Lietuvos gyventojų svetimųjų kalbų mokėjimas

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygos dalis / Part of the book
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Lietuvos gyventojų svetimųjų kalbų mokėjimas
Alternative Title:
Foreign language knowledge among Lithuanians
Authors:
Hilbig, Inga
In the Book:
Sociolingvistinė Lietuvos panorama: gyventojų kalbinės nuostatos ir kalbinis elgesys / mokslinė redaktorė Meilutė Ramonienė. Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2022. P. 27-66, 285-287
Subject Category:
LT
Lietuva (Lithuania); Kalbos vartojimas. Sociolingvistika / Language use. Sociolinguistics; Daugiakalbystė / Multilingualism.
Summary / Abstract:

LTŠiame skyriuje pristatytas atliktas integruotas kiekybinis (reprezentatyvios suaugusių šalies gyventojų apklausos duomenų pagrindu) ir kokybinis (interviu su mokiniais, mokytojais ir tėvais keliuose šalies miestuose medžiagos pagrindu) tyrimas apie Lietuvos gyventojų svetimųjų kalbų mokėjimą. Pastarasis darbe apsibrėžtas plačiai – kaip gebėjimas bent šiek tiek suprasti svetimąją kalbą. Gauti rezultatai, kiek tai buvo įmanoma dėl metodologinių skirtumų ir duomenų pateikimo nevienodumų, tekste lyginami su prieš maždaug dešimtmetį publikuotais lietuvių sociolingvistų radiniais, oficialiąja statistika bei europinių apklausų rezultatais. [Iš straipsnio, p. 60]

ENThis chapter presents a study that integrates quantitative (based on data from a representative online survey of 1,003 adults) and qualitative (based on data from 100 semi-structured in-depth interviews with school students, teachers, and parents in nine Lithuanian towns) research on foreign language skills of Lithuanians. In this work foreign language skills are defined very broadly as the ability to understand at least some of a language other than the mother tongue(s). The results are compared with the findings of Lithuanian sociolinguists collected about a decade ago, the results of European surveys, and the national official statistical data. The absolute majority of people in Lithuania are bilingual or even multilingual in terms of foreign languages. Just a tenth of the Lithuanian population were identified as unable to understand any other language. Most people speak two or even more languages. Russian remains the main foreign language in Lithuania (spoken by 76% of the population), followed by the English language (70% of the population). As predicted, the number of Russian speakers has shrunk over the decade, while the number of people who know English has expanded. However, Russian remains not only the most widely spoken foreign language, but also the best-mastered one in Lithuania. More than half of the population has a command of both Russian and English as foreign languages. The Polish and German languages are spoken by 31% (slightly less than before) and 27% (slightly more than before) of the respondents, respectively. The knowledge of other most common foreign languages spoken in Lithuania (French, Spanish, Italian) is indicated by less than 10% of the respondents, but the numbers of their speakers have increased lately. A dramatic rise in the popularity of Spanish is particularly visible. In general, all native Russian and Polish speakers who participated in the survey indicated that they know the Lithuanian state language.Analysing the level of proficiency in foreign languages from the perspective of sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, the most statistically significant differences emerged according to the age factor. Other factors such as gender, place of residence, educational background, migration experience, seem to be more secondary and dependent on age. It is interesting that the young respondents stated that they have a command of Russian as often as the older ones. However, this language is mastered by the respondents from the oldest group in a much broader way compared to the general distribution. For historical and political reasons, middle-aged and especially older people are regarded as early sequential Lithuanian-Russian bilinguals. That bilingualism was established to a greater or lesser extent later, so even after many years they still have a command of Russian, and often know it well. Young people know Russian mainly from school, but they acquire only basic skills there. Bilingualism in this language among young people is still incipient and also receptive. In any case, the data show that the heritage of the Russian language from the Soviet times in Lithuania is still preserved, it is not rejected, and supported by the elder people, who use the language (e.g., watching TV or accessing online content in Russian), and young people, who often learn it at school and at least acquire its basics.English is much more widely spoken by young people in Lithuania. This has been a result of both the high-quality teaching of this language as the first foreign language in general education schools, which started after the restoration of independence of the country, and the active development of language skills in the everyday life of young people who tend to spend a lot of time on the English-dominated internet. As the age of the respondents increases, the percentage of English speakers gradually decreases, and the existing differences are very considerable. However, in comparison to what has been found before, it can be stated that over the years, English has been more widely and also better spoken among older and older people in Lithuania. Differences in the level of knowledge were identified for both languages. The younger respondents ranked English as their best-mastered language, while the older respondents referred to Russian as the language they know best. Polish sometimes intervened between Russian and English in the responses of older-generation respondents. Additional correlation analysis of the collected data allows stating with full confidence that the older the people, the better they know Russian (and Polish), and the younger the respondents, the better they speak English (and Spanish). English is the main and dominant foreign language that is as if naturally acquired by young people as early as childhood. Thus, contemporary adolescents can also be regarded as early sequential bilinguals - only in English. The oldest informants often stated that they had no command or relatively poor command of English because they had not received formal English language training. The middle-aged respondents learned English at school as a study subject, but their language skills are not equal to those of young people, and their productive skills are rather limited. [...]. [From the publication p. 285-286]

Subject:
Kalbotyra / Linguistics
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Updated:
2024-04-23 18:50:54
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