Since December 2023, conversation language club sessions have been taking place as part of the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”. The language club activities involve two in-person and two remote groups, led by project educators Maija Burima, Inese Valtere, Oļģerts Rihlickis, and Līga Struka.
The project participants enthusiastically attend the conversation language club because it provides an opportunity to develop everyday communication skills in an informal atmosphere. Discussions on various engaging topics take place, and the project target audience learns to overcome the “language barrier” and express their opinions without fear. Most participants acknowledge that their sense of insecurity when speaking Latvian has significantly decreased, particularly during the conversation language club sessions. This is facilitated by the support received during the sessions, provided by Latvian language speakers – students enrolled in the academic Bachelor’s study programme “Language and Culture Studies” (Latvian Studies) at Daugavpils University and other volunteers who are native Latvian speakers.
To help the course participants better understand Latvia’s social and cultural environment and broaden their perspectives on societal and individual values, traditions, and customs, well-known individuals from the community – experts and opinion leaders – are invited to the conversation language club sessions.
One of the first guests invited to the conversation language club was an expert in the field of environment – Juris Soms, the head of the Daugavpils sector of the amelioration department of Latgale region, an associate professor at Daugavpils University, and a Doctor of geological sciences. His proposed topic “Green Lifestyle – Does it Mean Living Green?” not only raised environmental issues but also enriched the Latvian language knowledge of the conversation language club participants. The project’s target audience was captivated by J. Soms’ developed materials on integrated Latvian language and environmental exploration. The positive emotional atmosphere in the club was enhanced by J. Soms’ narrative about his experience as a guide and determining the distribution of the “ecological footprint”.
The participants of the conversation language club eagerly look forward to the upcoming sessions as they will be honored by the presence of an Honorary Member of Latvian Academy of Sciences, holder of the Order of the Three Stars Knight, film director, and screenwriter Jānis Streičs.
The aim of the conversation language club “I Want to talk to you” programme is to promote the motivation of third-country nationals to use the Latvian language in various daily and official situations and to enhance the communication skills necessary for successful communication in Latvian, providing an informal and inclusive environment for the formation of language usage experiences and the improvement of intercultural communication competencies. Together with Latvian native speakers, the participants explore the social and cultural environment of Latvia, expand their understanding of the daily life, relationships, social norms, values, traditions, and customs of the speaker community, thereby strengthening their sense of belonging and trust in Latvian society. The programme of the conversation language club “I want to talk to you” is covered during a total of 32 hours.
The sessions of the conversation language club “I want to talk to you” are organized within the framework of the project “My Latvian Language Portfolio”, within the activities of the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund for the planning period 2021-2027, activity 13.2 “Inclusion of third-country nationals in local society, promoting the use and acquisition of Latvian language skills”, with the project number PMIF/13.2./2023/1/10.
