First-Year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian II

Undergraduate / Graduate

The three-quarter sequence first-year course in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian introduces students to the four basic skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. It maintains a good balance of the three languages, their respective grammatical and lexical differences, and the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Students are encouraged to concentrate on the language and culture of their interest and choice. The objective of the course is to build a solid foundation in grammatical patterns, while simultaneously working on the basics of interpretive, interpersonal, presentational, and intercultural communication. This is achieved through a communicative situation-based approach, dialogues and texts reinforced by the students and instructor, screenings of short films, video commercials, interviews, and the like. Weekly drill sessions with the instructor offer students the opportunity to review and practice the materials presented in class. All these pedagogical components improve a student's ability to interact effectively and appropriately with people from other linguistic and cultural backgrounds-essential for establishing successful, positive relationships across cultural boundaries.