S C 506 is the first of a two-semester online course designed to introduce you to the languages and culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia (BCMS). This course prepares you for real-life situational discourse (appropriate for beginner-level students) in which you might find yourself when interacting with the target culture. 

Course assignments will allow you to work independently, but you can also expect to work with peers on various activities, such as project assignments, or video recording conversations in BCMS. We will have our class twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays), each time for an hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you will work on your own. 

You will develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills by working in the fields of culture, grammar, lexicon, communicative skills and linguistic norms. Together with developing your functional language abilities, you will learn to understand the common beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in the BCMS region. Finally, you will be able to implement such cultural norms in your conversation.

This class does not incorporate the traditional pen-and-paper tests. Instead, it utilizes the performance-based approach. At the end of each unit, you will participate in a task that mimics real-life situational discourse. These unit-final tasks will allow you to communicate in target language: to demonstrate your cultural knowledge of the area, together with functional language abilities. 

Textbook units include colorful culturally-relevant images, short videos, audio recordings and interactive vocabulary and grammar activities to be used in or outside of class.

Date & Location

This course is 100% online and includes live streaming video. Real-time participation is required during scheduled meeting times.

First class day: Monday, August 26
Last class day: Monday, December 9
Final exam: Instructor will provide information.

Course Materials

No textbook purchase is required for this course. All materials are available via the online textbook.

Technical Requirements

Reliable internet connection (wired connection is recommended for synchronous interactions and video recordings). A computer with webcam, microphone and headphones.