Linguistics and Literature Studies Vol. 4(1), pp. 1 - 7
DOI: 10.13189/lls.2016.040101
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The Mother Tongue and the Foreign Language Correlation in the Primary School in Croatia


Emina Berbic Kolar *, Tanja Duric
Faculty of Educational Sciences in Osijek, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek, Croatia

ABSTRACT

The paper provides an account of the research on the acquisition of English as the first foreign language and Croatian as the mother tongue among young learners in Croatia. Children become polyglot at the earliest age; they start going to school by speaking their home idiom, and then they learn standard Croatian and the foreign language. English and Croatian, belonging to different language groups, feature different linguistic features, but they still have mutual aspects that can enhance language learning. This hypothesis is examined in the research by observing English and Croatian classes and school success. There are external and internal factors that influence language acquisition, in the paper pupils' attitudes towards language learning are emphasized. The hypothesis is that pupils who are positively oriented towards language learning are more successful when acquiring the language. Research results show that acquisition of both English and Croatian at young age is more or less equally successful, while it decreases in higher grades. It has been indicated that the positive attitude toward language learning can affect successful language acquisition. Therefore it is important to constantly research ways to improve language competence and performance. The school as an important factor has a major role in it.

KEYWORDS
Mother Tongue, Foreign Language, Croatian, English, Younger Pupils

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Emina Berbic Kolar , Tanja Duric , "The Mother Tongue and the Foreign Language Correlation in the Primary School in Croatia," Linguistics and Literature Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1 - 7, 2016. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2016.040101.

(b). APA Format:
Emina Berbic Kolar , Tanja Duric (2016). The Mother Tongue and the Foreign Language Correlation in the Primary School in Croatia. Linguistics and Literature Studies, 4(1), 1 - 7. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2016.040101.