- my DuckDuckGo query:
tallinn russian language course - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn#Demographics :
“In 2011, … 46.7% spoke Russian as their native language.“ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartu – Tartu is certainly a viable alternative (about 150 km away from Tallinn, home for one of the oldest universities in Europe, with a tremendous tradition in Russian linguistics)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia :
“… in 2004 Estonia joined both the European Union and NATO“ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOEFL
- – the vehicle language used to teach Russian is English, and your English Language skills are probed through TOEFL
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_of_English_as_a_Foreign_Language
- Q: Why would anybody want to learn Russian in Tallinn?
- A: Almost 50% Russian native language speakers make it an environment where you are able to exercise your (early) experiences with native speakers.
- Q: Would you be taught by native speakers?
- A: Sure.
- Q: Why do you prefer to stay outside Russia?
- A: (Tallinn and) Estonia joint the European Union, so for EU citizens no necessity to apply for visa and work allowance, more legal certainty in case of trouble, it is much less likely to get into authority arbitrariness.
Travelling (I used www.berlin-airport.de for my investigation):
- round trip non-stop flights (Berlin – Tallinn) starting at € 130
Now for some reasonable results:
- http://winterschool.tlu.ee/russian-language/
- http://summerschool.tlu.ee/russian-language/
- https://www.shortcoursesportal.com/studies/46119/russian-language.html#content:key_facts
- https://www.languagebookings.com/learn-russian/estonia/tallinn
- …
TOEFL:
- Q: You want to get your youngster TOEFL-tested?
- Q: You want to survey him yourself and know proven results?
- Q: You want to let him do the test on the Internet and you will never know the results?
- Q: You want to let him procrastinate endlessly?
- Q: …
- Go for local paper tests!!!
- https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/register/centers_dates/
Why did I start this write-up? My 20+ offspring all of a sudden had the idea to study Russian at some university but with zero Russian language competence. So why not make him jump into the ice-cold water? Makes him move out from Hotel Mama and get him away from his home town temporarily as well.
Thanks for seriously discussing the issue and help and hints to my dear friend AO.