Raluca Mihaela LevonianUniversity of Bucharest/Università degli Studi della Calabria

MIG-KOMM-EU – “Mehrsprachige interkulturelle Geschäftskommunikation für Europa” – Bukarest, 30.09.2011

The study of Romanian as a foreign language appears to be an interesting example:

Romanian language was traditionally assimilated in the area of Romance languages or of Central and East European Studies.

Its importance increased when Romania became an EU-member. A trend at this moment consists in the establishment of independent departments for Romanian language within foreign institutions for education.

The study of Romanian language is connected to present social phenomena of migration:

there are significant communities of Romanians in foreign countries like Italy, Spain, France, UK, USA.

foreigners who come to Romania to study/ work / take up residence in this country.

Main difference: foreign language immersion.

Teaching a foreign language in another country appears to be more difficult for both teachers and students. The contact with the foreign language is often limited to the scheduled courses.

Additional materials (such as newspaper articles, TV programmes, movies, websites and online resources etc.) should counterbalance this shortcoming.

Founded: 1864.

Status: public.

The Department for Romanian as a foreign language is located at the Faculty of Letters, Department of Romanian linguistics.

Degrees and programs offered:

One-year long program (preparatory year);

Erasmus programs;

Summerschool courses on Romanian language and civilization.

Enrollment:

Approximately 300 students (fall 2009 and fall 2010) – for the preparatory year.

Approximately 25 students (summer 2010 and summer 2011) – for the summerschool courses.

Main public:

International students who intend to attend a B.A./M.A. / Ph.D. program at a Romanian university.

Persons who are working / intend to work in Romania.

Secondary public:

Transient students: persons who are enrolled at foreign universities, for a degree in cultural or (Romance) linguistic studies.

Non-traditional students: persons living in Romania at present or whose friends or relatives are Romanians.

Courses offered:

Romanian language (practical course) –one year long.

Romanian language (theoretical course) – one semester.

Romanian culture and civilization – one semester.

Romanian scientific languages – one semester.

Founded: 1968 (1972).

Status: public.

1999 - The Chair for Romanian language and literature is founded.

Head of the Chair: Prof. Gisele Vanhese, Ph.D. 

Programs and degrees offered:

Undergraduate degrees:1999-2009: one year long course on Romanian

language and literature (Lingua e lettteratura romena annuale).

2009 – New institutional structure is approved: Romanian language and literature (Corso di

Laurea Triennale in Lingue e Culture Straniere Moderne) – B.A.

Graduate degrees:

Romanian language and literature (Corso di Laurea Magistrale) – M.A.

Starting from 2012: – M.A. in Foreign Language Teaching, including Romanian language teaching (Didattica della lingua e letteratura romena).

Enrollment (in the academic year 2010-2011):

Approximately 70 students for Romanian language courses.

Approximately 90 students for Romanian literature courses.

Main public: Italian high school students: students who have

graduated high school and are interested in a B.A. / M.A. degree in philology.

 Secondary public: Italian students who attend a B.A. program for

Italian or other foreign languages and choose Romanian language as an optional course.

Romanian immigrants in Italy.

Courses offered: Romanian language – practical course (one semester long) Romanian language – theoretical course (one semester) –

morphology / syntax. History of Romanian language – theoretical course (one

semester) – 3rd year and M.A. students. History of Romanian literature.

 Starting from the academic year 2011-2012: Introduction to Romanian culture and civilization (one semester).

 

Traditional objective of FLT: acquisition of grammar.

Modern objectives: Development of conversational skills (learners

should be able to engage in common, daily interactions).

Development of communicative competence in a professional environment (communication in the workplace / business communication).

To create awareness to intercultural diversity, to promote intercultural communication and understanding.

Romanian language teaching has faced a lack of materials for both learners and teachers.

The integration of all the forementioned objectives in the teaching process should be a priority.

Students’ needs and interests should be taken into account, as well as the requirements and trends in the labour market.

Coursebooks published during the communist regime:

Certain semantic fields are introduced, but little is said about professional life or business communication.

(e.g. Brâncuşi et al., Limba română. Manual pentru studenţii străini)

Actual coursebooks – include units on business communication, on topics as:

business meeting (Puls; Romanian at first sight) agenda planning (Romanian at first sight) business trip (Romanian at first sight) CV writing (Romanian at first sight; Autodidact) job description (Autodidact) job interview (Autodidact) organizational structure (Romanian at first

sight).

It provides materials on a topic which is only in part discussed in „standard” coursebooks in use nowadays: business communication.

Good selection of main topics: management, marketing, services and intercultural aspects.

It is up-to-date, as the topics considered are related to common situations in present corporate life and activities.

Variety of available resources: bibliographical references on Romanian language coursebooks, a trilingual glossary, exercises to be solved individually or in groups, online exercises and materials to be printed.

It reveals awareness of business situations and terms; knowledge of Romanian economics terminology in use nowadays.

The main objective of the MIGKOMM materials is communication, not mere grammar acquisition.

The tasks designed regard all main communicative competences (listening, reading, speaking, writing), in a well-balanced way.

The materials provided are adaptable. They can be used in various manners, in the courseroom or by individual learners.

Units or specific exercises can be selected or modified in order to meer the students’ needs.

Some topics can be treated also in a practical course / seminar on Romanian language.

The units on intercultural aspects can either be integrated in the practical course or used for a distinct course on Romanian culture.

Other separated units can also be discussed in a practical course: e.g. Advertisements (Reclame) and History of Advertisement (Istoria publicităţii) from the Marketing section; the job description from the Management section.

Text types are diverse and authentic: online texts, book excerpts, charts, job announcement, job description a.s.o.

Tasks regarding vocabulary development include economics terminology and also terms belonging to the general lexicon (exercises on the use of synonyms and antonyms).

Attention is paid to practising speech acts (e.g. to apologize, to make a request, to convey information, to express gratitude etc.).

The introduction and practice of linguistic devices which signal politeness (e.g. Phone calls – to make a request politely).

The MIGKOMM materials are useful for courses on business communication in Romanian language, but also for Romanian language practical courses.

They are adjustable: the units can be trated separately, which is an advantage in comparison to traditional coursebooks.

Materials on cultural matters and on intercultural communication are highly useful.

Future projects on business communication may also include units on organizational culture.

Autodidact. Grant CNCSIS nr.20/ 1365. Didactica limbilor străine şi a limbii române ca limbă străină în învăţământul universitar. Strategii de aliniere la politica lingvistică europeană. http://granturi.ubbcluj.ro/autodidact/about.html (Last accessed 29 September 2011).

Brâncuş, Grigore, Ionescu, Adriana, Saramandu, Manuela, 2003. Limba română. Manual pentru studenţii străini. Anul pregătitor – semestrul I, 5th edition. Bucureşti, Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti.

Kohn, Daniela, 2009. Puls. Manual de limba română pentru străini. Iaşi, Polirom.

Suciu, Raluca, Fazakaş, Virginia, 2006. Romanian at First Sight. A Textbook for Beginners. Româna la prima vedere: manual pentru începători. Bucureşti, Compania.

Mulţumesc pentru atenţia acordată!

Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit!

Thank you for your attention!