Learning Croatian from a non-native speaker and its
benefits!
By Angela Madjer, a Chicago Gal and RIT Croatia alumna
Croatian language is a challenging language to learn. For
international students coming to Croatia to pursue their undergraduate degree,
living and studying in a country where you are unfamiliar with the native
language can be challenging and frustrating at times. Yet at RIT Croatia, the
International Student Club (ISC) run by Emily Arnold, a fourth-year student,
provides students the opportunity to learn and better understand the Croatian
language.
How is this Croatian class different from others and who teaches
the class?
Emily Arnold: "What makes the Croatian class special, you
ask? It is being delivered by Dr. Peter Schmidt, who has been a professor at
RIT Croatia for 11 years. Professor Schmidt moved from Germany to Croatia over
10 years ago and during that time has mastered the language. The funny thing is
that he actually teaches accounting, not languages, and yet he does an amazing
job explaining the ins and outs of the Croatian language. As a non-native, he
can strongly relate to students and their questions about Croatian.”
Learning the language from a native speaker can be quite a
barrier from the beginning and this is for many reasons. Not only will a native
speaker not understand many difficulties that a foreigner may have, but having
an individual that has mastered the language and is not a native speaker can be
the most beneficial way to learn the difficult Croatian language. Having an
individual that can relate to students given that he also once started where
his students were, and needed to learn the language from the beginning, gives
the professor an advantage to better understand his students and what is
challenging for them.
Have students been responsive and is the class improved
their Croatian language skills?
Emily Arnold: "Throughout the course, students are able to
better understand the foundation of the Croatian language when it comes to
grammar and vocabulary. It has been evident that students that were present
during the lecturers have increased their knowledge in many aspects of the
language such as "padeži and glagoli” (cases and verbs). Throughout the
semester, they were able to put their new language skills to practice and use
them in many situations making their time in Croatia the perfect test to try
out their new language skills.”
Iskusi
