Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/y26kecvgn9
Dragutin Domjanić and Zlata Kolarić-Kišur – Local Writers in Croatian Language Teaching in Primary Schools
Gordana Čosić
orcid.org/0009-0009-0606-8026
; OŠ Dragutina Domjanića, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Hrvatska
Abstract
Pupils come to school with the knowledge of their local idiom. In school, however, they meet the standard language and its rules for the first time. Nevertheless, apart from the tendency to teach pupils to master the standard language, Croatian language teaching should also strive to preserve the local idiom. The local principle is present in the methodology of Croatian language teaching, and it highlights the fact that the pupils should be educated through familiar contents and that various local vernaculars should be cherished, since they are the true treasure of Croatian language (Težak, 1997). Not only the standard language, but also Croatian dialects have their own place in Croatian language teaching; pupils should therefore be encouraged to the appropriate and correct usage thereof.
In the fourth grade of primary school, in science, pupils learn about the Republic of Croatia (National Curriculum, 2006). Connecting educational contents, this work will bring two regions – Croatian Prigorje (the area around Sveti Ivan Zelina) and Slavonia (the Požega area) – closer to pupils through the works by two writers: Zlata Kolarić-Kišur and Dragutin Domjanić. With her autobiographical stories and childhood reminiscences collected in the book Moja Zlatna dolina / My Golden Valley, Zlata Kolarić-Kišur has become a great local template for learning about the Požega area in general (including relations among people, events and accidents during childhood) and about the rich Požega vernacular and local customs.
Selected poems by Dragutin Domjanić, in which pupils can recognise the characteristics of the foothill region of Zelina, customs that make this area special and represent a valuable cultural heritage, just as does the kajkavian dialect in which the poems are written, are the second literary template, through which pupils learn about the beauty of their region at Croatian language lessons.
This objective of this paper is to study to what extent literary templates are adequate as a form for learning about the closer and wider local region, and how ready pupils are to learn from the contents in their close environment: familiar local areas and language. Finally, another objective of the paper is to check whether pupils, motivated by the literature written in their local vernacular, feel ready to write any form of literary text about their region – either in their local idiom or in Croatian standard language.
Keywords
kajkavian dialect; štokavian dialect; local literature; local principle; Croatian language teaching
Hrčak ID:
192968
URI
Publication date:
17.1.2018.
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