

Autres langues nationales
Qualifications des enseignants
enseignants en langues enseignants en matières générales non qualifiés   
3
Formation initiale des enseignants
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Formation des enseignants en cours d'emploi
spécifique à une matière générale aucune   
3
Niveau de langue requis pour les locuteurs non natifs
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié non applicable  
2

Languages offered in secondary education

R/M Languages

Belarusan, Hebrew, Polish, Russian

Langues étrangères

Compulsory: one language from German, English and French. Other languages optional

Langues des migrants

-

Article 30 of the Law on Education proclaims that every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and foreigners with the right to permanent or temporary residence shall be guaranteed instruction in the state language and to learn the state language so as to provide the opportunity for smooth integration into public life. Some schools of general or non-formal education support educational provision in the languages of ethnic minorities and seek to maintain their culture. In accordance with these regulations and parents' requests, the overall curriculum or certain subjects may be taught in one of the languages of ethnic minorities. In such schools, the subject of the Lithuanian language is an integral part of the curriculum and its teaching receives no less time than the teaching of home languages. If there is a real need for additional training in the home language and a specialist of the required language is present, the state, municipal pre-primary schools and schools of general education usually enable students from ethnic minorities to learn it along with the main language of education provision.

There is one compulsory foreign language in secondary education. Usually students continue to learn the same language they have chosen during primary school (English, German or French) but they can also choose from other foreign languages. According to the general education plans for basic and secondary education (2011-2013), students can choose their second foreign language from: English, Latvian, Polish, French, Russian, German and other languages. The school should make it possible to choose a second foreign language from at least two additional foreign languages and to provide the necessary conditions to learn the chosen language.

There is no educational provision in immigrant languages because there is no specific demand for it; however, there are some legal presumptions – the Law of Education states that the children of a person with the right to permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Lithuania shall be provided with the opportunity to learn the state language, receive instruction in the state language and, where possible, to also learn their native language.

Article 48 of the Law on Education determines who has a right to work as a teacher – a person who has attained a higher or post-secondary education level and has a pedagogue qualification. A wide range of specialities is provided in the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. This institution prepares teachers of Lithuanian, Russian, Polish and Belarusan as native languages and teachers of English, German and French as foreign languages.

Languages in Further and Higher Education

Further Education (in three VET institutions)

 

Établissement A Établissement B Établissement C

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants

LRM

Langues R/M

LE

Langues étrangères

LM

Langues des migrants
Gamme de programmes de soutien en langue
large variété limitée aucun 
none 3 none 3 3 none none none none
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
none 3 none 3 3 none none none none
Niveau requis
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales non spécifié non applicable
0 2 0 0 2 0 0 none 0
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
none 3 none 3 3 none none none none

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales

LN - SOUTIEN SUP

Langues nationales
Gamme de programmes de soutien en langue
large variété limitée aucun 
3 3 none
Groupes cibles
tous restreint aucun 
3 3 none
Programmes scolaires
cohérent et explicite général pas de lignes directrices 
3 3 none
Compétences professionnelles
oui non 
3 3 none
Amélioration des compétences générales
oui non 
3 3 none
Financement public disponible
total partiel aucun 
3 3 none
Stages en entreprise
intégrés dans le cursus en option aucun 
1 1 none
Utilisation des instruments de l'UE
oui non 
1 1 none

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Lithuania

R/M Languages

Russian, Polish

Langues étrangères

English, German, French

Langues des migrants

-

Higher Education (in three institutions)

 

Établissement A

Établissement B

Établissement C

Langue(s) d'enseignement
n'importe quelle langue nationale et étrangère nationale uniquement 
2 2 3
Langues sur le site web
Nationales, étrangères et R/M nationales et étrangères nationales uniquement 
2 2 2
Groupes cibles pour un soutien supplémentaire dans la langue nationale
tous  restreint aucun
1 2 2
Niveau requis dans l'enseignement en langue étrangère
dépend du CECRL des normes nationales ou propres à l'établissement non spécifié
3 1 3
Recrutement d'étudiants non nationaux
Internationaux et immigrants internationaux uniquement locuteurs natifs de la langue nationale uniquement
2 3 3
Mobilité pour les étudiants en langues
obligatoire facultative aucune offre
2 2 2
Mobilité pour les autres étudiants
obligatoire facultative aucune offre
2 2 2

Languages offered across 3 higher education institutions in Lithuania

English, French, German, Russian

As vocational schools primarily focus on vocational subjects, languages actually receive less attention, but in vocational schools that also provide the certificate of secondary education, foreign languages must be taught according to the programmes and standards approved by the Ministry of Education. It is observed that students of this level more often tend to choose Russian as their first foreign language (perhaps as a result of their chosen speciality).

Universities have their own language policy. For example, at Vilnius University, Latin is compulsory for all students of the Faculty of Philology and in addition to the subject of Lithuanian philology, the faculty provides study programmes in Russian, Polish, English, German, French and Scandinavian philology. Double specialities combining Lithuanian studies with studies of languages like Polish, German, Spanish, Italian, Estonian, Latvian, Turkish, Slovenian or Czech are particularly popular among students of the Faculty. In the first years of the undergraduate course, students throughout the whole university receive some training in foreign languages. In general, most undergraduates continue the advanced studies of the first or second foreign language they chose at school; however, recently there has been a tendency to study languages that were not taught at school (for example Portuguese and Polish). Lithuanian philology students are also required to attend language courses in Latvian, Polish and Latin. Other universities choose foreign languages with respect to their specific needs, with English obviously a preferred language. Universities also provide an increasing number of study programmes taught in English (especially at graduate level); by doing so they hope to attract students from other countries. Lithuanian citizens of Polish minority can study in Polish at all education levels.

Languages in Audiovisual Media and Press

 

Vilnius

Kaunas

Klaipėda

Nombre de langues à la radio
>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 
2 2 2
Nombre de langues à la télévision
>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 
2 2 2
Productions télévisées en langues non nationales
sous-titrées doublées
1 1 1
Films au cinéma en langues non nationales
sous-titrées doublées
4 4 4
Programmes en langues R/M hors région
toujours régulièrement parfois jamais
4 4 4
Disponibilité du langage des signes à la télévision
toujours régulièrement parfois jamais
2 2 2

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Lithuania

Radio

Russian, Polish, Belarusan, Ukrainian, Hebrew

Television

Russian

Journaux

English, Russian, Polish

Besides the audio-visual content available in Lithuanian, the listeners of Lithuanian radio and audiences of television and cinema are able to select from broadcasts and films mostly in Russian and English. In national TV, production in languages other than Lithuanian is usually dubbed whereas in cinemas films are subtitled except for works aimed at children, which are usually dubbed in Lithuanian. The deaf and hearing-impaired are poorly catered for by TV, which results from the lack of subtitling of TV programmes, as well as of translating TV production into sign language and finally from the poor quality of translation when it is present. With regard to the Lithuanian press, it should be noted that books, as well as newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, are declining in number as well as in size of circulation.

Languages in public services and spaces

Institutionalised language strategies at city level

> 4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement

fréquence d'utilisation : largement utilisée occasionnellement utilisée non utilisée

Vilnius

Kaunas

Klaipėda

Services municipaux

4 0 2

Présence dans le site web

4 1 2

Rapports municipaux annuels

0 0 0

Traducteurs et interprètes externes ou internes

6 4 1

Compétences dans des langues autres que la langue nationale dans les descriptions de postes des employés

5 7 1

Plan ou programme en place destiné à améliorer les compétences en langues

4 0 0

Recrutement de personnes multilingues pour soutenir les objectifs de l'organisation

0 0 0

Offre de formation en langues aux employés

5 5 0

Registre des compétences en langues des employés régulièrement mis à jour

4 0 0

Programmes de récompense ou de promotion pour les employés capables de communiquer correctement dans une autre langue

0 0 0

Oral Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement

Vilnius

Kaunas

Klaipėda

Débats politiques et processus de prise de décision au niveau du conseil municipal

2 1 1

Services de l'éducation

4 2 2

Services d'urgence

2 2 2

Services de santé

2 2 2

Services sociaux

2 2 2

Services juridiques

1 1 1

Services de transport

2 2 2

Services d'immigration et d'intégration

2 2 2

Services du tourisme

3 2 3

Programmes de théâtre

3 1 1

Written Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 langue nationale uniquement 

Vilnius

Kaunas

Klaipėda

Débats politiques et processus de prise de décision au niveau du conseil municipal

2 1 1

Services de l'éducation

4 2 2

Services d'urgence

2 2 2

Services de santé

2 2 1

Services sociaux

2 2 2

Services juridiques

1 1 1

Services de transport

2 2 3

Services d'immigration et d'intégration

2 2 2

Services du tourisme

3 2 2

Programmes de théâtre

2 3 2

Languages offered in public services and spaces across 3 cities in Lithuania (N ≥ 2)

Russian, German, Polish, French, Hebrew, Italian, Turkish

The examination of the use of non-state languages in the public service sector in three cities in Lithuania shows that the choice of language depends on the ethnic composition of the population in different regions of the country. Municipalities provide the citizens of various ethnic backgrounds with educational services in their mother tongue. There is a good provision of public services in Russian in the municipalities of major Lithuanian cities. Recently, there is a growing attention from the local authorities towards newcomers from the EU or other countries - people who have insufficient knowledge of the state language can receive municipal services orally and/or in writing in both English and Russian. In the tourist sector, the range of languages is just slightly wider. Despite the relatively widespread use of foreign languages in various spheres of municipal activities, the attention paid by local government institutions to the promotion of the language skills of their officers is insufficient, although greater than in the private sector.

Languages in business - 24 companies

General Language Strategies

Largement utilisée

Occasionnellement utilisée

Non utilisée

Stratégie linguistique en place

4 3 17

Accent mis sur les compétences en langues lors du recrutement

17 5 2

Clause de mobilité internationale

3 2 19

Recours à des traducteurs/interprètes externes

13 3 8

Tenue de registres sur les compétences en langues du personnel

1 2 21

Utilisation de réseaux pour la formation en langues

3 3 18

Utilisation de programmes / financements de l'UE

3 0 21

Connaissance des programmes / financements de l'UE

1 3 20

Internal Language Strategies

Largement utilisée Occasionnellement utilisée Non utilisée

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

Partenariats avec le secteur de l'éducation pour les langues

0 3 0 0 2 1 24 19 23

Programmes de récompenses / promotion basés sur les compétences en langues

0 0 0 0 1 0 24 23 24

Offre d'une formation en langues

2 8 1 0 3 1 22 13 22

Utilisation du CECRL

1 0 0 0 0 0 23 24 24

Langues utilisées pour les documents sur le lieu de travail/l'intranet

24 12 3 0 1 0 0 11 21

Langues utilisées pour les logiciels, les programmes web

21 12 3 0 2 0 3 10 21

External Language Strategies

Largement utilisée Occasionnellement utilisée Non utilisée

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

NL

BE

FL-R/M - IL

Langues utilisées pour les rapports annuels/rapports d'activité

24 10 3 0 0 0 0 14 21

Langues utilisées pour le marketing

23 14 12 0 2 0 1 8 12

Langues utilisées pour la promotion de la marque/l'identité

23 15 12 1 2 2 0 7 10

Langues utilisées pour le site web

23 21 17 0 1 1 1 2 6

Languages other than English offered in business across 24 companies in Lithuania (N ≥ 2)

Russian, German, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Danish, Bulgarian, Swedish, Finnish

There is a relatively wide spectrum of languages used by and within the companies surveyed in Lithuania. The most common business language is English, but quite often advertising and marketing make use of Russian and German too. The use of foreign languages in business in principle corresponds to the major trends of the country's foreign trade. Depending on the objectives and nature of a company's activities, languages like Latvian, Polish, Estonian, Danish, French and Bulgarian are being used for internal and external communication in some of the studied hotels, supermarkets and banks. The results of the survey suggest that only a small portion of companies operating in the country recognise language strategies as a significant element of the company's development although more research is required. Despite the variety of languages used in Lithuanian business, companies pay insufficient attention to encouraging staff to learn or improve their language skills. The main and most plausible causes of the current situation are the following - the employees' proficiency of foreign languages is often regarded as sufficient by their employers or the costs of employees' training seems too high to the owners of the enterprises (especially of Small and Medium Enterprises). On the other hand, the entrepreneurs exploit the opportunities provided by the networks operating in Lithuania and in foreign countries to improve the language competencies of their staff.

Key Findings overall

The Lithuanian law allows and promotes plurilingualism (individual multilingualism). Still, the efficient implementation of the European Strategy for Multilingualism is a challenge which lacks institutional coordination and cooperation as well as well-defined distribution of the responsibilities.

Promising initiatives and pilots

Since 2010, the Languages Ambassador’s Awards initiative has been promoting multilingualism in Lithuania. This annual initiative is coordinated by the Education Exchanges Support Foundation in partnership with other institutions (including the British Council) as part of the European Label programme. The title of Languages Ambassador of the Year has already been awarded to an individual (2010), a business enterprise (2011), and in 2012 a school will be rewarded. 

The organisers of the Languages Ambassador’s Awards seek to contribute to the understanding that investment in language learning pays off at both individual and business level, and to encourage the strategic planning at state level of the investment in language teaching.

References

LR Visuomenės informavimo įstatymas, 1996 m. liepos 2 d., Nr. I-1418. Valstybės žinios, 2006-07-27, Nr. 82-3254. 

Markevičienė R., Tamulynienė L., Lietuvos spaudos statistika 2010. Lietuvos Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka. Bibliografijos ir knygotyros centras. Vilnius, 2011. 

Pedagogų rengimo programos. Prieiga per internetą: www.vpu.lt/Page.aspx?pageID=2722.

Teisės aktų bazė. Prieiga per internetą: www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=3984&p_k=1.

Informacinės visuomenės plėtros komitetas. Prieiga per internetą: http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=6141&p_k=1.

Lietuvos statistikos departamentas. Prieiga per internetą: www.stat.gov.lt.

Švietimo ir mokslo ministerija. Prieiga per internetą: www.smm.lt.

TEXT