Linguistic Competence in Slovene of Roma Children in the Beginning of the Primary School in Slovenia

Sabina Zorčič

Summary:  The paper presents the results of the pilot testing of the linguistic competence of Roma children (5-13 years) in the language of education (Slovene). The project A Toolkit for Assessing the Linguistic Competence of Roma Children and Pupils in the Romani Language (V6-2249) included the adaptation of the language test (testing comprehension and retrieval of words, syntax, and comprehension of text), the testing of 29 children in both Romani dialects and Slovene (14 in NE Slovenia: Prekmurje (Over-Mur Romani) and 15 in SE Slovenia: Dolenjska Romani), the analysis of the data, and proposals for action and further research. Slovene language knowledege is better in Prekmurje, but the difference is not statistically significant. The testing showed that children who performed better in Slovene language testing understood the texts better (in both languages). In addition to recording the specific problems of Roma children with Slovenian language, which need to be addressed with supplemented didactic materials and expanded methods, additional linguistic training of the staff who teach Roma children in Slovenian schools would also be urgently needed.