Abstract:

In Slovakia, as well as in many other European countries, the most frequently taught second foreign language is German, while the most frequently taught first foreign language is English. Both English and German are part of the West Germanic language branch, and therefore they evince many similar features, mainly in terms of vocabulary and grammar. These similarities can be intentionally used in the process of learning German as a second foreign language after English. While the most typically used communicative approach to teaching foreign languages does not use other languages than the language taught, the plurilingual approach intentionally uses all languages the individual knows and thus tries to support the positive transfer and avoid the negative transfer. This can make the process of learning languages easier and less time-consuming.

This study is action research with the aim to find out if plurilingual approach has an impact on students’ motivation to learn the German language. The sample (n=46) included secondary school students whose first foreign language is English and their second foreign language is German. While the experimental group has been taught German by a teacher qualified in teaching English and German who applies the principles of plurilingual education, the control group has been taught by a teacher who does not speak English. A questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale measuring the students’ attitudes towards the German language and towards the process of teaching and learning German has been administered. It has also included some items aimed at the students’ perceptions of similarities between German and English. The results show that the plurilingual approach does have a significant impact both on motivation and the perception of similarities between languages and the ability to benefit from them.

Keywords:

Plurilingual approach, positive transfer, negative transfer, motivation.