Language and culture studies on the Web / Jezikovne in kulturne študije na spletu
Background
The Slovenian Webclassroom is a study resource for students and teachers started in 1998 in the Slovenian Lotelinx project funded by DEECD to support language studies in Victoria, one of the twenty-one language associations in the Lotelinx initiative of Victoria (1998-2001). Slovenian Lotelinx web resources were the curriculum materials for teaching Slovenian as a secondary school subject at the Victorian School of Languages, from Years 7 to Year 12. The materials are for different programs, integrating cultural studies into language learning: a blended learning environment, self-paced and autonomous learning, where students are presented with a range of resources, and post-study students who may be contemplating studies in related fields of European and international studies, management, and tourism. These are teachers resources for developing : lessons content, assignments, study units, student reading guides and may be incorporated into the curriculum of a learning program.
Language Resources
Bilingual texts
“Language Resources” section consists of newly-translated texts from Slovenian into English, or bilingual texts. The texts are from course material of the Slovenian language curriculum and course outlines published in Victoria.
1. Aphorisms, 2. Proverbs, 3. The Riddle, 4. Myths and Legends
Heritage Trail – E-book
This Trail is an online education language kit on the theme “An exploration of the cultural life of Slovenes in greater Melbourne”. The trail is a resource for language and interdisciplinary culture studies programs for the student and the teacher. Study units contain: background notes, core primary source documents, visual and reference resources. Source materials published from 1998 to 2008 provide detailed information on the topics and an historical overview on the Slovenian presence in Australia.
Language and Curriculum Resources
Introduction to Language, curriculum, teacher resources, course planning, extensive bibliographies, study courses
http://thezaurus.com/language
Cultural Resources
Sloveniana webzine
A series of researched articles featuring the people and country, in a collection of over 100 articles. The nine sections are: Introduction, Contemporary Slovenian Architecture, Cultural Treasures, Ethnographic Heritage, Myths and Legends, Natural Heritage, Notable Slovenes, Arts, History, and Landmarks.
http://thezaurus.com/webzine
Slovenian Literator
A web anthology of the translated contemporary Slovenian literature in sections: Essays, Fiction and Poetry – 30 authors from the selection by poet and academic Dr. Aleš Debeljak, in his book “The Imagination of Terra Incognita – Slovenian Writing 1945 – 1995), published in USA in 1997, the first contemporary collection translated into English.
http://thezaurus.com/literature
More about the new Literator.net project
http://thezaurus.com/?/issv/slovenian_literator/
Galeria Sloveniana
An Internet gallery of a collection of 122 photo albums. The nine exhibitions are: Galeria Sloveniana, Sloveniana Photolog, Community Photolog, Egypt Travelog, Slovenian Travelog, Australian Travelog, Webzine Features, Contemporary Slovenian Architecture.
http://thezaurus.com/gallery
Archive of Slovenian Emigrant Handicrafts
The first heritage online archive of handicrafts; containing the first online exhibition of handicrafts by Slovenian Australians in Victoria: a coproduction by the Slovene Ethnographic Museum and ISSV Inc.
http://www.rocnadela.org
359,916. hits
Study References Collections
Scribd.com is the largest open source document and social publishing company where files can be easily located, downloaded, and shared. For quick access Study documents are uploaded into Scribd,com and organized in folders in three Scribd accounts.
1. ISSV Archives 1976-2011 (records of over 2,000 documents)
Archival documents are scanned and published on the Web for easy access; documents are from ISSV Archives records from 1976 to 2011. there are over 2,000 documents, indexes of the full collection has been published on scribd. com named “Thezaurus Archives”. The archival collection was initiated and documented by Aleksandra Ceferin since 1976 to the present day.
Thezaurus Archives
http://www.scribd.com/thezaurus
No. of documents: 176 (some documents contain a collection of selected items)
2. Slovenian Study References
Articles and studies are related to the categories in Sloveniana webzine.
Slovenian study references
http://www.scribd.com/Slovenian%20study%20references%20
No. of documents: 71
3. Slovenian webclassroom – resources
Documents and publications in: topics resources, language learning issues, Victorian Education Department curriculum, multiculturalism in Australia, learning texts.
Slovenian webclassroom
http://www.scribd.com/Slovenian%20Webclassroom%20
No. of documents: 312
Statistics of Scribd.com accounts
Average reads per day : Thezaurus: 229 (138,926 reads), Slovenian study references: 153 (75,802 reads), Slovenian Webclassroom – resources: 192 (106,109 reads).
“Slovenia on the Web” / “Slovenija preko spleta” – Topics
Thematic topics were published on the web in March 2001 for learning language through culture in the classroom and study programs. It is the first Slovenian online course material produced in Australia for Slovenian secondary curriculum at the Victorian School of Languages, Education Department of Victoria. Topics have been published periodically till March 2008 totalling twenty-four units. The topics consist of: student language activities, information, references and research tasks on web sites about an aspect of Slovenia. The Slovenian Web offers content in any field of interest: culture, education, entertainment, government, media, trade and tourism. An interesting resource for exposure to colloquial language are the multitude of Slovenian discussion forums.
Topics have been content-structured to provide a brief introduction to a subject and web resources, to develop reading, writing and research skills through the study of culture. This approach is very successful to: gain familiarity, understanding, appreciation of Slovenian culture, and apply Slovenian for personal or professional communication. Learning activities focussing on the other two main skills of speaking and listening, have yet to be included in this series of topics. With the allocation of specialised resources such as video and audio programming more resources could be readily provided.
Virtual Library for Blended Learning
Why is the content of the Web a source for language learning? The Web is a stimulating phenomenon and learning tool; providing authentic language texts useful for communicative language acquisition, which are relevant or engaging. Web sites content are incorporated into language curriculum for the quality and high relevance to the interests and motivation of the language learner. The Web enhances the learning experience and supplementing learning within the traditional classroom and in distance education termed as “blended learning”. There are contemporary texts for the language learner, with primary sources such as news, reports, advertisements, interviews, reviews, articles, video-streaming of events, and streaming of radio and television programs. The Web is an expansive source of resources, reflecting the diversity of interests and functions of the Web. It is not a coincidence that parallel to the rapid development of information technology there is a burgeoning market for continuous learning courses, and production of online course materials.
