LL SIGNS IN THE TEXTBOOKS OF LATVIAN: A CASE STUDY

My content analysis of textbooks has been carried out to understand how and how often illustration with LL signs have been used in 58 Latvian textbooks published between 1991 and 2018, and to learn what (not) to do in the author’s own teaching material.

40 books are for Latvian as a first language teaching (4 of them are for school pupils with special educational needs), although school pupils with Latvian as a second or third language also learn from them if they learn in schools with Latvian as the instruction language. 12 textbooks are for teaching Latvian in minority schools, while 6 books are for adolescents and adults who learn Latvian as a foreign language in Latvia or abroad.

It is interesting that the most frequently published LL sign in the textbooks is an inscription on the Freedom Monument in Riga, the capital of Latvia – Tēvzemei un brīvībai ‘For Fatherland and Freedom’. It is included in six textbooks; four of them are for learning Latvian as a second language or a foreign language. These photos illustrate the topic of Latvia, the Proclamation Day and the creator of the monument, sculptor Kārlis Zāle. Two nationally important symbols are highlighted – the Freedom Monument and Latvian as a state language. A patriotic upbringing mission and loyal attitude towards the state (national ideology) are included in the textbooks for minority pupils. For example, in the Latvian textbook for the 12^th grade with Russian as the instruction language (Kubuliņa 1994) there are two black and white photos (the Freedom Monument from a distance and one fragment from a sculpture ensemble) with illustrative function, an informative text beside them and a set of tasks on the monument in classroom and home (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Illustrations, informative text and tasks on the theme “Freedom Monument” (Kubuliņa 1994)

In class, high school students read the informative text about the monument and its symbolic interpretation, then create questions about the text for a dialog in pairs. In this way, the task focuses on reading comprehension. The first homework task is interactive: students should go to the monument to share their impressions later. There are no prompt questions or pointers to be addressed. It is most likely that the students’ subjective experience is the objective of the task. Probably a visual description of the monument, as well as a characterization of its meaning at state level, are expected). The next task is a paper on K. Zale, which envisages the acquisition and compilation of factual information and the creation of scientific text. The final task is an independent work, which involves creating a narration about the monument for friends who have arrived from Russia. They are interested in the monument and ask a lot of questions about it; therefore high school students need to act as tour guides to share interesting facts of the national symbol and answer guests’ questions.

All tasks are organized as independent learning by high school students, expecting ready results from them: a research paper, an oral description of the monument and a narration for the foreign guests. They help to improve students’ skill to find culture-historical information, compile and retell it, thus develop both research skills and national culture awareness. As, in 1994, an independent state was a new concept and the emphasis was on the integration of minorities into Latvian society and culture, Russian-speaking high school students are encouraged to understand the significance of the monument, recognize and characterize elements of the monument (Latvian soldiers, national epic images, deities). However, tasks do not promote critical thinking, avoiding discussing the recent past and nowadays (e.g., Why was it prohibited to lay flowers down by the monument during Soviet times? What do Latvian minorities and foreigners think of the monument?).

Kubuliņa, B. (1994) Latviešu valoda 12. klasei ar krievu mācību valodu. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC.