In the master's thesis, we deal with the issue of the implementation of the recommendations and directions of the European Union in Slovenian primary school foreign language policy. For quite some time, knowledge of languages has been highly valued in the world and is one of the fundamental skills that contributes to better competitiveness and economic success, something that the European Union is also aware of.
For many years, The European Union has been actively guiding its member countries and encouraging their citizens to know at least two foreign languages in addition to their mother tongue. This goal is part of the wider enforcement of the common European education policy, which leads to the establishment of the common European educational space, the result of a process called the Europeanization of education. In the assignment, we were interested in the extent to which the Slovenian national policy in the field of foreign language policy follows the trends and recommendations of the European Union.
With the help of the review and analysis of the key documents that make up the foreign language policy, we found that the implementation of the European policy is reflected in all the key documents, both in the White Book on Education, the Resolution document and the Action Plan for Foreign Languages, as well as in the curriculum for foreign languages in elementary school. All documents are based on lifelong learning and the promotion of multilingualism, which is one of the foundations of the European Union education. In the spirit of multilingualism, the elementary school curriculum allows students to learn three foreign languages during compulsory schooling within the framework of the compulsory curriculum and the extended school program. This fulfills the m+2 condition set by the Barcelona goal. The set of languages is determined by the school, and students reach level A2 or B1 in the first foreign language and a maximum of an A2 in the optional foreign languages, which proves that the curricula are based on the Common European Language Framework. Early learning of a foreign language is encouraged, as the first foreign language is compulsory from the second grade onwards, and students can choose it as an optional subject in the first grade as well. In the first triad of the primary school education, integrated learning is promoted using the CLIL method, which is included in the curricula of the first three grades. It is also available for learning Slovene for foreign students whose mother tongue is not Slovene. Despite the comprehensively outlined foreign language policy in the Slovenian educational space, there are still unresolved systemic solutions, the need for staff training and the creation of a common school language curriculum, which call for reflection and improvement in the future.
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