Education Centre Durbe, Riga

[Anne Schumann]

Hi Nellie,

my reply may concern you only indirectly, but maybe you can still draw some relevant information from it. I looked at the Latvian page of the school and they seem to offer language courses (French, English etc.) including Latvian courses for (unemployed) people belonging to the Russian minority. The school is situated in the heart of Riga, which is certainly a plus. 
However, to me it seems that Latvia is not the optimal place for learning Russian. Here are my considerations: I did not attend Russian classes at Durbe's, but I attended some Latvian classes in another school. Although Latvian is the official language and there are many non-Latvians who need to learn the language, the level in these classes was extremely low. This does not allow me to draw direct conclusions regarding the level of Russian teaching at Durbe's, but it  may be a (somewhat weak) indicator that the general level of language teaching is not what you may expect. Moreover, although many Latvians are kind of fluent in Russian, some do not like to speak it and they are certainly not native speakers from whom you may wish to pick up a lot of linguistic information. And although it is perfectly possible to speak Russian in everyday life, you should be prepared for a bit of negative feedback, since some Latvians have pointed anti-Russian views.
So I would conclude that the best place to learn Russian is (surprise) Russia. To my knowledge, almost every Russian university offers Russian classes. I myself spent some time in Pyatigorsk some years ago. The university may be a bit provincial, but depending on your level of prior knowledge, they should be able to give you what you need for reasonable money. I think there are always some Americans around and the Caucasus is certainly worth a visit.

Regards,
Anne-Kathrin Schumann

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Nellie Manis
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:50 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS] Education Centre Durbe, Riga

Dear all,

I writing to see if anyone has had any positive interaction with a Russian language institution in Latvia called "Durbe Education Centre".  I am considering spending 8 weeks in their intensive Russian language program but have never heard of them.

If you have had any interaction with them in the past, especially if you have personally been there or enrolled in one of their courses, I would appreciate hearing about your experience before making my commitment.

Thanks for your help,
Nellie Manis
MA Candidate: Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign manis1 at illinois.edu

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------