engleski

Educational aspects of language, culture and tradition learning on the example of hereditary speakers of the Croatian language in Germany

When discussing changes caused by external migrations (which is the topic of this paper), language has a particular place. Meeting a new culture as a rule means meeting a new language. It is believed that the degree of assimilation of immigrants depends on the degree of mastery of the new language. Through the language, migrants accept other cultural patterns more easily and quickly, and because of that, numerous European countries have developed free standard language learning courses. However, the question of retaining and learning the mother tongue which represents a sort of permanent link to the country of origin is an important issue. This is particularly true in the case of so-called hereditary speakers i.e. the second or third generation of immigrants. Since Croatia is a small country with a large diaspora, the link to the country of origin is maintained through various educational programmes, particularly through the programmes of learning Croatian language, culture and traditions in countries where Croatian expatriates live. Due to the complex socio-political situation and centuries of living in communities in which Croatian language was marginalized, Croatians show particular sensitivity towards their mother tongue which they perceive as closely connected to their national identity. Due to this historic importance of the Croatian language and particular need for its maintenance and preservation, this paper analyses educational aspects of Croatian language teaching in Germany, where the greatest number of Croatian expatriates in Europe live. To provide a complete insight into the teaching of the mother tongue in Germany, on the one hand we will analyze the curriculum and determine how the teaching process was envisioned in theory. On the other hand, using the method of semi-structured interview conducted among the Croatian language and culture teachers in Germany, we will determine which educational goals are met in practice, what challenges are faced by the teachers, which methods prove to be the most effective and in which areas, what is the basic motivation of hereditary speakers for learning the mother tongue and what can be done to improve this education.

mother tongue study in the diaspora, Croatian language teaching in Germany, educational outcomes, hereditary speakers.

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