The HiT-1 Croatian Online Course is the first university online course of Croatian as a second and foreign Language in Croatia, launched by the CHF following its long-standing cooperation with the University of Zagreb and IT support from the Srce University Computing Center
On September 15, 2025, the fall cycle of the HiT-1 Croatian Online Course commenced, jointly conducted by the University of Zagreb, the Croatian Heritage Foundation and the Srce University Computing Center. It will be attended by a total of 23 learners from 16 countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Finland, France, Canada, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, USA, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela), including 6 scholarship recipients of the University of Zagreb. The course runs until December 7, 2025.
The HiT-1 Croatian Online Course is the first university online course of Croatian as a second and foreign language in Croatia. The course was launched by the CHF following its long-standing cooperation with the University of Zagreb, and IT support is provided by the Srce University Computing Center.
HiT-1 consists of 7 units, for which learners have a total of 12 weeks at their disposal to complete. In this, they are assisted by experienced language instructors and experts in Croatian as a second and foreign language, Maša Musulin and Martina Pliestić, as well as one of the authors of the course and the main e-instructor employed at the University of Zagreb, Marija Bošnjak.
“The fifteenth year is already underway, and I still have vivid memories of the first semester of HiT when my colleagues Lidija Cvikić, Zrinka Kolaković and I, who are also the authors of the course, eagerly awaited the session with the first learners in live classes. And it seems to me that it’s almost with the same feeling that I’m awaiting this next session with 23 new learners, now in the company of Maša Musulin and Martina Pliestić, who will assist with the teaching.
I’m also pleased this semester that we have learners from Finland and Lithuania, two countries that have not participated in HiT so far. In addition, this year, we have our oldest student, who will celebrate his 80th birthday with us. I think that this fact supports the importance of lifelong learning, which is constantly being talked about. Taking into consideration that the youngest learner is 17 years old, it’ll be an interesting and diverse group. We look forward to the weekly journey to 16 countries around the world, during which we will help our learners learn our beautiful language and everything else that comes along with learning a language. Good luck to them and to us!” said Marija Bošnjak before the start of the course.
Instruction in this course is interactive, and the approach to language learning is individualized, meaning that the content of live classes is adapted to the requirements and level of each individual. The course is conducted through the MoD e-learning platform, including compulsory 24 hours of learning with an instructor using the videoconferencing system, when participants have the opportunity to speak with e-instructors, native speakers of Croatian.
From the trial course in spring 2011 until mid-2025, thirty semesters of classes have been held, and the course has been attended by 404 learners from 58 countries.
The organizers have also announced the dates for 2026: spring semester, March 2 – May 24, 2026 (applications until February 20, 2025); and fall semester, September 14 – December 6, 2026 (applications until September 4, 2026).
