INNOVATIVE TEACHING MATERIALS FOR SLOVAK AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE INTEGRATING CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR SUSTAINABLE LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Abstract

The author deals with the importance of cultural aspects as supporting
elements in teaching Slovak as a foreign language. The research focuses on the views
and pedagogical practices of Slovak language teachers and volunteers working abroad at
various levels of education. The aim was to find out their views, to what extent they
consider the cultural environment to be the basis of teaching, and what methods and approaches
they use to integrate them into the pedagogical process. The results indicate
that the majority of respondents perceive the cultural context as a key factor in
motivating students, building their language skills, and deepening intercultural
understanding. In this regard, the principles of education for sustainable development
play a crucial role in shaping teaching strategies that integrate cultural heritage into
language education, fostering long-term linguistic and intercultural competence among
Slovaks living abroad. Nevertheless, they also point to certain challenges, such as the
lack of appropriate didactic materials or the time-consuming nature of teaching
preparation. Author presents the educational material system "Let's play about Slovakia
in Slovak" as innovative teaching materials for Slovak as a foreign language (mainly for
Slovak living abroad) as outputs of the project financed by The Ministry of Education,
Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.