Adapting Methods of Teaching Romanian as a Foreign Language to the Target Group
Adapting Methods of Teaching Romanian as a Foreign Language to the Target Group

Summary/Abstract: The increasing number of foreigners interested in learning Romanian for various reasons (whether they come to study in Romania, they come to work in Romania or they settle permanently in this European country) had required creating and teaching a new domain: “Romanian language as a foreign language”. Thus, Romanian language teachers have found themselves in the position to teach their mother tongue from a completely different perspective, something not easily achieved. And, from this viewpoint, many have rightly asked themselves about the magic formula by which the foreigner, regardless of country of origin, age, sex, occupation, social status or religion, could learn Romanian quickly and easily. A recipe to guarantee full success, in our view, has not been found yet. Therefore, in this article we have tried to analyze how different methods of teaching Romanian language must suit the different types of course participants and their level of knowledge of Romanian. Thus, we described methods such as exposure, conversation, linguistic analysis, discovery, problem solving, demonstration, working with the textbook, teaching game, teamwork, brainstorming and exercise method. The conclusion we have reached is that, regardless of how homogeneous a group of course participants may be, the use of a single teaching method, even if it is the most suitable for the target group, will not be able to guarantee full success; therefore, we rely on the premise that only the combination of several methods of teaching Romanian as a foreign language can bring the desired result, namely the acquiring by non-native speakers of a new language that they need to understand and speak.

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