STUDENT ATTITUDES ON THE USE OF NEW MEDIA IN LEARNING GERMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The rapid and intense development of new media brought about a significant change in foreign language learning, acquiring and developing language proficiency of students. Changing the paradigm of learning a foreign language under the influence of cyberspace, provides the potential for successful mastering of educational content in the field of language and language skills such as grammar, reading, writing, pronunciation, listening, speaking and culture. The use of new media for learning a foreign language is very frequent in young people, especially in developed countries, while in Serbia, these issues are still insufficiently investigated. Consequently, the main objective of this study is aimed at testing students' opinions on the use of new media, especially online materials that support successful learning of German language. The main survey instrument was a structured interview, which was carried out on a selected sample of students of Faculty of Philosophy in Nis (N = 40) who learn German as a foreign language. Data processing was performed using descriptive statistics and qualitative approach, the analysis of respondents' answers, percentages and frequencies. The results confirmed the initial hypothesis that the students in learning the German language use a variety of new media resources and have a positive attitude towards online learning materials. According to the responses, it can be concluded that the largest number of students use laptop or home computer, especially when study at home, while the use of tablets and mobile phones is less common. The data show that there is a trend of using a variety of online materials that students recognize as significant support in learning German. Research findings indicate that the use of online materials in learning the German language is on the rise, and recommend the greater involvement of institutions, especially faculties, in the process of modernization of teaching and learning.