Values in Education and the Language of Education

On the second day of the “Reading Day -11” project, a panel discussion titled “Values in Education and the Language of Education” was held, presented by the founder director of Hedef Companies Group, Shamil Sadiq, and the director of Altun Publishing House, author of Azerbaijani language textbooks, Rafiq Ismayilov. The panel once again demonstrated that language is not merely a means of communication—it is a form of thinking, a carrier of culture, and a key indicator of the intellectual level of future generations.

Among the ideas voiced during the panel, particular attention was drawn to concerns about the current state of the Azerbaijani language.

It was noted that the current reality shows that students graduate from school with a very limited vocabulary of only 2–3 thousand words. However, the Azerbaijani language possesses a rich lexical potential, with a vocabulary of nearly 80,000 words capable of expressing subtle nuances. The reasons behind this contradiction were discussed.

It was stated that several key factors lie at the root of the problem. First of all, the weakening of reading culture and the decline in interest in reading directly affect language development. At the same time, the widespread use of simplified, borrowed, and semantically poor, abbreviated expressions in everyday communication overshadows the richness of the language.

The panel emphasized that existing attitudes toward children's language potential also create problems. It is often assumed that young children cannot comprehend complex and rich vocabulary. However, a child acquires the language they hear. If they are exposed to a rich and proper language, they will adopt and use it. In this regard, creating a language environment was highlighted as a key responsibility of teachers and parents.

The discussion also addressed forms