Open AccessChinese as a Foreign Language in Slovene Upper Secondary Education and Outline of Curriculum Renewal
Author(s) -
Mateja Petrovčič
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta linguistica asiatica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.114
H-Index - 2
ISSN - 2232-3317
DOI - 10.4312/ala.8.1.27-37
Subject(s) - foreign language , curriculum , chinese as a foreign language , subject (documents) , set (abstract data type) , political science , second language , chinese language , linguistics , mathematics education , pedagogy , sociology , computer science , psychology , library science , philosophy , programming language
This paper presents the position of Chinese in Slovene educational system. In most European countries, including Slovenia, the first foreign language is introduced in the lower grades of primary education, and the second foreign language as a compulsory subject is added a few years later, when students enter upper secondary education (ISCED 3). At the same time, the third foreign language may be added to the regular courses. Schools choose languages from a set list, and Chinese is one of the languages that can be taught at the ISCED 3 level. It is not available as second foreign language yet, but Chinese can be selected as a third foreign language. Recently, new initiatives have emerged to endorse Chinese as a second foreign language. The last part of the paper briefly highlights language curricula within the gimnazija programs and proposes the renewal of Chinese curriculum with four modules that provide horizontal and vertical continuity from ISCED 2 to ISCED 6.