engleski

European language policies and foreign language education – Example of Croatia

European countries, in comparison to Australia, seem to be doing much more when it comes to learning foreign languages in schools from an early age. While it has been noted that the percentage of bilingual speakers in Australia is slowly rising (according to the Census in 2001, 2006 and 2011) ; only 10 % of Australian Year 12 students include language other than English among their course choices. On the contrary, the average European pupil has at least one mandatory foreign language among courses during his/her mandatory education, often starting from a very early age and usually learning the same language throughout his/hers school age. In some European countries more than one foreign language is obligatory at secondary level and it has been recommended by the Council of Europe for all member countries to follow “a mother tongue + 2 objective”. Being one of the newest members of the European Union but historically and culturally always having strong ties with the rest of the European continent, Croatia shared European educational traditions even before becoming a member of the EU. Croatian language education today therefore reflects both the history of European language learning and EU language policies. Using the Croatian model as an example, the author questions the reasons why foreign languages as part of the school curricula seem to be so much more important in Europe than in Australia and discusses the possibilities for improvement with respect to deep approach to language learning.

language learning, foreign language, language policies, Croatian language

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