Enrolling for this, the twelfth round, were a record nineteen participants from thirteen countries (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, Japan, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Russia and the United States of America), who successfully completed both parts of the final exam and received the diploma of the University of Zagreb’s School of Language and Culture and a bilingual record of their grades in Croatian and English.
The HiT-1 Croatian language on-line course, providing instruction in Croatian as a second and foreign language, was successfully completed on the 27th of May with a final exam for the participants of the spring semester. Enrolling for this, the twelfth round, were a record nineteen participants from thirteen countries (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, Japan, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Russia and the United States of America), who successfully completed both parts of the final exam and received the diploma of the University of Zagreb’s School of Language and Culture and a bilingual record of their grades in Croatian and English.
The HiT-1 Croatian internet course is the first university on-line course teaching Croatian as a second and foreign language in the Republic of Croatia, launched at the initiative of the CHF. The course is the fruit of the cooperation of the CHF, the University of Zagreb and its SRCE University Computing Centre, with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport. The course was in the development phase from 2009 to 2010 and had its first trial run in March of 2011. Twelve semesters have been staged as of June 2016, with instruction received by 106 attendees from thirty-four countries on a number of continents. The course is also supported by the Croatian Government’s State Office for Croats Abroad. It awarded four scholarships for the 2015 autumn semester and seven scholarships for the spring 2106 semester.
HiT-1 consists of seven instructional units that participants have a total of twelve weeks to master, in which they are assisted by experienced instructors and experts for Croatian as a foreign language Marija Bošnjak, Maša Musulin, Zrinka Kolaković and Lidija Cvikić – also the authors of this unique programme. Along with the interactive, fascinating and diverse content in this e-learning system, the programme also includes a mandatory 24 hours of classes with an instructor via the Internet (Skype and Webinar).
The HiT-1 Croatian internet course is an important project that allows people who are unable to travel to Croatia for instruction, or who have limited opportunities to learn Croatian in their country of residence, to learn Croatian. It has now also become a necessity for some Croatian emigrants: as of recently acquiring Croatian citizenship requires more than just a confirmation of Croatian extraction – it also requires that applicants know the basics of the language, spoken and written, which is exactly what this course provides. It is certainly encouraging that the Croatian Government’s State Office for Croats Abroad has announced its call for scholarship applications for the 2016 autumn semester and the 2017 winter semester.
The organisers have already announced the following periods for the course as September 12th through December 4th of 2016.
More detailed information about the HiT-1 Croatian Internet course is available at: https://www.matis.hr/index.php/en/programs/schools/1269-croatian-internet-course
Videos about the course can be found at the following web sites:
• Croatian language e-learning – CROnline
• Croatian language e-learning – Croatian public TV broadcaster news item
Text by: Lada Kanajet Šimić