During my stay at Matej Bel University (Faculty of Arts, Department of English and American Studies) from April 3-8, 2017, I taught 8 hours on current trends in contemporary English and applied linguistics. The topics discussed tackled inter-cultural aspects of language acquisition and production. Students actively participated in seminars on word formation processes and the importance of staying up-to-date with trends in contemporary studies of not only the English language but other languages as well.

 

 

The importance of minority languages was also stressed as well as of cultural studies in general. In addition, staff members and students reflected on similarities and differences between studying in Slovakia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. During my stay, there were also many other interesting activities going on in Banska Bystrica (a lecture in geolinguistics and Baltic languages, a lecture in translation studies, a student conference at the Faculty of Law, Easter Fair, International Erasmus Village). Together with colleagues from Russia and Ireland, I also visited Tatranska Lomnica, situated right at the foothill of the High Tatra Mountains, and Hronsek, a village famous for its articular church. We visited the two locations by train to experience the true spirit of Slovakia. The week in Banska Bystrica has been a great opportunity for me to make plans for the future with my new colleagues and promote inter-cultural values.

 

 

Nejla Kalajdžisalihović, University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Philosophy,

Department of English Language and Literature