The Daugavpils University Society for Lifelong Learning, Culture, and Science Communication “Park of Intellect” continues to implement the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”, No. PMIF/13.2./2023/1/10, within the activities of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for the planning period 2021-2027, activity 13.2, “Integration of third-country nationals into local society, promoting the use of the Latvian language and opportunities of its acquisition.”
In 2025, 306 third-country nationals from 15 countries participated in Latvian language courses. The participants came from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Russia, Sudan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
A further 115 third-country nationals attended sessions of the “I Want to Talk to You” Conversation Language Club. In total, 150 participants took the National Language Proficiency Exam administered by the State Education Development Agency at levels A1, A2 and B1 in 2025.
Both the Latvian language courses and the Conversation Language Club sessions were delivered in person and online via the Zoom videoconferencing platform.
Applications for the new groups scheduled to begin their studies in 2026 have already been received and will be reviewed in the order in which they were submitted. As the project is entering its final six months of implementation, the number of available places is limited. It is currently planned that five Latvian language course groups at levels A1, A2 and B1, as well as three Conversation Language Club groups at levels A2 and B1, will begin their studies in 2026.
An evaluation of the questionnaires completed by the conversational language club participants shows that the majority responded positively to the content of the sessions and the opportunity to develop their speaking skills in greater depth.
The questionnaire results also indicate that several participants have developed a growing interest in Latvian-language cultural and information resources. They reported listening to the radio more frequently, watching news programmes and following various other programmes, films and television series with Latvian subtitles.
Participants also highlighted valuable personal experiences made possible by their improved language skills. One participant described having a meaningful conversation with the owner of a manor, which provided an opportunity to gain a broader insight into the history of the manor and the experiences of the people who had lived there.
The participants particularly emphasised their positive experience of taking part in the club, noting that the sessions provided extensive opportunities to practise Latvian and to discuss interesting and engaging topics. The friendly and supportive atmosphere within the groups was also highly appreciated, as it facilitates the learning process and helps participants feel more confident and secure when using Latvian in everyday communication.
The courses are organized within the framework of Activity 13.2 “Integration of Third-Country Nationals into Local Society, Promoting Opportunities for the Use and Acquisition of the Latvian Language” of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for the 2021-2027 planning period, within the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”, Grant No. PMIF/13.2./2023/1/10.
CO-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION
This publication was created with the support of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
The Daugavpils University Society “Intellect Park” for Lifelong Learning, Culture, and Science Communication is responsible for the content of this publication.
