The Teaching of the Slovene Language in Minority Educational Institutions in Carinthia, Austria

Abstract

This article presents a historical overview of the teaching of the Slovene language and the present-day organisation of minority schooling in Carinthia, Austria. It presents the facilities that exist for teaching Slovene, various approaches and models of bilingual education in minority educational institutions, and the use of Slovene as a language of instruction as well as a language taught in these institutions. The article wishes to draw attention to the current situation of Slovene speakers in Carinthia and presents the reasons for which the mission of the minority school is nowadays different from what it was originally meant to be.

Keywords

• the Slovene language
• Slovene lessons
• bilingualism
• minority schooling
• Carinthia
• Slovenians in Austria