Tekstiõpet

Tekstiõpet is a school subject focused on teaching students how to produce, edit, and evaluate written texts in the Estonian language. It covers planning, drafting, revising, and finalizing texts for different purposes and audiences. The subject emphasizes clarity, coherence, unity of purpose, and correct usage of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary, integrating linguistic knowledge with composition skills.

Historically, tekstiõpet has existed as part of language education in Estonia, evolving with changes in national curricula to emphasize genre awareness, pragmatics, and digital literacy. It is often taught alongside or within Estonian language and literature education, but may be taught as a separate module or integrated with language arts in different schools.

Curriculum typically includes instruction in text types such as descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative writing; development of paragraphs and overall structure; use of sources, data, and examples; editing for audience and purpose; and revision strategies. Teachers incorporate explicit teaching of sentence variety, cohesion devices (transitions, connectors), and style features, alongside spelling and grammar practice. Collaboration, peer feedback, and iterative drafting are common pedagogical approaches. Modern tekstiõpet also integrates digital writing tools, online communication, and ethical considerations like plagiarism and citation practices.

Assessment combines process-focused tasks (portfolios, drafts) with product-based tasks (final essays, reports) evaluated against rubrics for planning, organization, language quality, and mechanics. The subject aims to prepare students for effective communication in academic, professional, and civic contexts, and to support lifelong writing skills.