This year, the students of Slovenian language classes in Banja Luka and Slatina had the opportunity to improve their knowledge of the Slovenian language and to get to know their peers from other countries as well as Slovenia itself. In this way, students better understand that language is not only about grammar, but they must experience it in the environment in which they learn it.
The connection of language and culture is very important, because the course participants bring elements of their culture and language, and when they go home they take a piece of Slovenia with them and bring a Slovenian word to the world.
Slovenian summer school - Murska Sobota
The Slovenian Emigrant Association (SIM) organized a one-week summer school of the Slovenian language for young compatriots between the ages of 10 and 15 who live abroad. The "Slovenian in a slightly different way" school was held from July 2 to 8 for the fourth time on the premises of the Center for School and Extracurricular Activities Murska Sobota. Prekmurje is an area that is rarely visited if you are not from here, so it is important that children coming from abroad get to know this part of Slovenia, where you can see many interesting things.
This year's summer school was attended by 15 children of the second or third generation of Slovenian emigrants, ten of them came for the first time, five returned from last year. Most of them were from the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and one girl was from Germany.
The day for summer school participants starts with breakfast, followed by four hours of intensive Slovenian language lessons. After Slovenian lessons, lunch and a break, the events of the summer school continue with art workshops led by art teacher Natalija Veselič Martinjak. These workshops are mainly aimed at relaxing and encouraging creativity, while at the same time the participants learn about new artistic techniques.
Slovenian language summer school for children of Slovenian origin - Tolmin
From July 30 until August 6, 2023, a Slovenian language school for children of Slovenian origin was held in the Tolmin Center for School and Extracurricular Activities. The summer school was attended by young people from all over Europe and of different linguistic and cultural origins.
The children were from 15 countries. They had active learning in the morning and a relaxing program in the afternoon. For example, they tested how cold the Soča river is, and if they wanted to move around and socialize, they would go to the nearby playground. As the weather was bad in Slovenia that week, the rain drove them indoors, so they used the time to meet the permanent residents of the Soča home: the snakes Marko and Pepi and the lizard Gomez. They were also very hard-working mountaineers - they enjoyed the beds of the Tolminka and Zadlaščica rivers. Soča is always beautiful, even when its color is not emerald and does not shine. As this day was not suitable for swimming, they tried their hand at throwing frogs. A rainy afternoon is perfect for creative workshops. They learned the tying technique - macrame, made a friendship bracelet and a gift box. The Soča River did not allow them to raft down it as planned, so they learned a lot about water sports and went to see it one last time in its wild form.
18th Youth summer school - Ljubljana
18th Youth summer school was held from July 2 until July 14, 2023 in Ljubljana. The children were housed in the Bežigrad Children's Home, and every day they had Slovenian language lessons at the Secondary Teacher's School, Grammar School and Art grammar School in Ljubljana. In the afternoon and at the end of the week, they had the opportunity to get to know the capital of Slovenia, they visited Bled, Šmarna Gora, the mine in Velenje and the Piran Bay. Various cultural, sports and entertainment activities were also organized. The summer school was attended by about 130 participants from thirty countries around the world.
'Hello, this is the Slovenian Mediterranean!' - Koper
This year, between July 10 and 21, the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Primorska held the 30th anniversary summer course for learning the Slovenian language called 'Hello, this is the Slovenian Mediterranean!', for which they received a special award from the Municipality of Koper.
A record number of participants responded to this year's invitation to participate in the school, as many as 50 participants from 20 countries (Italy, Austria, Russia, Serbia, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Uruguay, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Argentina, Ukraine, England, Mexico, Poland and Egypt).
The courses were intended for everyone who wanted to learn the Slovenian language or deepen their knowledge, and the reasons for learning were different. Some learn the language because of their Slovenian roots, which they want to explore and preserve, some want to improve their knowledge in Slovenian for work, some have found love here and therefore want to learn the language, but there are also future students who would like to learn the basics of the Slovenian language in Slovenia.
For these reasons, course participants traveled from all over the world and gathered at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Primorska to learn the Slovenian language.
That is why the summer school consists of morning lectures, where the Slovenian language is learned mainly in class, and afternoon activities. These are various professional and creative workshops, through which students get to know other aspects of the Slovenian language and culture - for example through music, dance, cuisine and literature. The participants also gained knowledge about the Slovenian language and culture on a day-long excursion, where they visited the monastery in Stična, the Bogenšperk castle and Ljubljana.
Ana Marjanović
