Abstract:

The challenges of the Bologna Process set for Higher Education language teaching in Europe were implemented in Croatia in academic year 2005/2006. Being a small country with only about 4,5 million inhabitants, Croatia has a long tradition in learning and teaching foreign languages. Although obligatory learning of foreign languages starts in the first grade, continues during secondary school and is a compulsory subject in higher education institutions, main requirements referring to foreign languages were something new. These requirements are: language and academic mobility, language and employability and lifelong language learning.
Since Croatia is on the way to become a member of the European Union in near future, the efforts to enhance the academic mobility and employability of Croatian graduates is an imperative for all higher education institutions. The introduction of a second foreign language should be one of the priorities in higher education institutions in the years to come in order to satisfy the Bologna Process requirements regarding mobility and employability in Europe and not only in Europe. It is very important for the students to fully accept, understand, and implement the relationship between a foreign language and professional courses since the synthesis of professional knowledge and communication skills is one of the most emphasized issues in business and industry.
This paper deals with projects and technologies used to improve students’ knowledge of foreign languages and to focus their attention to the possibility of national and international mobility. It also explains the methods used and presents tools and different learning processes supported by a wide range of exercises designed for the students in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Keywords:

higher education language learning, bologna process.