Starting September 1, 2026, Russian schools will reduce the number of English lessons for students in grades 5–7 from three to two per week. This follows a draft order by the Russian Ministry of Education. The total amount of instruction will fall by about 100 hours, from 510 to 408. The ministry says the change is meant to optimize students’ workload while keeping foreign language study mandatory.
Teachers interviewed by the outlet object to the measure. Marina, an English teacher with 27 years of experience, says grades 5–7 are when the foundation is built for later grammar and academic writing. In her view, all teaching methods depend on regular lessons, and with only two classes a week, long gaps force teachers to spend much of each session reviewing old material.
“The minimum number of hours per week is three, and five is better. When there is a 3–4 day gap between lessons, progress stops,” Marina says.
The article also cites work by Eric Lenneberg, Stephen Krashen, and findings related to Hermann Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve. According to the piece, reducing practice time weakens language acquisition and pushes classes toward mechanical text translation. Under CEFR standards and data from Cambridge University Press, teenagers need 530–680 hours of guided learning to reach B1, while the new plan leaves 408 hours, which the interviewed teachers say is closer to A2.
Teachers also point to a lack of quality materials and restricted access to foreign resources. Kira, who has taught for more than 25 years, says blocks make it harder to use BBC materials and YouTube videos, while compulsory assignments in the Moscow Electronic School system often imitate learning rather than improve it.
The reduction comes alongside the introduction of a new mandatory subject, “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia”, which the explanatory note says should shape students’ worldview around traditional values and examples of heroes of the “special military operation.” A textbook for the course is being developed by Moscow State Pedagogical University with the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church, including Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov).