Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lesnik, Sabina

Titel

The Role of Socio-Cultural Environment in Foreign Language Learning

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The doctoral dissertation deals with parents' and students' attitudes towards foreign language learning as well as teaching foreign languages and consists of two parts. In the first part we present basic foreign language learning and teaching issues, the child's socio-cultural environment and scientific findings on the role of socio-cultural environment. The socio-cultural environment refers to the physical and social environment in which people live. It also introduces individual's culture. Socio-cultural environment includes traditions, values, beliefs, the level of literacy and education and ethical standards. These findings represent the basic foundation of the empirical research presented in the second part of the doctoral dissertation, with the fundamental purpose to examine the role of socio-cultural environment in learning foreign languages. The main findings of the empirical research conducted in the period between May and July 2012, which included 200 parents who have ninth-grade pupils attending Slovene primary schools and 600 pupils of the ninth-grade primary schools in four statistical regions of Slovenia (Pomurska, Podravska, Central Slovenia and Gorizia), are that the socio-economic status has an effect on encouraging the learning of foreign languages at home as well as parents' and students' attitudes towards learning and teaching foreign languages. The higher the socio-economic status of the family is, the more parents encourage foreign language learning at home, and the more positive attitudes of foreign language learning and teaching parents and pupils have. The results also show that a different Slovenian region has a sagnificant impact on encouraging foreign languages learning at home as well as parents' and pupils' attitudes towards learning and teaching of foreign languages; the most supportive home environment for foreign languages learning have the pupils of the Central Slovenia region, moreover, the parents and pupils of this region have the most positive attitudes towards foreign language learning and teaching. Based on our study we can conclude that it is necessary to convince the non-professional public about the desirability of foreign language learning at the preprimary level. With the critical support of the school language policy parents can have a significant impact on foreign language learning and teaching. Based on the results of our empirical research we provide the guidelines for promoting the foreign languages learning at three levels, the state, local and school levels. Keywords: foreign languages, socio-cultural environment, parents’ attitudes, primary school, statistical regions of Slovenia