PECULIARITIES OF TEACHING / LEARNING GERMAN THROUGH ENGLISH IN A MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT: IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING MOTIVATION AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.4.8

In the age of globalization, when the scope of human migration is rapidly increasing and boundaries between countries and regions are losing their significance, the ability to communicate effectively in a few foreign languages with people from different cultural backgrounds is becoming crucial. Nowadays a considerable number of students studying in Lithuanian universities come from abroad. Some of them settle in Lithuania, others, however, move to other countries for studies or work. Therefore, the demand to learn foreign languages alongside specialization subjects is growing. Responding to students’ needs, the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) offers students an opportunity to learn foreign languages through English as a lingua franca. The article presents the findings of part of the research performed at IFL which aims at identifying peculiarities of learning German through English as a medium of instruction in classes of representatives of different countries. The research identified the students’ foreign language competence, their German language motivation and impact of learning environment upon teaching and learning German as a foreign language in a multicultural context. It was found that extrinsic integrative motivation prevails among the students studying German as a foreign language. The students’ psychological well-being, impact of teacher’s personal qualifies upon the learning environment, different students’ expectations regarding learning process organisation were also identified. The research results indicate that language teaching and learning in multicultural environment is inextricably related to the development of students’ intercultural competence, as it requires attention to intercultural differences, teacher and student cooperation and tolerance.