Director of Studia Academica Slovaca, Michaela Mošaťová, during the opening of the Slovak language and culture summer school, Studia Academica Slovaca, in Bratislava on July 31, 2023. (source: TASR - Dano Veselský)
The Slovak Spectator recently spoke to Associate Professor Michaela Mošaťová, director of Studia Academica Slovaca – The Centre for Slovak as a Foreign Language (SAS) at Comenius University’s Faculty of Arts in Bratislava. In a wide-ranging interview about the Slovak language and its teaching to foreigners, she told us what Slovak courses are available to foreigners, the challenges facing people learning the language, innovative teaching methods, and the growing need for qualified Slovak language teachers.
Is Slovak the most difficult language in the world?
Difficult in relation to what? The most difficult compared to what? It depends on the criteria we use in evaluation. Are we talking about a Slav learning Slovak, or not? What is the learner’s native language, and which other languages do they know? It cannot be simply stated that Slovak is the most difficult language for foreigners to learn.
So, it’s a myth.
It is a myth because languages cannot be easily ranked from most difficult to easiest. It always depends on the comparison. Everyone can create their own ranking based on personal experience of learning foreign languages, but an objective comparison is not possible.
The Ľudovít Štúr Linguistic Institute (JÚĽŠ) has repeatedly debunked claims circulating on the internet, such as chain emails asserting that Slovak is one of the most difficult languages in the world.
I don’t like this question because it is essentially nonsensical.
I had to ask.
For instance, we have people from the United States at the faculty who do not make mistakes when communicating in Slovak. We also have a tutor who speaks Slovak perfectly, even though he is a native Dutch speaker. On the other hand, there are Slavs who have been learning Slovak for many years but still cannot suppress their foreign accent. Despite intensive study and phonetic exercises, traces of their mother tongue remain in their speech.
Can students on your course learn to get rid of their accent?
We do teach that, yes. We approach language teaching comprehensively, not only focusing on vocabulary and grammar but striving to convey it as a whole. We start with pronunciation, to which we return continuously throughout the learning process.
What Slovak as a foreign language courses do you offer?
We offer Slovak as a foreign language courses to the public – some take place in the morning, others in the evening. They are designed for everyone, from beginners to advanced learners.
In addition, we offer a special course focused on maintaining communication skills, especially for educators. As we are oriented towards the humanities and social sciences, the course is tailored specifically to them. Currently, there are many Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia looking for employment and who are qualified in various fields. Many of them have pedagogical qualifications and could work in our education system; however, they need to pass a state language exam to do so. This is essential for employment in education, whether as teachers of specialised subjects, school psychologists, or teachers of artistic subjects, such as music education. This course, which helps them prepare for the Slovak language exam at the B2 level and fully integrate into the working environment, is aimed at them.
After a hiatus, you are now resuming courses for the public from February. Why did they stop?
We temporarily suspended them due to various changes we were implementing.
