LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

This paper analyses foreign language teaching in the education system of the Republic of Srpska relative to the percent distribution of frequency of individual languages. With primary education being the first and obligatory level of education at which foreign languages are taught, the paper examines the connection between language education policy at the primary education level, social processes and the international position of foreign languages studied in the Republic of Srpska. Available data are compared with the rankings of world languages in terms of their global influence. Similarities and differences between learning outcomes for individual foreign languages after completing primary education are also analysed. The paper points to the basic problems of the language education policy in the Republic of Srpska in relation to foreign language teaching, and recommends systematic collection and analysis of relevant data as the first step in dealing with the issues discussed.