The influence of Prlekija dialect on the use of the standard language during classes in elementary school

Written and spoken language is part of our identity since childhood as it is daily used by our family circle and in our local environment. Children most often use regional colloquial speech or dialects in their day-to-day communication. The standard variety is seldom a speaker’s first language or mother tongue. Children come in close contact with contemporary standard Slovene at different milestones, e.g. when starting kindergarten, whereas a more systematic approach to learning it is implemented in primary school. The teacher plays a vital role in the overall education process and sets an example for students in various aspects, including the use of standard Slovene. Nevertheless, non-standard language varieties, such as dialects, are still present in the classroom. The aim of this master’s thesis was to determine whether the Prlekija regional dialect influences the student’s spoken language and their use of the Contemporary Standard Slovene (CSS) in the first and second primary school educational circle and whether it has any effect on the class teachers’ pedagogical speech in the classroom setting. Firstly, a voice recording of two lessons, Slovene, and Science and Society, per class in grades 1, 3 and 5 was carried out. Then questionnaires were distributed to teachers and pupils taking part in lesson recordings and an online version of the questionnaire was designed for other respondents included in the empirical part of the thesis. A total of 17 pupils and 37 teachers took part. The analysis of the data yielded the following results: pedagogical speech predominantly shows features of CSS, namely the formal and informal varieties of CSS; grade 3 and 5 pupils use a higher percentage of CSS vocabulary than first graders. First grade teachers and their pupils thus showed the largest discrepancies in CSS use, whereas higher-grade pupils and teachers displayed far less differences in language use. Teachers react to the use of non-standard vocabulary in class in different ways. Teachers’ speech analysis showed no major differences in CSS use regarding interactive and cognitive speech. More experienced teachers rated their knowledge of CSS higher thank those who have been teaching for a shorter period of time (0–4 years). Teachers deemed the learning of CSS as essential, whereas their opinions on the use of dialect in the classroom setting varied. There were no major discrepancies in the use of CSS regarding individual school subjects. Only a slight variation was exhibited in the speech of first-grade teachers, whereas differences were barely detectable in the speech of first graders. Outside of the classroom, teachers adapt their language use according to the communicational circumstances. The findings of this master’s thesis are most pertinent to elementary education teachers and might motivate them to reflect on their role in the pupil’s speech development and thus further ameliorating their pedagogical work