WHAT SKILLS DO FOREIGN LANGUAGES TEACHERS NEED IN THE 21ST CENTURY? AN INTERCULTURAL CONFIGURATION

Author(s): Sebastian Chirimbu,Anca Dejica-Carțiș ,Elena Savu / Language(s): English Issue: 7/2014

Reforming the educational institution for accommodating intercultural values, which are permanently in its current programmes and methods, cannot be achieved only through the full and unconditional commitment of the teaching staff as agents of social change. Through their work, teachers fulfill two fundamental responsibilities: transmission of information and the formation of educated individuals. From this point of view, the new profile of the teacher of foreign languages, i.e. in intercultural configuration, does not essentially differ from the portrait of the professional didactics specialist -an open mind to new, ready to experiment with alternative teaching tools that encourage individuals to attain the goals set for learning, able to initiate communication but also concerned with his / her own professional development.

Pronuncia e grafia tra L1 e L2: alcune considerazioni sugli errori ortografici di studenti slovenofoni

Author(s): Helena Bažec / Language(s): Italian Issue: 1/2019

This paper proposes a model for the analysis of spelling mistakes that Slovene speakers make in written production in Italian as FL/L2. This model is based on a grid produced by other authors and adapted for the specific needs of the present research. The grid comprises four categories: phonological errors, non-phonological errors, phonetic errors, and punctuation errors. Each category is further divided into sub-categories. The aim of the research is to discover which category yields more errors and what their origin is, in order to propose scientific bases for improvements in teaching Italian to Slovene students. The conclusion is that students and teachers have to deal with first-language interference as well as negative transfer from English as FL/L2, another foreign language that students acquire, and universal strategies comprising generalisation, simplification, and regularisation.

Colpa dell’interferenza: analisi contrastiva di errori negli scritti di studenti universitari slovenofoni di italiano

Author(s): Jana Kenda / Language(s): Italian Issue: 1/2019

This contribution aims to address and show the crucial points of mother-tongue interference in the writing of Slovene-speaking learners of Italian. The issue is presented on the basis of a comparison between the language rules in Slovene and Italian in relation to the difficulties encountered in concrete contexts. The goal of this article is to identify the hypotheses underlying learners’ language choices. The article illustrates the mistakes made in the choice of verbal paradigms (consecutio temporum; doubts regarding choosing between the perfect and the imperfect and the explicit and implicit forms; some passive constructs; and the subjunctive) as well as the difficulties in using articles and certain adjectives and pronouns (possessive, demonstrative, and relative ones). The work also contains documented and commented examples of errors in the use of the comma and cases of interference that can be attributed to “false friends” (errors of spelling and of a morphological-syntactic, derivational, and lexical nature). The results of this analysis confirm the need for a conscious integration of direct teaching, noticing linguistic mechanisms, and a focus on form in learning processes in order to regulate the input, facilitate understanding, and stimulate natural processes of acquisition.

La litterature algerienne d'expression francaise comme vecteur de l'identite culturelle dans les manuels de FLE

Author(s): Guerid Khaled / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2019

Teaching French in Algeria has witnessed considerable changes in the process of school reforms over the last few years. These are due to the evolution of methodological assumptions and pedagogical orientations, but also and above all to school policy which determines the status of French taught in schools and its objectives. These changes seem to have a direct impact on the contents of the textbook in the wake of the Algerianization dynamics; the latter aims to ease Algerian learners of French into Algerian texts written in French in the national curriculum. This choice celebrates the Algerian cultural and literary legacy in view of implementing as well as consolidating the Algerian national identity at all grades of schooling. In such a process, these measures meet the demands of school policy. The current paper undertakes to identify the extent to which Algerian texts written in French are included in the textbooks. It is within the scope of the paper to have a close look at the shortage observed in the process of the Algerianization of the didactic aids. Furthermore, it is expected that the paper will help to better understand the contribution of these aids to the materialization of the transmission of the cultural and identity values.

Intercomprehension écrite et traduction : apprendre le roumain comme langue étrangère dans le projet ARTLINGO. Étude de cas (I)

Author(s): Nora-Sabina Mărcean / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2019

Learning a foreign language by means of artistic practice goes beyond adapting to an informal academic environment, reaching into the realm of activating new strategies and different cognitive resources. Within this context, the intuitive intercomprehension of the written text, together with its translation, represent the foundation of the first theater arts workshops of the ARTLINGO project, leading, at the same time, to improved language skills and playing a major role in establishing the fundamentals of intercomprehension in Romance languages.

The Unfortunate Divorce of English Grammar from English Literature

Author(s): Geoffrey K. Pullum / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2015

The disciplines of literature and linguistics have separated: it is possible for a student to earn a degree in English literature without having any linguistic expertise, and more specifically without knowing anything significant about the grammar of the English language. In part this is because of the increasing professionalization and scientific orientation of linguistics. But here I focus on a different issue: that even highly educated scholars of English typically hold mostly mistaken beliefs about English grammar. Education in the subject ossified more than 200 years ago. First, unsupportable claims about the structure of the language — artifacts of indefensible analyses — are still widely assumed; and second, ‘ghost rules’ that never correctly characterized the language are still commonly trusted. To illustrate the insupportable analyses I consider the definitions of lexical categories like noun or verb, the analysis of the infinitival marker to, and the misclassification of prepositions. To illustrate ghost rules I discuss split infinitives, restrictive which, genitive antecedents for pronouns, stranding of prepositions, and singular antecedents for they. I conclude with a brief plea for reunification of literary and linguistic studies.

Kontinuirano upućivanje na žive i nežive entitete u pisanom diskursu

Author(s): Jelena V. Šajinović Novaković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 11/2015

The aim of this paper is to analyse referential continuity in written discourse. Holding a view that referring to an entity depends on the nature of the entity itself, we analysed reference to animate and inanimate entities separately. One of the characteristics of language is its referential function which helps us not only to identify referents but to refer to them continuously using a wide spectrum of referring expressions from unambiguous noun phrases and repetition to personal pronouns and demonstratives. The efficiency of establishing and maintaining referential continuity is assessed with the ability of readers to identify and track referents in text. The text we used for the analysis is a narrative story in English and Serbian.

La compétence de production écrite en FLE dans la perspective de la linguistique textuelle : l’analyse des productions écrites d’apprenants serbophones de niveau A2

Author(s): Jelena Ristanović / Language(s): French Issue: 11/2015

This paper analyses essays of Serbian-speaking French learners from the perspective of textual linguistics. Relying on the research from this discipline, the author first defines writing skills in a foreign language. Based on that theoretical background, the author then analyses the essays of A2-level learners attending courses at the French Institute in the city of Banja Luka in order to determine what difficulties they experience while writing a letter to a friend.

Using Songs in EFL Classroom – A Case Study –

Author(s): Adnan Bujak,Senad Mujičić / Language(s): English Issue: XVII/2019

The topic of this paper, using songs in EFL classroom, is something that teachers come across on a daily basis in their EFL classrooms. However, not much attention was devoted to the proper use of songs in foreign language classroom. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to present the result of a research done in a primary school “Kaćuni” in central part of Bosnia regarding the proper use and effect of songs on acquisition of English language. Subjects in the research were students of different age groups from grade 3 to grade 8. The types of songs and poems used in the research from range from made-for-EFL to popular songs. The research results suggest that songs as a tool for language learning and teaching are a powerful tool which is underappreciated and unused sufficiently in EFL classroom.

Role and Importance of English Language Usage in the Banking Sector in Serbia

Author(s): Milan D. Živković,Sonja P. Šuković / Language(s): English Issue: 20/2019

The objective of this paper is to gain insight into the importance of English in conducting business efficiently in the banking sector. Also, the conclusions have been made after consideration of relevant research as well as its comparison with research conducted in certain banks in Serbia. The conclusions address the level of usage of the English language in this sector and the opinions that employees have regarding it. Due to the development of e-commerce and daily use of the Internet, the English language has become lingua franca in the banking sector. Also, in order to operate effectively and communicate between banks of different countries, it is important to begin with English language learning in a timely manner. In this paper, the emphasis is primarily placed on written correspondence since it is highly present in banking operations. Employees who perform a more complex type of business and who use English every day should improve their writing skills by gaining greater familiarity with, and putting into use more frequently, certain banking terms and initials/acronyms in the English language.

Can a Foreign Accent Brand a Nation? Serbian EFL Learnersʼ Perspective

Author(s): Danica M. Jerotijević Tišma,Dejan M. Karavesović / Language(s): English Issue: 20/2019

This paper explores whether Serbian EFL learners can recognise which nationality stands behind a particular foreign accent, with the aim to investigate if a foreign accent could be regarded as a nation’s specific brand. Having in mind that a foreign accent assumes the L1 phonetic and phonological features that occur while speaking an L2, we found it interesting to analyse if it was possible for Serbian EFL learners to “see through” the foreign accent and recognise the mother tongue of the speaker who speaks with the particular accent. The empirical study consisted of a quasiexperiment incorporating a testing procedure during which Serbian EFL students had the task to circle the country from which the speaker whose recording they had just heard came from. A short survey about the testing followed the main procedure. The chosen population of students included both students with prior formal knowledge of English international varieties, as well as students who were laypersons in this regard. The obtained results were statistically analysed and showed the strikingly high percentage of correct recognition of a speaker’s national descent, especially within the group of students who took the Varieties of English course taught at the Faculty of Philology and Arts in Kragujevac. However, taking into consideration that the other group of students likewise had a relatively high percentage of foreign accent recognition, we are led to conclude that a foreign accent can indeed be regarded as a specific brand of a nation. Since our findings show that accurate accent identification is positively correlated to the estimated degree of foreign accentedness, the study is also relevant in its pedagogical aspects as the results point to foreign language learners’ diverse perceptions and are indicative of their knowledge of linguistics in general.

Критичка анализа представа људских тела у дискурсу функционалне хране

Author(s): Jelena M. Josijević,Jelena R. Danilović Jeremić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 20/2019

This paper analyses human body presentations on the packaging samples of functional foods for adults from the perspective of critical discourse analysis (CDA). The theoretical foundation for this study is Norman Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model of CDA which proposes CDA analyses to be conducted on three levels: descriptive, interpretative and explanatory. The analysis focuses on illustrations as indispensible companions to the text and powerful semiotic signs laden with manipulative potential. Our corpus contains 58 different products of 40 manufacturers from Serbia and abroad, with 108 packaging samples and 131 individuals depicted. The analysis has revealed that visual presentations of human bodies in functional food discourse illustrate the target consumer population in terms of its demographic characteristics. Moreover, they mirror primary motivation factors and expectations of consumers. Human representations have been found to be a powerful discursive tool which reflect the social reality, in that they illustrate a typical functional food consumer. At the same time, they produce a powerful impact on social reality given that they strive to attract target consumer groups.

Na šta nam ukazuju gramatičke greške studenata?

Author(s): Jovica M. Mikić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 20/2019

Review of: Babić, Željka (2018), Međujezički kolovrat. Analiza grešaka, transfer, vrednovanje, Banja Luka: Univerzitet u Banjoj Luci, Filološki fakultet.

Evaluativni pridjevi u predavanjima iz lingvistike na Univerzitetu Crne Gore

Author(s): Branka Živković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 10/2014

One of the key features of academic discourse is evaluation, a discourse category which in university lectures reflects a speaker’s attitude towards the propositional content. In this paper it is examined through a category of evaluative adjectives which has proved to signal the most salient aspects of university lecture discourse. The analysed corpus is composed of lectures in linguistics recorded at two organisational units of the University of Montenegro – the Faculty of Philosophy and the Institute of Foreign Languages. As a starting point in categorising evaluative adjectives we use a semantic division introduced by Swales and Burke (2003). The analysis also focuses on outlining the frequency of the examined categories of adjectives obtained with the help of AntConc 3.2.4.w soft ware and provides the most typical illustrations followed by a detailed discussion. The results achieved have demonstrated that the most frequent adjectives are those of relevance. On the contrary, Swales and Burke’s study has shown that adjectives of size dominate their coprus of American lectures. Furthermore, our analysis has revealed that centralised forms of all the analysed categories prevail over their polarised realisations. The results point to a conclusion that although evaluation represents a constituent part of the university lecture genre, it is not strongly emphasised, on the contrary, it acquires a more neutral dimension.

Kontinuirani profesionalni razvoj nastavnika stranih jezika – stanje, potrebe i perspektive u obrazovnom sistemu Crne Gore

Author(s): Dragiša Vukotić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 10/2014

The main purpose of this paper was to explore the area of continuing professional development for foreign language teachers, with a particular focus on the educational system in Montenegro. We briefly discussed the reasons for this kind of teacher education, and then we put a particular stress on research. The target group for the survey were in-service foreign language teachers, teaching in Montenegrin primary, elementary, secondary and high schools. The survey aimed not only to show the present situation in the area of continuing professional development for foreign language teachers in Montenegro, but also to help us identify the needs and give a possible projection of perspectives in the Montenegrin educational system, when foreign language teacher education is concerned.

ON THE AFFECTIVE COMPONENT IN WRITTEN TRANSLATION TASKS

Author(s): Nejla Kalajdžisalihović,Ervin Kovacevic / Language(s): English Issue: XII/2019

The present paper discusses the translation process as a means of understanding how the affective component may enhance critical thinking skills and linguistic research when finding translation equivalents. The theoretical framework of the paper is based on Bally’s (1905) understanding of translation as a medium for acquiring a better insight into the affective in translators’ personalities, their knowledge of grammar and general knowledge (Collombat 2006) and Halliday’s (1978) approach to text as a complex system (1978). In the context of the translation classroom, the value of critical thinking, critical reading, and general knowledge emerges owing to the fact that not only peculiar aspects of grammar, semantics and syntax may be reached through the talk-alouds (Bernandini 2002), but also the affective component, often an important factor in the decision-making process. The paper explores whether the texts containing the affective component defer the completion of in-class translation tasks in a corpus comprised of two sets of texts where each set contains two excerpts of proximal (‘set 1’) or varying (‘set 2’) readability scores.

TRANSLATION AS PART OF EXPLICIT VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION

Author(s): Violeta Negrea / Language(s): English Issue: XII/2019

It has been recently assumed that vocabulary instruction needs more focused attention for passive and active knowledge development. Our spot class research grinds the part that translation plays in the language teaching process for the progress of students’ vocabulary skills, as part of passive and active knowledge development. The article explores and suggests a practical four-stage vocabulary teaching and learning framework: selection, definition, complex translation and exposure/use as a technology asset to cognition development. The qualitative analysis of the applied vocabulary acquisition through translation aims at adding value to specific language instruction and it vows, explicitly, for the improvement of the capacity of the Romanian students in economics to transfer knowledge passively and produce it actively.

Iulia-Corina Dobrotă (2017) Aspects of Metaphor in Economic Discourse, Galați: Europlus, 2017, 202 p. ISBN 978-606-628-181-2

Author(s): Carmen Opriţ-Maftei / Language(s): English Issue: XII/2019

KOLOKACIJE U NASTAVI INOJEZIČNOGA HRVATSKOG

Author(s): Helena Burić,Josip Lasić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 5/2012

The modern methods of teaching Croatian as a second or a foreign language are focused mainly on the communicational approach to learning. The communicational approach in teaching foreign languages sets the students and their needs at the centre of the teaching process. The lexical approach is becoming the focus of the teaching process and language learning is shifted from the traditional conception of language as a set of grammatical rules to the assumption that language consists of lexical components or multi-member lexical units that can be adopted as one word. Collocations occupy a central place among these lexical circuits. It is very important to recognize them and to utilize their potential in the development of all communication competence in teaching Croatian as a second or a foreign language. This paper defines collocations as extremely important lexical units in foreign language learning and explains the most common structural type of bonds within the collocations through a list of collocations collected in three textbooks for the Croatian language learning.

LE TERRITOIRE APPRENANT : ESSAI D’APPLICATION DANS LE SYSTÈME ROUMAIN D’ENSEIGNEMENT

Author(s): Cristiana-Nicola TEODORESCU,Daniela Dincă / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2019

Stemming from the reflection on the establishment of a learning territory for the Voltaire high school students, our paper proposes to take a critical look at the possibility of the Children Club of Craiova to apply for this status through a questionnaire aimed, on the one hand, at the place of extracurricular activities and, on the other hand, at the role of this non-formal educational institution in their activities. The conclusion is that the Romanian school still remains a self-sufficient space where students have at their disposal all the educational devices for learning and training according to their needs and expectations. In addition, extending these activities outside of school becomes a timid attempt since there are few public devices available to students, and the private system remains an exclusive option for parents who must pay fees for courses preparing students for national exams and courses dedicated to the personal growth of their children.