Slovene as the second/foreign language in Slovene pre-school institutions

Abstract

Abstract:Slovenia has long been a place for immigration; with the accession into the European Union it has become even more interesting for different groups of immigrants from European and non-European countries. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 106.486 foreigners (5.16% of overall population in Slovenia) were living in Slovenia at the end of 2015. It is expected that this migration trend in the light of world events continues or even increases. One of the key factors for the successful integration of young generations of migrants in society is education. The survey Index of the policy of integration of migrants (MIPEX, 2015), implemented by the British Council and Migration Policy Group, shows that few education systems in Europe are adapting to the realities of immigration. Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Canada, Portugal are the most engaged countries, whereas Slovenia is among the least committed (it ranks 28 among 38 selected countries). Language has a major role in supporting children's process of identity formation and in helping them understand where they fit in the new environment they are entering. Language is, of course, not the only factor that promotes integration and enables successful education, but the fact remains that immigrant pupils are better achievers in those countries that pay greater attention to second/foreign language learning starting in preschool institutions. In the present paper we discuss the Slovene pre-school teachers' and preschool teacher assistants' attitudes towards learning Slovene as the second/foreign language in Slovene pre-school institutions. The research was conducted on a sample of 143 pre-school teachers and pre-school teacher assistants. The results imply that Slovene pre-school teachers and pre-school teacher assistants hold positive attitudes towards learning Slovene as a second/foreign language, they see their role as the promoters of learning Slovene as a second/foreign language to non-Slovene children, but they strongly express the lack of training in language learning strategies of Slovene as a second/foreign language.