Yamal created, everyone uses. The regional department of education is summing up the results of the year

The results of the Year of preservation of indigenous languages were summed up in the department of education of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The head of the office of regional development in the department of education Grigory Lymar told that in 2019 the department successfully had completed creation of textbooks in native languages. The textbooks in Nenets, Khanty and Selkoup languages from the 1st to the 9th grades were published.

“We started this work in 2016, and in December of 2018 the textbooks for the 1st-4th grades in Khanty and Nenets languages were included in the federal list. Other subjects of the Russian Federation will be able to use them. This year we completed development of the textbooks in native language for the 8th-9th grades, their testing in schools will be started in the third quarter of this school year. According to the results of testing, since the new school year the textbooks will be delivered to school libraries. We do not lower the bar, we are sure that all our textbooks will be included in the federal list”, said Lymar.

Now the region received the first pilot edition of such textbooks: 50 copies for each language, 47 of which will be sent to educational institutions. Schools will receive methodological recommendations and curricula, as well as a PDF-version of all publications. The amount of circulation is stipulated with the fact that the textbooks are being tested. The books will be checked, small flaws that are unacceptable will be found: typos, semantic inaccuracies in illustrations.

The plans for 2020 include textbooks on literature for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th grades in Khanty and Nenets languages. There are not many texts in the Selkoup language; this year will be spent for their preparation. A textbook will be created in Komi-Izhma language for the 5th grade in cooperation with teachers of the Komi Republic. It is noteworthy that such textbooks will appear for the first time.

In addition, next year a new nomination will appear in the contest for regional grants: an interesting project aimed at preservation and development of native languages. It will be awarded with the prize in 500 thousand rubles from the regional budget. The money can be used for translation of textbooks into dialects, for activities in boarding schools - designing of school environment, purchase of software systems, development of interactive dictionaries, probably, mobile dictionaries for young people. This practice was in 2018, and 2 grants were aimed at popularization of languages of indigenous ethnic minorities of the North.

The plans are ambitious. Grigory Lymar shared: “I would like to achieve that results of examinations in native languages would give additional points at entering higher education institutions. At the same time, the books created in Yamal are successfully used by other subjects”.