The Contribution of Contrastive Analysis to the Development of Spanish Language Competence and Awareness in Serbian University Students

Abstract

The paper is based on the idea of the usefulness of contrastive linguistics and linguistic awareness for the development of competence and (meta)linguistic awareness in Spanish at university level, in the case of Serbian university students. The concept of linguistic awareness is briefly presented, based on the works of Schmidt 1990, Hawkins 1999, Rieder 2000, Bailini 2009, De Villa 2018 among others. The term is understood as a cognitive activity or a capacity for metalinguistic reflection, on the one hand, and, on the other, as an approach to foreign language learning (halfway between a structuralist and a communicative approach), which allows students to become “highly motivated self-taught” individuals who as such “enjoy a greater power of adaptation at the cultural level through the use of critical reflection” (De Villa 2018: 163, 172). Therefore, we advocate a cognitive approach to languages in contrastive linguistics classes to raise students’ awareness concerning the use of their own language as well as a foreign language (in this case Spanish). In order to test our hypothesis, we conducted an anonymous survey among students on the approach and usefulness of the course “Introduction to Spanish-Serbian Contrastive Analysis” taught at the University of Belgrade. The results show a very high satisfaction with the method used in class.