Heidi Erbsen, one of the recipients of the AABS 2021–2022 Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies.

 

The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies is pleased to announce that M. Lee Alexander, Ugnė Marija Andrijauskaitė, Heidi Erbsen, Ignas Maldus, and Sami Siva have been awarded the 2021–2022 Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies.

The Baumanis Grant is an award created to honor Velta Marija Baumanis of Mount Brydges, Ontario, who left a generous bequest to AABS at the end of her career as an architect.

 

An award of up to $7,000 is available for any creative project (e.g., book, film, exhibit, etc.) that promotes Baltic studies. Preference is given to topics with a pan-Baltic or comparative aspect.

The 2021 applications were evaluated by the AABS 2021-2022 Grants and Awards Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė, AABS President Dr. Daunis Auers, AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Andres Kasekamp, and AABS Treasurer Uģis Sprūdžs, CFA.

 

 

More Than Just Movies:

Baltic Language Learning Film Festival
Heidi Erbsen,
University of Tartu

Films are so much more than a simple form of entertainment: they are a mirror to, and reflection of, the way languages, cultures, histories, and politics interact.

 

Far too often, subtle historical reference, linguistic nuances, or political satire go unnoticed in films, and this proves especially true for films viewed by intercultural audiences.

 

This project integrates the entertainment of the film industry with historical and educational practices to promote Baltic language and cultures in various educational settings.

This project will bring together teachers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to create a resource to help teach about the history, culture, and languages of the three Baltic countries through film.

 

The educational resource will include lesson plans for 10-15 movies in Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, and English which can be used in educational environments and by independent students to understand the languages and cultures more deeply.

 

At the end of the year-long project to develop the resource, a mini film festival will be organized to introduce three of the films and present the final book of resources.

 

The project will cooperate with local theaters and educational institutes to ensure international copyright rules are strictly followed in creating the resource book and hosting the film festival.

 

The introduction to the resource book will also include guidelines for teachers and facilitators to help them abide by copyright rules while using films as an educational resource.

While the project is primarily focused on providing an easy to use and interactive resource made by and for language and culture teachers, it will be accessible for independent students as well.

 

This will not only encourage independent language learners, but through the use of films, promote the uniqueness of the Baltic languages and cultures in an audiovisual way.

 

Universities, centers, associations, and other organizations that host conferences or cultural events often show historically relevant films as a form of entertainment or platform for discussion.

 

Being able to provide background material and interactive vocabulary and discussion questions, along with resources for similar movies, will keep participants of these events engaged and allow individuals to share resources through their personal networks as well.

 

The book of resources this project will produce is a valuable and sustainable tool for making the cultural, linguistic, historical, and political aspects of the Baltic countries more accessible through film.

 

 

 

Heidi Erbsen is currently a  PhD student in Media and Communications at Tartu University where she focuses on the interacting narratives and identity formation of Russian speakers in Estonia.

 

She has also worked regularly as an English teacher and cultural facilitator regularly for the past 10 years and full time for the past 8, including as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Yelets, Russia in 2015, teacher for American Councils FLEX program (summers of 2017-2019), and class teacher at Tartu International School (2017-2021).

While working on her PhD and simultaneously teaching English and Literature (among other subjects), she has seen firsthand how the audiovisuals that movies provide can help bridge gaps in understanding between cultures and languages.

 

In 2020, she established her own company Worlds of Communications OÜ to help facilitate interactive learning, and for the last year and a half, she has also been organizing a virtual language exchange with individuals learning English and Russian.

With the “More Than Just Movies” project, she is looking forward to using her teaching and cultural experience to create a sustainable resource for teachers, cultural program organizers, and independent students alike.

https://aabs-balticstudies.org