This summer, the Georgian Free Student Union questioned 400 students of the Tbilisi State University, Telavi State University and the Sukhumi State University about their attitude towards the Russian language. 35% of the students said that they chose to study the language for professional progress, 25% said that it was needed for work.
Merab Pachulia, head of the Gorbi Sociological Service, noted that the polls did not give a full image of the attitude towards the Russian language due to a short range of people questioned. 51% of the people questioned said that they had poor knowledge and understanding of the Russian speech, 18% had no knowledge. The expert emphasized that the Russian language was declining in Georgia.
Pachulia said that Russian had not really been considered a foreign language in Georgia in the 1990s. English has become a lot more popular in the country. There are still few English speakers in Georgia.
The official noted that President Mikheil Saakashvili had invited thousands of people to teach English in Georgia 3-4 years ago. Georgia adopted a system allowing students to choose French, German and English for studies two years ago.
