*learn how to speak, understand and write Estonian
*progress quickly beyond the basics
*explore the language in depth
Summary:
Teach Yourself Estonian book/CD pack is a self-access course for the independent adult learner of Estonian as a foreign language. Lively dialogues (recorded by Estonian speakers on the accompanying double CD) in authentic Estonian introduce the language, which is then explained in simple English, as it is not assumed that the student has learned a foreign language before. Exercises - written, audio, and pictorial - are used to reinforce learning. Features of the culture of Estonian speakers are also explored. At the end of the book there are a 'taking it further' section, a key to the exercises and Estonian-English and English-Estonian vocabulary lists.
LIVELY, AUTHENTIC LANGUAGE - the words and phrases used by Estonian speakers today
GRAMMAR IS CLEARLY EXPLAINED - in simple English
EXERCISES TO REINFORCE UNDERSTANDING - written, audio and pictorial exercises add variety and spice to your learning
CULTURE SECTIONS - to give you the real flavour and excitement of a visit to Estonia
BEGINNERS TO INTERMEDIATES - equally suitable for beginners and those needing to brush up their knowledge
LEARN THE LANGUAGE YOU NEED - for holidays (guides you through the airport, how to ask for tourist information, buying souvenirs), for business trips (jobs, invitations)
Table of Contents: 1. Introducing yourself We will learn to talk about yourself, nationalities, countries, greetings 2. House, work and family We will learn to talk about yourself, where are you from, where do you live and work (professions). 3. Daily life Numbers and time, directions, places to go - home, work, bank etc 4. Travelling Tickets, hotel, how to travel in Estonia, make travel arrangements. 5. Free time, phone calls Hobbies, interests, preferences, entertainment. How to make telephone calls. 6. Relations with other people Introducing your friends, your family, how Estonians live 7. Restaurants and food Ordering food and drinks, asking for things in food shops 8. Health and sports How do you feel, appointment with the doctor 9. Weather Climate, seasons. Different seasons and Estonian traditions. The Estonian people. 10. Shopping Different shops, malls, service and goods 11. Places Different places and towns in Estonia 12. Estonian media Radio, TV, newspapers, theatre and cinema 13. Estonian history and language Each lesson contains: Vocabulary: presentation and exercises Grammar: presentation and exercises Reading: exercises Listening: exercises Writing: exercises Sociocultural material: presentation
About the Author(s):
Mare Kitsnik is simultaneously a freelance teacher of Estonian as a second language and a freelance author of Estonian study materials and training programmes. Many of her study guides have been published. Leelo Kingisepp is a highly experienced teacher and teacher-trainer of Estonian as a second language; he has lectured extensively in this field at university level, and has also taught English and Finnish. Leelo Kingisepp is an established author of many titles aimed at providing guidance to second language teachers, and has written more in-depth Estonian coursebooks and textbooks.
About the Language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities. It is a Finno-Ugric language and is closely related to Finnish. Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. Estonian is thus closely related to Finnish, spoken on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, and is one of the few languages of Europe that is not Indo-European. Despite some overlaps in the vocabulary due to borrowings, in terms of its origin, Estonian is not related to its nearest neighbours, Swedish, Latvian and Russian, which are all Indo-European languages.
Estonian is distantly related to Hungarian (there is no mutual intelligibility between the two). It has been influenced by Swedish, German (initially Middle Low German, later also standard German), Russian, and Latvian, though it is not related to them genetically.
1. Introducing yourself
