Review article

PLURILINGUALISM IN CROATIAN FOREIGN LANGUAGE POLICY

Nataša Košuta orcid.org/0000-0001-9150-6047 ; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci
Jakob Patekar orcid.org/0000-0001-7371-0087 ; Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia
Sanja Vičević Ivanović orcid.org/0000-0001-9146-8335 ; Greenfield Community School, Dubai, UAE

Abstract

The focus of this paper is the stance of Croatian language policy (LP) toward foreign languages (FLs) in the education system, which we call Croatian foreign language policy (FLP). By analysing current curricula, which define the place of FLs in primary and secondary school explicitly or implicitly, we gain insight into Croatian FLP in primary and secondary education. Furthermore, we place it in the context of European LP of promoting plurilingualism. With this in mind, we analyse data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics from the last ten years to establish the proportion (and popularity) of FLs in Croatian schools. We compare the inclusion of FLs in the Croatian education system with the inclusion of FLs in the curricula of other European countries. Based on the analyses, we find that the Croatian education system has moved away from the promotion of plurilingualism as one of the main goals of European LP. In the conclusion, we offer guidelines for developing Croatian FLP in view of embracing plurilingualism.

Keywords

Croatian foreign language policy; plurilingualism; foreign language in primary and secondary school

Hrčak ID:

205454

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/205454

Publication date:

1.7.2018.

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