Foreign language teaching and secondary vocational training in Serbia during interwar period: 1918-1941

• Main Author: Stikić Biljana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pedagoško društvo Srbije i Institut za pedagogiju i andragogiju Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu 2015-01-01
• Series: Nastava i Vaspitanje
• Subjects: foreign language for specific purposes; secondary education; Serbia
• Online Access: http://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0547-3330/2015/0547-33301502357S.pdf
• ISSN: 0547-3330; 2560-3051

The paper presents an analysis of foreign language teaching, primarily French, from the aspect of language for specific purposes (LSP) performed in state secondary vocational schools in the interwar period in Serbia. Teaching curricula, relevant documents and French textbooks from that period were analyzed. The educational authorities of the time still did not use terminology by which the teaching of a foreign language would be denoted as a separate area of general foreign language, but curricular contents show that it did have these characteristics to a considerable extent. When the French language in comprehensive schools is considered curricular requirements were to orient teaching, in the last two years of teaching, near the end of the examined period, towards professions and introduce specific terminology and texts in the fields of industry, agriculture and craftsmanship, but only few textbooks supported these instructions. Curricular LSP contents in commercial and technical schools were precise and gradually introduced, so that in final years foreign language teaching had the characteristics of LSP supported by highly specialized textbooks. In teacher colleges LSP French was taught in final years using a selection of pedagogic themes and appropriately revised textbooks containing texts from traditional and contemporary pedagogy and psychology.