There is little information regarding revival efforts or Evenki's status now. In 1998, the language was taught in preschools and primary schools and offered as an option in 8th grade. The courses were regarded as an 'ethnocultural component' to bring Evenki language and culture into the curriculum. Instruction as a second language is also available in the Institute of the Peoples of the North at Herzen University (the former St. Petersburg State Pedagogical University). In the 1980s, Christian missionaries working in Siberia translated the Bible into Evenki and a Christian group called the Global Recordings Network recorded Christian teaching materials in Evenki.