Key words: languages, disputes, multiculturalism, nationalities, diversity, tolerance,
multilingualism, integrations
Historical background
The Balkan Peninsula has always been one of the most diverse, multicultural, and
international and multi religious parts of Europe and of the world. Perhaps it was this diversity
that influenced many civilizations and nationalities here to accept those different from
themselves. Many empires and civilizations came and went from these areas, leaving behind
mostly ethical values in the peoples they ruled. On these values and on the principles that
occupants of these ancient areas had before, creation of intercultural societies emerged and
acceptance and hospitality of those differences began.
During the 6th century AD, the Slav people migrated from Old Poland and resettled throughout
Eastern Europe. As a result, the Slavic language family divided into three distinct groups:
Eastern, Western, and Southern Like Serbian and Croatian, the Bosnian language developed
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from the South Slavic language group, part of the Common Slavic language subfamily of the
IndoEuropean family of languages .
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As people here are willing to welcome everyone’s tradition and cultural background,
the same applies to languages. Dozens of foreign languages have been spoken here and learned
in the previous centuries, from Turkish and German, to English language in the present day,
and people living in these areas were quite good at it. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a small but
very interesting and lovely country in the Balkans and well known around the world through
it’s multiculturalism and diversity in every aspect of life, and therefore languages.
The capital of Bosnia is probably the most multicultural city in Europe, where the
Catholic and Orthodox Church stand next to each other and great mosques are neighbours with
the synagogue, down the street from the first two. When looking at Sarajevo from one of the
surrounding hills the tall minarets cross the sky but the more observant eye will spot church
towers as well.
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There are three official languages, belonging to the three major ethnic groups living
here and who knows how many more variations of the three languages and accents. Perhaps,
since people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are so good in language skills, English Language was
not an issue for them.
Bosnia and Herzegovina in communism
During the period when Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part of the former Yugoslavia
(SFRJ), in the school and universities, Russian, German and French were the main foreign
languages that were taught. Since former Yugoslavia was more oriented to the “eastern” and
communist world views, Russian language as a second language had the main role while
English language was still left far away from people and schools.
By the 1990’s, all the Slavic countries with the exception of former Yugoslavia, were the
members of “Warsaw agreement” and by that part of the “Eastern bloc” under the rule of
Soviet Union. From the linguisticpolitical point of view, domination of Russian language was
characteristically usual for “Eastern bloc” Russian language was the official language of
communication and “lingua franca” as well. (Grčević, 2011)
The population was 4,364,574 in 1991. A U.S. estimate of the population in July 2000 was
3,835,777; however, that figure is not reliable as a result of dislocations and deaths caused by
war. In 1991, approximately 44 percent of the people were Bosniak, 31 percent were Serb, 17
percent were Croat, 5.5 percent were Yugoslav (of mixed ethnicity), and 2.5 percent were of
other ethnicities. Since 1995, the country has been internally divided into a Bosniak/Croat
Federation, which controls 51 percent of the land and whose majority is Bosniak and Croat,
and a Serb Republic, which has the other 49 percent and has a Serb majority.
4
These views of languages were part of the “east” and west” block world division, therefore
Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina were more familiar with the Russian
Language and one had to learn because not only for political views, but similarities and
belonging to the Slavic group of languages, such as; Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian, Russian, etc.
This were the happenings in the Balkan Peninsula and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the
years of (19201970) and in this period, English language was still somewhere on the margins
of the linguistic community and curriculums. However, things were about to change, slowly
but surely.
Sociopolitical turmoil and English language
2
Retrieved from (alsintl.com), January 2016
3
Retrieved from (mywanderlust.com], January 2016
4
Retrieved from (everyculture.com), January 2016
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As the 20
th
century was coming to an end, ways of thinking and living were about to
change dramatically in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 70’s and 80’s of the past century,
“western influence” started to dominate way of living in this country. Through media, fashion
and clothing, books, movies and music, English language has infiltrated the minds of people
and slowly took control when it comes to the primary foreign language to know and look for.
Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina started to think, walk and talk like the people in the “west”
do and therefore they started to abandon Russian, Soviet and communist conservative
principles. At the end of the 1980’s and at the beginning of the 1990’s, huge accelerator of this
change of thinking was also unfortunate political turmoil’s which would eventually lead into
the bloody war in Bosnia and Herzegovina which lasted for 4 years (19911995) and took lives
of some 100.000 people and left thousands more without home and loved ones.
Three predominant groups in Bosnia & Herzegovina were influenced by the spread of
nationalism in the neighboring countries and this resulted in the formation of three ethnically
influenced social groups namely, Serbs, Croats and Bosnians. Croats and Bosniaks didn’t want
to stay in the Serbdominant Yugoslav Federation and they opted for referendum (Imamovic,
1997)
English was the language of the globe and of science and even the nations that once built the
parts of a common culture but were now separated could be made familiar through English.
Bosnian culture – one time sharing a common culture with Turks – could now be revealed and
restored to me, and mine to them, by means of English. English, in this sense, was more than a
foreign language but an indispensible tool for the (re)discovery and understanding of a
common cultural past and an estranged present. (Bal, 2012)
Slavic languages such as Russian, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian share many
similarities with English language, especially in the grammar and sentence structure. Bosnian
language shares same property of sentence structure as English language does and that is
subject, verb, and object (SVO) agreement.
Ja (s) radim(v) u pošti.(o)
I(s) work(v) in the post office. (o)
Hospitability toward new languages
However it is not only the grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary similarities that
make it easy for Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens to know English language well, at least on
the basic level. It is also their will, curiosity to something new and acceptance of different
cultures that makes it also easier to us to comprehend new language. Nevertheless, it is hard
today to separate our daily existence from the influence of English language. English language
is today more dominant than any other language throughout history on a global scale. English
language is literally everywhere, in the media, technology (smart phones, internet, and
computers), movies, business, tourism, sports and English language is there. Due to this fact it
is hard not to know at least some basic things from English language such as; ask for direction
or show one, world sides
People of Bosnia and Herzegovina are very sociable and hospitable. Curiosity often
makes them overly straightforward when encountering newcomers. It is culturally appropriate
to ask more personal questions such as "Where are you from?", "Are you married?", "Do you
have children?", "What do you do for living?" etc., numbers etc. Humour is always welcome,
but it will depend on the person you meet. When meeting someone for the first time, never use
topics about religion or nationality. It may offend other people. Humour about marriage,
motherinlaws or politicians socially acceptable.
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However, we are well acquainted with the political situation on the global scale and we
know that not all societies are flexible as Bosnia and Herzegovina is. Some countries and
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societies won’t allow anything “western” to reach them and they distance themselves from that
so their knowledge of English language is still not that good.
France should end its blockade of the English language, since its "generous"
contributions have enriched rather than endangered French, according to France's culture
minister. Fleur Pellerin warned purists bent on defending the French language that the struggle
was counterproductive. France's 1994 Toubon law decreed that all public advertising must be
in French. Public services are expected to replace English words that creep into the
language – in particular for new technologies – with French terms.
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Using literature to familiarise our students with the cultural and ideological differences
of the studied language to inspire enthusiasm for the language as well as develop feelings and
artistic perspectives, in other words, the “Cultural Model” of teaching English through
literature. It was rather the “Personal Growth Model”, through which literature could be seen
as a provider of necessary reading materials for our students to mature in terms of
understanding and appreciation of cultures both of their own and of the language they studied
(Carter and Long, 1991).
Curriculum altering
In the post war era, our country’s educational system brought English language as
mandatory subject to be taught in the schools. Learning of English language starts in the fourth
grade of elementary school while kids are at the age around 10 years old and many
pedagogues, teachers and linguistic are of the option that English language should be taught in
school even earlier, such as first or second grade. This would surely be more efficient since it
has been proven proven that kids tend to learn foreign languages better at a more early age.
However, thanks to the intelligence, motivation and desire to learn, good professors and
learning material, most of our children and teenagers know English language very well.
Therefore, the country was extremely divided. (Both Ivo Andric and Evliya Çelebi
would need three times longer lives to be able to navigate the region in its present form.) In a
nutshell, being a country in the making, Bosnia and Herzegovina during the first half of the
first decade of the new millennium was a country which was torn into many pieces, whose
administrative bodies and laws were being formed, and it has ever been formed and reformed
up to this day, and in direct effect, making it difficult for our establishment of a university as
well as an English Language and Literature department as one of its programs. (Bal, 2012)
Advantages of bilingualism
Not only the younger population is exposed and well acquainted with the English
language, a similar situation exists with the adults. Whether by their own will or because of the
expanded employment possibilities the adult population in Bosnia and Herzegovina also knows
English language very well. They didn’t learn English in schools, but from the courses or plain
exposure and practice. Of course, the level of knowledge of English language varies from
person to person, but most of the active, working adult citizens know English language at least
at beginner level.
Being bilingual is a big advantage today, no matter where you live or work. It is great
to live in the United States and know Spanish or French Language besides of course his or hers
native, English language. I mentioned French and Spanish language since US citizens are
mostly influenced by those two for foreign language perspective, many people came to US
from Hispanic countries and neighboring Canada has a huge French peaking population. As
people in America are surrounded with other world languages, besides English, so are people
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are in the geographical heart of Europe and at the same time
at the crossroads of the cultures, civilizations and religions.
Acceptance of cultural diversities
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From early childhood, most of the Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens are being taught
and getting to know that they are surrounded by many different countries, languages and
traditions and considering those circumstances they are accustomed to learn new languages and
appreciate varieties of cultures and languages. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that strives
toward European values and European Union and so are its citizens. In order to be European
citizen, one must be tolerable toward different nationalities, cultures, tradition, religion and
languages and people of Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly are tolerable, hospitable and
welcoming all those with good will and intensions, no matter where are they from.
In this context, we are open to learn new languages and appreciate the cultural background of
native users of that language, therefore making it easier for us to acquire new language sooner
and better, in this case English language.
For most language learners, English language is not that difficult to learn and use in every day
conversations. Its grammar is relatively easy in comparison to other European and World
languages, vocabulary and pronunciation is not that difficult, and exposure alone to the English
language makes it learn friendly, since its more or less all around us.
Unlike other languages, English has no cases, no gender, no word agreement, and arguably has
a simple grammar system. English speakers sometimes have difficulties when learning
Portuguese because they are not used to words having genders. – The reason why English is
the easiest language to learn is because of the vast selection of English resources to learn from,
including TV shows, movies, music, podcasts, books and websites. English is the most studied
foreign language in the world and there are a ton of resources available to help speakers of
each specific language learn English. There are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of
books written about learning English as a foreign language that you can use to improve. In
addition there are a ton of great English learning blogs on the internet.
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Despite the complicated political situation and weak economic status and capabilities of Bosnia
and Herzegovina citizens, every day they are still trying hard and not giving up for hope in
better tomorrow not just for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren as well.
Important aspects of that hope is going to school, university and looking for job or doing your
best at your current employment and maintaining it. Through doing this people tend to acquire
new acquaintances, meet people from all around the world and develop certain foreign
language speaking skills. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a great place to learn English language.
There are hundreds of students coming from different parts of Europe and the world, many
international companies, European institutions and media exposure of English language.
Therefore, English language is not that foreign at all, it is becoming part of life.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that English language will continue its dominance worldwide and also in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under this influence, people living here will continue to learn and
work on their fluency and knowledge of English language because such a scenario is inevitable
and useful also for job opportunities. We have been open and flexible toward new languages
and cultures so far and we are probably going to remain the same in the future. Since world is
becoming more and more interconnected due to the influence of mostly internet and countless
possibilities it provides, so will our country and region follow the same trend and try not to fall
behind. Language of this never more interconnected world is one and only English language
and by knowing and mastering it, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina will prove that they
belong only in Europe and the world. They have suffered a lot in the 1990’s war and still
suffering and feeling disastrous consequences of it, but things are slowly improving and this
country took certain steps forward in becoming a member of the European Union and Euro
Atlantic integrations. By doing good, progressing and achieving certain goals, Bosnia and
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Herzegovina has no other way but to go forward, along with its citizens. Consequently, people
will become more aware of diversities that all of us share in terms of language, culture, race,
religion etc, and more of them will realize the importance of learning languages and being
bilingual or multilingual.
References:
Bal, M., (2012) English language and literature in the post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina
Carter, R., & Long, M. (1991). Teaching literature, Longman Pub
Imamovic, M., (1997). Historija Bosnjaka. Sarajevo, Bosnjacka zajednica kulture Preporod
Grčević, M., (2011).
Suvremena jezična situacija u slavenskim zemljama. FF press, Zagreb
2011
Cultural Information – Bosnia and Herzegovina,(2016). Global Affairs Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.intercultures.ca/cilcai/ciiceng.asp?iso=ba
Bosnia and Herzegovina, (2016). Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from
http://www.everyculture.com/BoCo/BosniaandHerzegovina.html
Is English Easy to Learn ?, (2016). Real Life. Retrieved from http://reallifeglobal.com/is
englisheasytolearn/
Multicultural Sarajevo, (2016). Kami and the rest of the world. Retrieved from
http://www.mywanderlust.pl/multiculturalsarajevo/
Classification & Early History of the Bosnian Language, (2016). Accredited. Retrieved from
https://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Bosnian/
The Telegraph, (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11467624/
UDC 372.881.111.1
Акылбеккызы Т.
Masterstudent
Suleyman Demirel University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
e-mail: akylbekova.t@gmail.com
APPROACHES TO THE ERROR COMITTING IN THE SECOND (FOREIGN)
LANGUAGE AQUISITION
Abstract. This article aims to briefly review theoretical concepts which are related to
the error commitment in the second (foreign) language acquisition process such as
Interference, Interlanguage, Contrastive Analysis (CA), Error Analysis (EA) and introduce
some strategies that teachers should use in error correction.
Key word: language acquisition, error correction, error analysis.
Introduction
Although it is impossible to set the precise date on when researches on Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) were first established, some scholars claim that it took place
around the end of 1960s. The starting point is generally held to be Corder’s influential article
“The significance of learner errors” together with Selinker’s work on language transfer and
interlanguage as a linguistic system in its own right—both of which, in very similar ways,
challenged the view prevailing at that time that second language (L2) acquisition was like any
other learning, namely, just a matter of habit formation. However, nowadays the significance
of the Second language acquisition itself and the impact of mother tongue on it and the role of
errors in SLA have been changing and investigations on these spheres have been broadening.
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