English Language as a Communication Bridge in Post War Kosova

In Kosova, after the war, Albanian and Serb youth have not had opportunity to learn the language of each other. They have communicated in English language and thus this language has expanded throughout the region from its previous function as a sign of prestige and necessity for people who want to get educated or work abroad to the main tool of communication between the two ethnicities still distanced from each other. In this study, the English language textbooks were analyzed in order to determine whether elements of the cultures of both ethnicities were included, Serbian and Albanian, also if the textbooks could be designed with many cultural elements from this region, so that both communities could use them at schools. Only official textbooks were analyzed, but not other teaching materials that might be additionally used by the teachers. Findings answered the study questions. They showed that there is no cultural elements of Albanians and very little of cultural elements of Serbians covered in English language textbooks and also that the textbooks can be designed with many cultural elements from this region, so that both communities can use them at schools. Serbian and Kosova curricula slightly differ from each other meaning the new designed textbooks could meet expectation of both curricula, Serbian and Kosova’s.


Introduction
In 1980s, multiculturalism was developed in Yugoslavia, even in Kosova, there was some independence in education and other aspects of social life. But it was 'quasi' independence since all educated Albanians were imposed to learn Serbian language that was main communication tool between Albanian and Serbian communities in order to get good jobs or success in career. In the 1990s, due to the political changes and economic and social crisis, Yugoslavia fell apart, in some areas by agreement, but Kosova gained its independence after NATO intervention. Due to hostility between Albanians and Serbs who live in Kosova there was no communication between them. There were some contacts but mostly business kind and they stopped when the deal was done. Once more, multiculturalism is the main principle of social organizing of all ethnicities that live in Kosova. Serbs and Albanians live again in parallel 'worlds'. They have parallel governing, parallel education system; parallel health care though officially both communities accepted Kosova government and participated in elections held in Kosova, furthermore they chose their representatives. There is little co-living of Albanians with Serbs, especially Kosova youth from both ethnicities know very little about each other. There were some attempts of various NGOs to create joint events, but they were conducted in small number and when the project finished, the communication stopped.
Since these days, Albanian and Serb youth do not speak the language of each other, English Language in these regions has expanded from its previous function as a sign of prestige and necessity for people who want to get educated or work abroad, to the main tool of communication between the two ethnicities still distanced from each other.
Though there have been very few attempts of communication at the workplace, seminars and meetings organized by foreign NGOs the youth of both ethnicities communicate in English language. It is understandable since both communities learn English language at school. In order to increase intercultural level of the youth and since the English language is the only communication tool between Albanian and Serb youth, the English language textbooks should contain a lot of intercultural elements such as food, clothes, hobbies, sports, places, their plans for the future, their opinion about contemporary events so that they can learn to know each other and to find mutual points of interest in order to develop communication between them by increasing of intercultural competences.
Developing intercultural competence in Kosova, a multicultural society is a challenging process. Though there were a few attempts with different programs conducted by various NGOs, there is a lack of a global program which would cover all aspects of Kosova social life. Kosova government is obligated according to its democratic policy to contrive relationship between the majority ethnic group, Albanians, and other minority ethnic groups such as Turks, Boshnjaks, Serbs, Gorans, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians. The Kosova government is obligated to develop and apply intercultural ideas in education taking in consideration contemporary knowledge about this issue. Though, due to the specific characteristics of this area, the already applied solutions from other countries cannot be applied in Kosova. Kosovars have to develop their own solution, based on culture, religion and national needs of all ethnicities. One of the important fields that can be beneficial in increasing of intercultural competence is education. Due the Kosova past, there were many wars and hostility between ethnicities that live there, it is still difficult applying lessons about other ethnicities in positive sense, but English language lessons which already contain many cultural elements of various ethnicities, and English language is politically neutral, so it can be used for increasing of intercultural sensitivity of Kosova youth. Coding guidelines for the themes of Big C culture taken and adapted from Jing Xiao [1] Politics, the activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society Economy, the relationship between production, trade and the supply of money in a particular country or region History, all the events that happened in the past, the past events concerned in the development of a particular place, subject Geography, the scientific study of the earth's surface, physical elements, divisions, products, population Literature/Art, literature: pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems and the use of imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or sculpture Social norms, the behavioral expectations and cues within a society or group. When and where it is appropriate to say certain things, to use certain words, to discuss certain topics or wear certain clothes, and when not to Education, A process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills Architecture, the art and study of designing buildings, the design or style of a building or buildings Music, Sounds that are arranged in a way that is pleasant or existing to listen to. People sing music or play it in instruments

Definition of the Main Concepts
Coding guidelines for the themes of Little c culture taken and adapted from Jing Xiao [1] Food, things that people or animals eat; a particular type of food Holiday, a day when most people do not go to work or school, especially because of a religious or national celebration Lifestyles, the way in which a person or a group of people lives and works Customs, an accepted way of behaving or of doing things in a society or a community

Values, beliefs about what is right and wrong and what is important in life
Hobbies, activities that you do for pleasure when you are not working Gestures/ body language, a movement that you make with your hands, your head or your face to show a particular meaning

Literature Review
Due to differences in culture and customs applied by particular communities, the developing of intercultural competence cannot be achieved in the same manner in different countries in this region, but according to their specific elements and preferences, as in this case, through the English language learning. There are several studies of interculturalism in Balkan region which can be useful for this study and can be used as guidance, but none of them can be applied as an ultimate answer.
Culture is often considered to be the fifth skill in language learning but as a term it is quite fluid, shapeless, amorphous and therefore difficult to define. However, cultural literacy or else cultural intelligence is a must in the 21st century. [2]. Moreover, O. Bilash [3] stated "Culture is an absolutely essential part of the second language class. Without incorporating culture regularly, students lack an important component of the language learning process. Culture is indispensable in order to fully understand a language, its nuances and appropriate uses. Aside from understanding the linguistic side of language, culture is a key component in giving the student a well-rounded education in the chosen language and provides a context for understanding one's own culture." In the article "Intercultural Communicative English Language Teaching" J. Djordjević [4] states that "When intercultural communication is integrated, the interaction between students' native and target cultures motivates students to communicate freely in the target language without any fear of mockery because their cultural diversity is acknowledged and legitimized." Furthermore she [4] continues "There are three levels of impact that could be identified as linguistic level (the students will learn English more successfully), sociolinguistic level (the level of cultural and intercultural awareness is raised), and psycholinguistic level (student motivation and engagement are enhanced)." According to A. Gutmann [5] "The lack of identification with institutions that serve public purposes, the impersonality of public institutions, is the price that citizens should be willing to pay for living in a society that treats us all as equals, regardless of our particular ethnic, religious, racial, or sexual gender. And therefore public institutions need not-indeed should not-strive to recognize our particular cultural identities in treating us as free and equal citizens." Kosovo institutions are striving to treat equally all citizens of Kosovo, but reality shows that not all citizens are accepting today's Kosovo as their own. Educating young generation by raising their intercultural sensitivity can change this situation toward better. Even the statement of H. Kavazovic [6], "Interculturalism means of finding valid conditions and incentives for the development of diversity. It also means to influence the development of self-concept, creating and deepening knowledge of itself." can be useful, though, in Kosovo circumstances due the past events, it can lead to nationalism and wish for separation. Creating and developing the self -concept in frame of joint living without deepening the knowledge of itself, but as equal citizens of the same country can be achieved in intercultural education "which respects, celebrates and recognizes the normality of diversity in all areas of human life. It sensitizes the learner to the idea that humans have naturally developed a range of different ways of life, customs and worldviews, and that this breadth of human life enriches all of us. It is education that promotes equality and human rights, challenges unfair discrimination, and promotes the values upon which equality is built." [6]. "A person with intercultural competence has a critical culture and evaluation orientation. [7] Furthermore, S. Pimorova [8] cited UNESCO definition of Interculturalism "Interacting with others, as well as having the skills required to draw upon both knowledge and attitudes when interacting with others from different cultures." [9] She continues "…a wide range of possibilities, from simple communication with people representing different cultures to peace throughout the world." [8]. According to Byram there are:  Intercultural Competence, the ability of one person to understand and interpret the other cultures without mastering a foreign language  Intercultural Communicative Competence: already requires international communication directly with the foreign language, with a possibility not only to participate in that communication itself, but also an intermediary to become between two / more cultures [7].
In addition, Alvino E. Fantini [10] defined Intercultural Communicative Competence as, "a complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself." "Multiculturalism tends to preserve a cultural heritage, while interculturalism acknowledges and enables cultures to have currency, to be exchanged, to circulate, to be modified and evolve. Understanding how cultures move around in a society, introduce social changes, and facilitate cultural integration requires an interdisciplinary approach: one that includes the obviously primary concerns of human rights, citizenship, work, education, health and housing, one that also develops inclusive policies and supports the development of creative expression." [11]. He continues further "Interculturalism provides the opportunity to address five significant issues which multiculturalism has simply ignored. These are crucial in the new context of globalization and super diversity and are set out below:  Identity as a dynamic concept  From 'race' to recognition of all other forms of difference  From national to global/international drivers of difference  New power and political structures  An inter-disciplinary approach" [11].
Assessing the intercultural competence according to Barrett et al. [12] should include:  Attitudes, valuing cultural diversity and a pluralism of views and practices.  Knowledge and understanding, comprehending the internal diversity and heterogeneity of all cultural groups.  Skills, involve using of a multi-perspective approach.  Actions, evaluating a person's ability to seek opportunities to engage with people who had different cultural orientations, and being able to interact and communicate with them appropriately, effectively, and respectfully. [12].
Martyn Barrett [12] stated that, "The multicultural policies which governments had devised are no longer appropriate to mediate this new era of globalization and do not contribute sufficiently to the promotion of community cohesion." He also claims that …"cultures are more fluid than ever before and the inter-connectedness of the world demands interaction between and within cultures to build trust and understanding, and that a high level of cultural navigational skills will be necessary to enable people to accept and endorse the change process." [12].
According to Banks [13] five dimensions of multiculturalism are: 1. Incorporating minorities in curriculum 2. Teachers help students to understand, investigate, and determine the implicit cultural assumptions and frames of reference and perspectives of the discipline they're teaching. 3. Equity pedagogy, teachers change their methods to enable kids from diverse racial groups and both genders to achieve. 4. Prejudice reduction. Notice that by the time we get to equity pedagogy and prejudice reduction, all teachers can be involved. Because all teachers-whether you teach math or physics or social studies-should work to reduce prejudice in the classroom. 5. Empowering school culture and social structure. Here I'm talking about looking not just at individual classrooms, but at the total school culture to see how to make it more equitable.
As Kapoor, Blue, Konsky, and Drager write, "the term intercultural sensitivity has been used frequently in the discussion of cross cultural adjustment, task effectiveness during assignments abroad, and the development and maintenance of good interpersonal relationships with culturally diverse others" [14] Davis and Finney claim that cross-cultural adaptability has four dimensions: 1. flexibility/openness, 2. emotional resilience, 3. perceptual acuity, and 4. personal autonomy" [15] Stefan M. [16] stated that "…life in a multilingual and multicultural Europe requires incorporating teaching intercultural competence in the curriculum of foreign languages at all educational levels. It is necessary to train foreign language teachers in order to conduct teaching of intercultural competence in an appropriate manner." If teachers become aware of the importance of cultural elements in language learning, they will include at least some of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the acquisition of intercultural competence." According to Stefan M. [16] "it is necessary that the trainings are adequately familiar with the theory and practice of acquisition of intercultural competences and to apply teaching methodology of integrating intercultural competence into the program of foreign language teaching. It is also very important that the program of individual and collective professional development for teachers of foreign languages as one of the topics include the theory and practice of intercultural competence". Additionally, the importance of education for rising of intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity were emphasized by Kavazović H. [6] claiming "… multi-ethnicity, multiculturalism and interculturalism are reality in many societies these days." She explains that multiculturalism means a plurality of cultures on the same area. Those different cultures with different languages live next to each other. According to Byram [7] "… success in learning English can be characterized as follows:  Ability to use English to cooperate and communicate in private, educational and working spheres of life;  Tolerant attitudes and respect for others;  Understanding of own cultural belonging;  Better self-understanding and strengthened identity;  Becoming educated, and socialized and more aware of language and culture.
There is a crucial question addressed by M. Byram [7], in teaching process and assessment "Should we emphasize knowledge of cultures and cultural practices or rather capacity and skills of conscious analysis of intercultural interaction?" Intercultural interaction can be developed only if there is at least basic knowledge of other culture, but also trust and mutual interest, elements which currently are missing in Kosova society. Fantini [7] argues that "For over five decades, the term 'intercultural competence' has not been absolutely defined, although several scholars have provided explanations, all of which have included references to global competence, international competence and multicultural competence." Byram's [17] definition provides a helpful explanation. He states that intercultural competence is "the capacity to engage with people of a cultural group and identity to which we do not belong, to understand them and to act together with them; it is not a matter of changing identity but rather of crossing group boundaries to see their culture from within, and to see our own culture from the other perspective."

Objectives
The English language textbooks were analyzed in order to determine if the elements of source cultures have been included. Furthermore, if there were common themes, categories and types of culture in both EL textbooks of the same year. The objective of this study would be using of the findings to design additional EL textbooks with mainly reading and listening tasks for each school year with many elements of source cultures.

This research was conducted with the following instruments
The content analysis was conducted in order to explore nature of categories and types of culture and tasks in English Language textbooks in-use at high schools in Kosova. There are two categories of English Language textbooks for high schools: Textbooks approved by

Ministry of Education of Serbia used at high schools attended by Serb students and textbooks approved by Ministry of Education of Kosova attended by Albanian, Turk and Bošnjak students.
Comparison of particular books for each school year in order to find common themes which can be used as initial point in EL course books designing

Analyzes of the EL Textbooks
Examining and analyzing of the textbooks was conducted on all units of the textbooks focusing on reading tasks (texts) and listening tasks (transcripts). Grammar was not analyzed since it was not relevant for this research.

Target Culture
American culture, Target USA Great Britain culture, Target GB Australian culture, Target Aust New Zealand culture, Target NZ

Findings
The example of examining and analyzing of Unit 3 of Headway Pre-Intermediate and Unit 1 of Improving English book for the first year, are shown below. All other textbooks and units were examined on the same way according to Jing Xiao [1].  New Headway Pre-intermediate consisted of 12 Units with 77 tasks, 66% of tasks covered target culture. While 45% of target culture contained elements of Big C culture, precisely, 29% of tasks contained social norms; economy and literature were presented each in 3% of tasks, while education, architecture, history and music were presented each in 2% of tasks. Little c culture was covered in 36% of tasks. Respectively, lifestyle 82% while hobbies, gestures, customs and values each 4%. There was only 1 task with source culture with Little c precisely, lifestyle of Turkish culture Furthermore, 18% tasks covered International cultures 36% of them covered Big C culture as economy 60%, respectively Belgium, Maldives and Germany each 20%. There were 64% tasks that covered Little c culture, all tasks were lifestyle of Amazon culture 33%, Canada 11% as well as Russia, France, Belorussia, Sweden and Germany. Additionally, there were 17% culture free tasks.
Improving English consisted of 9 Units with 62 tasks. Target culture was presented in 60% of tasks while Big C culture was covered in 46% of tasks, respectively, 41% social norms, 24% literature and geography each, architecture and music 6%; Little c culture was presented in 48% of tasks, precisely lifestyle 75%, holiday 20%, customs 5%. Source culture was covered in 6% tasks, Big C culture was covered in 25% of tasks covering geography of Serbia; Little c culture was presented in 75% of tasks, they all were Lifestyles of Serbian culture 67% and Bosnian culture 33%. International culture was presented in 8% tasks. Big C culture was covered in 40% of tasks, German history and Nepal geography each 50%; Little c culture was presented in 60% of tasks, all of them covered holidays in Spain, China and Japan each 33%. There were 26% Culture free tasks.
Though New Headway Pre-Intermediate textbook contained 12 while Improving English contained 9 Units, average number of tasks per unit was almost the same. New Headway contained average 6.4 tasks per unit and Improving English contained average 6.8 tasks per unit. In both textbooks target culture was significantly presented with Big C culture, precisely with social norms, literature, architecture, music while other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. Little c culture was presented in both textbooks with lifestyle, customs; other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. In both textbooks source culture was covered, but of different ethnicities. In New Headway Pre-Intermediate textbook was presented lifestyle of Turkish culture, while in Improving English were presented geography and lifestyle of Serbian culture and lifestyle of Bosnian culture. Both textbooks covered International culture, but only German culture was presented in both textbooks.
New Headway Intermediate consisted of 75 tasks: Target culture was included in 71% of the tasks; Big C culture was included in 41% of the tasks, precisely social norms 28%, literature 6%, art and music 4% each, education and economy 2% each; Little c culture was presented in 41% of the tasks, lifestyle 77%, food 10%, body language, customs and values 3%. Source culture was not presented in any of the tasks. International culture was presented in 8% of the tasks. Big C culture was included in 33% of the tasks, precisely Spain and China history 50% each; Little c culture is included in 67% of the tasks, 50%: lifestyle of Kenya and China as well as 50% Food of Italy and India. There were: 21% Culture free tasks.
English Language for 2 nd year contained 14 Units, with 76 tasks. Target culture was included in 84% of the tasks; Big C culture was covered 61% in social norms 31%, literature 28%, art 23%, history 8%, education 5%, music and economy 3% each; Little c culture was presented in 39% of the tasks covering lifestyle 84%, customs and values 8% each. Source culture was covered in 3% of the tasks; Big C culture was presented in Serbian education and Bosnian literature 50% each. International culture was presented in 8% of the tasks; Big C culture was presented in 33% of the tasks, precisely German economy and Spanish art 50% each; Little c culture was presented in 67% of the tasks as German, Canadian Swiss Japanese and Spanish lifestyle. Culture free tasks were included in 5% of the tasks.
New Headway Intermediate textbook contained 12, and English Language for 2 nd year, contained 14 Units. New Headway Intermediate contained average 6.25 tasks per unit and English Language for 2 nd year contained average 5.43 tasks per unit. In both textbooks target culture was significantly presented with Big C culture, precisely with social norms, literature, art, music, education and economy, while other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. Little c culture was presented in both textbooks with lifestyle, customs and values; other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. Only in English Language for 2 nd year textbook source culture was covered, education of Serbian culture and literature of Bosnian culture. Both textbooks covered International culture, but all were of them were from different cultures.
New Headway Upper-Intermediate consisted of 12 Units with 73 tasks: Target culture was included in 79% of the tasks; Big C culture was presented in 48% of the tasks as social norms 57%, literature 14%, history 11%, economy 7%, art, music and education 4%; Little c culture was presented in 41% of the tasks, actually lifestyle 97%, customs 3%. Source culture was not presented in any of the tasks. International culture was presented in 4% of the tasks; only Little c culture was presented as Indian, Sweden lifestyle 67% and Indian customs 33%. Culture free tasks were included 16%.
English language for the 3 rd year consisted of 9 Units with 56 tasks. Target culture was presented in 71% of the tasks. Big C culture was presented in 75% of the tasks as social norms 27%, literature 27%, history 23%, music 13%, art, education and economy 3% each; Little c culture was presented in 25% as lifestyle 80% and food 20%. Source culture was covered in 7% of the tasks. Big C culture was presented in 50% of the tasks as Serbian literature and art 50% each; Little c culture was presented in 50% of the tasks as Serbian lifestyle and food 50% each. International culture was presented in 5% of the tasks; only Little c culture was presented as French and Sri Lankan lifestyle 67% and German, Chinese, Russian, and Eskimo food 33%. Culture free tasks were presented 18%.
English language for the 4 th year contained 9 Units and 65 tasks. Target culture was included in 72% of tasks. Big C culture was presented in 36% of the tasks as literature 47%, social norms 15%, education and architecture 6% each; Little c culture was presented in 64% of the tasks as lifestyle 93%, holiday and customs 3% each. Source culture was included in 3% of the tasks; Little c culture was included in 2% of the tasks all as Serbian lifestyle. International culture was covered in 3% of the tasks; Little c culture was covered as French lifestyle and Japanese, Chinese and Czechoslovakian customs 50% each. There were also 23% culture free tasks.
New Headway Upper-Intermediate textbook was compared with both English language for the 3 rd year and English language for the 4 th year New Headway Intermediate textbook contained 12, while English Language for 3 rd year and English Language for 4 th year, contained each 9 Units. New Headway Upper-Intermediate contained average 6.08 tasks per unit, English Language for 3 rd year contained average 6.22 tasks per unit and English Language for 4 th year contained average 7.22 units. In all three textbooks target culture was significantly presented with Big C culture, precisely with social norms, literature, education, while only New Headway Intermediate textbook and English Language for 3 rd year covered history, economy, music and art, while other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. Little c culture was presented in all three textbooks with lifestyle, but customs was presented only in New Headway Intermediate textbook and English Language for 4 th year, other themes were presented in only one of the textbooks. Only in English Language for 3 rd year textbook and English Language for 4 th year source culture was presented in Serbian literature, art, lifestyle and food. All three textbooks covered International culture, but all were of them were from different cultures.

Conclusions
From the findings it could be concluded that in the EL textbooks recommended by Kosova Ministry of Education mainly Target Culture was presented (72%) in the reading and listening tasks, while there were very few (0.4%) elements of source cultures. Additionally there were mostly (47%) elements of Little c culture presented in EL textbooks while Big C culture was covered in 35% of the reading and listening tasks.
Also from the findings from the EL textbooks recommended by Serbian Ministry of Education it could be concluded that mainly 72% Target Culture was presented, while there were very few (4.6%) elements of source cultures. Unlike the EL textbooks recommended by Kosova Ministry of Education, in the EL textbooks recommended by Serbian Ministry of Education there were more elements of Big C culture (43%) than Little c culture (39.4%).
Furthermore, there were similar themes in EL textbooks of the same school year such as social norms, lifestyle, music, customs, literature etc. The average number of listening and reading tasks vary from 5.43 to 7.22 per Unit.
Additional EL textbooks can be designed using the facts from this study. Since the school year contains 9 months and Improving English, English Language for the 3 rd and 4 th year contained 9 units; EL textbooks should contain 9 Units. Average number of reading and listening tasks per unit should be around 6 as it is already in all studied EL textbooks. Category of the culture should be source culture, but texts should be written in English language. Type of the culture and themes should be justified to current types of the culture and themes, but with elements of source cultures. Moreover, the joint themes should be matter of discussion, but other themes presented in only one of the EL textbooks should be used for presentation and at the end of the units, there should be quizzes or questionnaires which would inspire students to learn about source cultures presented in those units.