Abstract

 
 
 This paper describes the process of adapting the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN) to Yakut. A brief description of the Yakut language and its status in Russia is given after which the use of the Yakut version of MAIN in the Republic of Sakha (Russia) is described.
 
 
Highlights
Introduction and the context in whichYakut is spokenThe system of preschool and general education in the Sakha Republic includes the following forms of bilingual education: 1) the native language Yakut as the language of instruction in primary schools with subsequent transition to Russian; 2) Russian as the language of instruction and Yakut as a school subject (Androsova, 2019)
Yakutia occupies over 3 million km2 and has a population of one million people (The Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation)
Yakut is spoken by 450,140 people in Russia, 441,536 of whom live in the Sakha Republic (Ferguson, 2016)
Summary
The system of preschool and general education in the Sakha Republic includes the following forms of bilingual education: 1) the native language Yakut as the language of instruction in primary schools with subsequent transition to Russian; 2) Russian as the language of instruction and Yakut as a school subject (Androsova, 2019). Yakut is spoken by 450,140 people in Russia, 441,536 of whom live in the Sakha Republic (Ferguson, 2016). A recent research project, carried out by the Research Institute of National Schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), revealed a general decline in native language proficiency of Yakut children aged 5–9, and a prevalence of the use of Russian in informal communication and play activities (Androsova, 2016). The knowledge of the native language Yakut is decreasing in the population more generally, the number of children with speech problems is increasing, a mixed Yakut-Russian speech variety is becoming the norm even in adults, and the number of preschool age children who do not know their native language is increasing (Androsova, 2018). Families, in which neither the parents nor the grandparents can pass on their native language to their children and grandchildren, choose for their children to attend nurseries which have Yakut as the medium of education in the hope that their children will learn their native language there (Androsova, 2019)
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