Second-Language Comprehension: Italian as an Optional Language Course in Croatian Schools in Istria and Kvarner

From a cognitive point of view, teaching to understand means teaching to activate in the most efficient way the “expectancy grammar” in order to achieve the capacity to grasp and link the logical thread that links up speech. This article evaluates level A1 of the receptive abilities in three stages of learning Italian as an optional language. The choice to analyse the same level of linguistic competence was dictated by the hypothesis that the Italian language teaching in Croatian educational tends to contain only the basic competencies. This fact could be influenced by the changes in the demographic structure of the population in the area of Istria and Kvarner, which, due to the constant flux of the population, have a negative impact on the indigenous Italian population. In the article, we will analyse a complex corpus of the comparative data (that includes 1 051 participants) which resulted from the analysis of reading and listening and is based on the level of study and the sex of the interviewees.

Journeys of Pictures and Words: Teaching the Italian Language in Primary School with Picturebooks and Silent Books

Picturebooks (and silent books, with images only and without words) are children’s books commonly considered suitable only for young children of pre-school age or in the earliest years of schooling. For this reason, picturebooks are mostly neglected in teaching in higher educational stages. Nevertheless, the educational potential of picturebooks is considerable, especially in the later years of primary school. For example, in Italian language teaching, they can be extraordinary tools for planning didactic projects that allow instructors to integrate the teaching/learning of all linguistic skills and of metalinguistic reflection, which are the main elements in the curricula related to Italian language teaching in Italian-speaking countries and contexts.
The article aims to show the validity of the above claim by establishing a possible classification of picturebooks into six distinct types and by describing some didactic projects and activities developed in primary schools in Canton Ticino (Italian Switzerland). Focusing on the pleasure of reading engaging stories and on motivation, picturebooks enable teachers to pursue ambitious and challenging goals, such as creating one or more new picturebooks inspired by the one read initially or transposing a picturebook into a theatre script. At the same time, picturebooks enable students to develop their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.

The study was conducted on 122 first-year engineering students at the tertiary level to explore the students’ perceptions of themselves as readers and the concept of reading. Data collected by open-ended brainstorming interviews with the students were classified according to the themes and presented in tables. The result of the study demonstrates that most of the students at this level wish to be good readers since they feel that reading improves their personality, word power and employability skills. The presented study aimed at finding the opinions of young adults because in the present age, more emphasis is put on the role of the learner in the language learning process. As language learning is primarily a learner-oriented activity, learners’ preferences influence their learning. Interest on the part of the reader plays a vital role in developing the habit of reading. Hence, learners’ needs and interests should be taken into consideration for effective learning and teaching to take place. Thus, the study shows that it is appropriate to understand students’ conception of reading for promoting their interest in reading and enhancing their reading skills.

Russian & Polish Competition in Struggle for Ukrainian Peasantry of Right-Bank Ukraine in the late nineteenth and early twenty centuries

The article is dedicated to Polish & Russian competition carried out with the help of the printed word and its influence on the formation of national identity of the Ukrainian peasantry living at the Right-Bank Ukraine in the late nineteenth and early twenty centuries.

The study presents the results of PIAAC measurements and focuses on teachers as mediators of education and their achievements in literacy and skills in reading and writing at home and at work. Multiple regression analysis is used in the research to examine the influence of independent variables - earnings, age, gender and reading index - on the level of teachers’ literacy. Values of the coefficient of determination vary from 0.05 (Poland) to 0.23 (Belgium). The results are compared at the country level and show the position of Slovak teachers in these measurements. Also, they highlight the most successful countries and point to the countries with positions similar to Slovakia. Based on the research findings, it can be stated that the higher level of literacy is associated with a higher level of writing and reading activities at work more than at home. An important finding is also the result that in all countries, the literacy level declines with age.

Historically there have been inequities in access to school in South Africa. Differences in languages have also contributed to difficulties. In the present study a Grade One class was observed for a term as they entered formal schooling. Cultural psychology was used as the method, developing a description of the context and narrowing the observations to ten and then five children. Five school homes visits were done and one of these case studies is described here. Given the socio-economic literacy context, the child did extremely well, being self-motivated and supported by an aware single parent. The usefulness of the Cultural Psychological method is described.

The purpose of this study conducted according to the survey model is to utilize the “Scale of Attitudes Towards Reading” developed by Ünal (2006) and thereby assess the reading attitudes of elementary school students based on different variables. The working group consists of 746 students of the fourth and fifth grades of official elementary schools attached to central Niğde province. In the light of the data obtained the results show that while students have a positive attitude to reading, there are meaningful differences in their reading attitudes based on the schools they attend, their gender and their regular reading habits, while their reading attitudes based on grade levels and their parents’ level of education do not show a meaningful difference.