From 2026, schoolchildren in Lithuania will be able to choose Spanish as their first foreign language. According to schools, the interest in learning the language is high, but finding teachers is a challenge.
A Mexican teacher, who came to Lithuania a few years ago, teaches Spanish at Kaunas Maironis University Gymnasium. The school admits that finding the right teacher was not easy.
“[We used] all possible ways, including talking to colleagues, asking if they know somebody who is looking for such a job. We had to talk, entice, persuade, and we are very happy that we succeeded,” says Ramunė Balčiuvienė, the school’s deputy headmistress.
The Mexican teacher says he still receives plenty of job offers.
“I get job offers all the time, and schools are very actively looking for Spanish teachers, but I have to say no. I work full time, I don’t have time for extra lessons,” says Jesus Manuel Barragan Ferrer.
The popularity of Spanish started to grow in Lithuania after 2022, when Russia started its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The choice of Russian as a second foreign language in schools has dropped from 75 percent to 40 percent since then. Spanish as a second language was chosen by 10 percent of sixth graders this school year.
“The choice of Russian is decreasing; the choice of other languages is increasing, and Spanish is one of those languages,” said Dainius Žvirdauskas, president of the Association of School Managers and headmaster of Kaunas University of Technology Engineering Lyceum.
“Schools are facing challenges to find [teachers]. We have found one in our institution. As far as I know, the parents and students are satisfied, and we are going to try to invite that teacher to work elsewhere,” he added.
Spanish as a second language is now taught in eight municipalities in Lithuania. According to the Education Ministry, 29 Spanish teachers teach 1,500 students
From 2026, Spanish will also be available as a first foreign language from second grade onwards, with the possibility of taking a Spanish graduation exam.
“The biggest problem now is teachers because there are many students who want to learn, but we don’t have enough teachers, so we need to prepare them,” said Vigilija Žiūraitė, a Spanish lecturer at Vytautas Magnus University (VDU).
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Starting this year, Spanish teachers have been identified as a priority group for retraining studies. Pedagogy students can specialise in Spanish at Vilnius University and VDU. The number of applicants exceeded the funding available for these studies.
“When we announced that this programme was available, we had 70 candidates for retraining. Unfortunately, we had to select 27 people based on the funding we had,” said Žiūraitė of VDU.
VDU has been running a study programme in Spanish pedagogy since 2023, but no funding has been allocated for it, so students have to pay for their education themselves. At Vilnius University, it is possible to choose Spanish philology and combine these studies with pedagogy.
The ministry promises to reallocate places in study programmes if necessary.
“We should not imagine that Spanish will come like a tsunami, the change is gradual and therefore we cannot prepare or plan such a number of students so that people who graduate will have a job,” said Jolanta Navickaitė, a representative of the Education Ministry.
The ministry intends to reconsider funding for Spanish pedagogy studies and to increase funding for retraining programmes next year. In cooperation with the Spanish Embassy, courses for teachers will also be organised in Spain.
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