COLLOQUIAL LITHUANIAN

Ramonienė M., Press I. Colloquial Lithuanian. The Complete Course for Beginners. London, New York: Routledge, 2011.

Students

Arts & Music
Business & Communication
International Relations
Journalism & multimedia
Teacher Education
Tourism

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Lithuanian

Any language

B1

Audio
Guiding resources (online course/book)

Vocabulary
Grammar
Prosody

Listening
Speaking
Writing
Reading

The resource contains 87 entries (on various topics with explanations, starting from the basic alphabet through to a text about basketball in Lithuania). The recordings can be used to teach a variety of subjects (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) and develop all four skills (listening, speaking, writing, and reading). Students can use the material for self-study; it is very useful to be able to pause or replay recordings, etc. Alternatively, the topic can be selected or highlighted by the teacher (e.g. what the most challenging parts were or potential problem areas for students). Students can use a paper book or a free book transferred to a virtual space.

I use the material provided on the COLLOQUIAL LITHUANIAN page to teach Erasmus exchange students Lithuanian language (I teach them the subject 'Lithuanian Language and Culture'). I use the source in seminars, for example, we listen to a text about Lithuania (46 entries) so the students learn about the language and culture. I explain if students do not understand something (I have prepared glossaries for the texts). We talk about Lithuanian rivers, lakes, cities, neighbouring countries, residents, etc.. Since the recording can be stopped anywhere, we repeat until the students pronounce more or less correctly. In self-study, students can listen to the recording as many times as they want, so during the next session I understand whether the students have gone away and worked on listening and pronunciation in their own time (for homework); if they have, the sentences and their fragments are usually repeated smoothly and clearly. By asking questions about the content of the text, I understand whether the students have grasped the meaning and whether the text has been fully understood. (I assign analogous tasks from different topics and develop different skills.) The source is also useful as a tool for reinforcement or repetition, as well as for revision before exams or in preparation for a test.

The material of the freely available source can be used for teaching the Lithuanian language or for learning it independently. Teachers can use the resource in many ways to cover various aspects of language.