The Round Table is pleased to announce that it intends to run a Serbian
Language Course at GCSE Foundation and Higher Level from September 2019, in
partnership with the Azbukum – Centre for Serbian Language and Culture
(Serbia), which offers a recognised qualification at
the end of the course.
Read on for
detailed information on this qualification which could help your child in their
university application and beyond.
- New programme for learning Serbian as a non-native or second language
- Appropriate for young people aged 12 to 18
- Accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia
- Composite, broad-based and modern programme
- Programme created for and relevant to young people
The course has been designed by the Azbukum Centre (www.azbukum.edu.rs), an organisation
based in Novi Sad and Belgrade which has been teaching Serbian as a foreign
language to adults and young people since 1995. Azbukum courses were accredited
by the Serbian Ministry of Education in 2017 and correspond to the European
Common Framework of Reference for Languages (ECFRL), so their qualifications
are recognised not only in Serbia but in Europe and beyond.
The Course
The course offered
will be the Azbukum A2 level (ECFRL) course, equivalent to GCSE Foundation
Level and the Azbukum B1 level (ECFRL) course, equivalent to the GCSE Higher
Level.
Who
The course is aimed
at pupils from 12 years of age who have a working knowledge of Serbian in
reading, writing, listening and speaking. Pupils will be given a diagnostic
test at the beginning of the course which will determine which level course
they should follow.
Important note for
absolute beginners: Pupils who have no working knowledge of Serbian, but who
wish to enrol on the course would need to sign up to the Azbukum on-line course
for beginners prior to the beginning of the course. More information about the
on-line course will be available on the Azbukum website soon.
When & How
The course will run
for one academic year, from September 2019 until July 2020 and will be taught
on Saturdays for three hours, either in the morning or afternoon.
Pupils will be given a code to access to the Azbukum on-line platform
(more info soon: www.azbukum.edu.rs) for additional
practice (reading, listening, games, videos) and support for homework of 30
minutes to 60 minutes a week and if they would to enhance their learning. The
on-line study can be done anytime along the week.
Where
In the Ladbroke
Grove area (tbc)
Fees
Fees will be determined by the number of pupils attending the course
and will not exceed £365. This includes the fees for the
course and the exam entrance fees. It will also include the Azbukum course book
and audio plus the access to the Azbukum on-line platform for additional study
and support.
Teaching Staff
The course will be
staffed by qualified and experienced teachers in London who have been trained
by Azbukum to deliver their courses.
Examination Process
The progress of
pupils on the course will be assessed on a continuous basis by London teachers
and Azbukum staff. Exams in reading, writing, listening and speaking will be
held on line at the end of the course and be examined by Azbukum staff.
Certificates
Pupils who have attended 75% of classes
and completed 100% of on-line assignments will receive a Certificate of
Attendance. Those completing the final examination will receive a Certificate
of Proficiency, indicating the levels reached in all four skills and an overall
level of proficiency. Both certificates are recognised.
Further Information
For further information or to express an interest in signing up a pupil
for the course please contact Olga Stanojlovic olga.stanojlovic@btinternet.com
WHY LEARN SERBIAN?
Learning a language
is a long process because language is a living thing and always changing with
the times. No community exists without language, it is what makes us unique and
different from others – it is the way in which we give names to our internal
and external worlds. It reflects our thoughts, opinions and experiences. We use
it to express our needs, to establish our presence and belonging to the world –
to our family, friends, people at work, neighbours and to strangers.
It is always useful
to speak other languages. There is even a certain power to be had from a good
knowledge of other languages, especially in today’s climate. The more rare
languages, the ones which like Serbian are not so well known, are particularly
prized. At the same time, Serbian is one of the more widely spoken languages in
south-eastern Europe. With a knowledge of Serbian, you can understand Bosnian
and Croatian perfectly, even Bulgarian; it also opens doors on other Slavonic
languages like Russian, Czech, Macedonian and Slovene.
Language, however,
loses some of its strength when used infrequently. The Serbian which we teach
our children at home, whether the language of both parents or just one, our children
cannot maintain it alone. We need “assistants” for them to sustain and develop
their Serbian. Parents and the immediate family are the first to teach our
children the language of their family. But, when living abroad, this natural
process of acquiring and enriching the language faces problems. It takes much
more effort and good will to preserve and support the language used at home in
an environment dominated by the language of the wider community in which the
child is living. Therefore, it is important that the teachers entrusted with
this task are reliable and trained and the programme they follow is relevant to
the children’s interests and linguistic level.
FOUNDERS OF THE NEW PROGRAMME
The Round Table,
which offers a forum for representatives from all associations of the Serbian
diaspora in Great Britain, facilitates and supports collaboration in the
diaspora community. The Working Group of the Round Table for the Serbian
Language was established in 2011 to promote the learning and teaching of Serbian
in Great Britain, especially among the young. Their attempts to persuade the
British authorities to reintroduce GCSE and A-Levels in Serbian did not meet
with success because of the requirement that there be a large number of
candidates. So, the Working Group began to offer courses in Serbian based on
the current GCSE model for modern languages. The courses have not received
official recognition in the British or Serbian school system.
With the aim to
offer a course in Serbian which will be similar to GCSE, the Working Group
decided to explore the possibility of co-operation with the Azbukum Centre for
Serbian Language and Culture. Azbukum has been operating since 1995, promoting
exclusively Serbian as a foreign or non-native language. Its methods and teaching
materials are considered across the world as the best for learning Serbian.
Importantly, Azbukum’s programmes have been officially accredited by the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of
Serbia since 2017.
NEW PROGRAMME – the basics
The Working Group
and the Azbukum Centre for Serbian Language and Culture will initiate the new
programme for learning Serbian for young people in the diaspora community in
Great Britain.
The aim is to
provide a systematic, attractive and proven programme for learning Serbian
outside Serbia. The course is designed as a composite programme of weekend
classes and access to Azbukum’s latest online platform of interactive language
study. The plan and programme of the new course has been created by a team of
specialists in the Azbukum Centreand is accredited by the Serbian Ministry of
Education.
On successful
completion of the course, students receive a Confirmation of Attendance and
can, if they wish, take a test to be awarded an official Certificate as proof
of their level of knowledge of the Serbian language.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Classes will be
held on Saturdays over three hours in groups of students on a similar
linguistic level. They will be taken by teachers who have been trained in
Azbukum’s method for teaching Serbian. Students must take a preliminary test
before the first class to assess their linguistic level and be assigned to the
appropriate group.
At the beginning of
the course students receives their learning materials for use in group
activities (lessons, exercises, audio recordings). Besides these, they receive
a password for accessing Azbukum’s online platform and additional materials
specifically prepared to follow the content of the group activities. Students
may access the platform whenever they wish; as a rough guide they should spend
30 to 45 minutes each week doing various exercises in listening, reading,
writing or working on other tasks, quizzes and games.
All learning
materials are composed of attractive and carefully designed content with the
expectations and interests of young people in mind. The topics, rhythm of work,
types of exercise and games, whether in textbooks or online, are appropriate
for the 13 to 18 age group.
The programme is
designed to accommodate multiple linguistic levels. The new, composite
programme is intended for levels A2, B1 and B2 of the Common European Framework
of Reference for Languages which provides a standard scale for learning, teaching
and assessing linguistic proficiency recognised across Europe and beyond. A2 is
equivalent to the basic GCSE level, B1 to the higher GCSE level, while B2 is
equivalent to A-Level standard in the British public exam system. The topics
taught in the new programme are similar to topics offered in the GCSE schemes
of teaching for modern languages: family, friends, everyday activities,
education, health, sport, environment, ecology, new technology etc. There are
also units available with episodes from Serbian history and culture. All topics
are followed by texts in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, audio recordings,
exercises for comprehension and developing vocabulary, grammatical
explanations, games, quizzes and revision tests as an aid to learning.
Azbukum’s team of
experts is constantly improving and updating its programme making a huge
contribution to the study of the Serbian language. Azbukum’s course for Serbian
is prepared for children and young people in Great Britain, based on the
Centre’s long experience in the field and accredited by Serbia’s Ministry of
Education, Science and Technological Development. With Azbukum students have a
secure, recognised and proven course of Serbian language using modern
methods and teaching materials.
FOR COMPLETE BEGINNERS – We can
accommodate them too!
If someone is
interested in the new programme but does not have prior knowledge or very
little knowledge of the language, they may firstly register on Azbukum’s online
course for beginners’ Serbian. There are two routes to achieving level A1 of
the European Common Framework; a course for complete beginners (level A1.1) and
a course for those with some minimal prior knowledge (level A1.2). Having
achieved level A1, they can join the students on the regular programme at their
weekend classes and have access to their online platform.
WORK PATTERNS
Classes will be
held in the period from the beginning/middle of September to the middle of
June. Twenty five to thirty meetings at weekends for three hours of group work
are planned, with another 30 to 45 minutes of individual work using the online
platform each week. Work on the online platform can be undertaken when the
student wants and has the free time available. All online material corresponds
to the material and plan of work for weekend classes. Students have 30 “fields”
to master at each level.
CLASS ATTENDANCE AND CONFIRMATION OF ATTENDANCE
Every student is
advised to attend as many weekend classes as possible and to regularly complete
online homework. This is the only to success and progress in the language and
to prepare for the final test. All students who attend 75% of weekend classes
and complete 100% of the online programme will be ready to take the final tests
and will receive a written Confirmation of Attendance awarded by the Azbukum
Centre. Students who pass the final test will also receive a Certificate of
Knowledge of the Serbian Language for the appropriate level. Both documents,
the Confirmation and Certificate, are accredited and recognised qualifications.
They can be used as official documents for registration at universities in
Serbia, Great Britain and throughout the world. They can also be used as proof
of knowledge of Serbian when applying for employment.
PROGRAMME PRESENTATION
A presentation of the NEW PROGRAMME for parents is planned for the end
of June. Interested parents are requested to contact the Azbukum Centre to
reserve their places for an online/Skype presentation: azb@azbukum.edu.rs
The programme
content and the manner of the online platform’s operation will be presented.
Your children are also welcome to attend the meeting.
A promotional video
is being prepared alongside the online/Skype presentation which will be
available to view from June on You Tube.
