Language teachers' perception of multilingualism in the border area of Međimurje

In today’s globalized world the benefits of multilingualism are often emphasized. The European Commission promotes language learning and advises that every European student should learn two foreign languages besides their mother language. As a result of learning more languages, multilinguals approach languages differently than mono- and bilinguals. Dialect should also be considered as separate languages in this context. This paper examined the situation in a specific border area where students are highly dialectal. The paper tried to assess language teachers’ perception of multilingualism and their attitudes towards the dialect. The study showed that language teachers are aware of the potential benefits of the dialect and its potential for transfer. They demonstrated positive example of multilingual pedagogy. Even more, language teachers’ collaboration with local community resulted in establishing the Dialectal group in school and working on dialectal dictionary. What is more, the Croatian Ministry of Culture recognized the dialect spoken in this border area of Međimurje and protects it as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Even though the example at hand is praiseworthy, there is still no systematic approach to teachers’ education on multilingualism and intercultural education