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Moments and conditions that foster creativity and innovation are frequently those caused by existential challenges that need to be addressed to restore balance in various fields of human activity. Education is no exception. Therefore, our assumption was that the circumstances brought on by the pandemic steered teachers toward exploring new avenues for creation of knowledge. Cognitive science tells us that human creativity appeared when our working memory had developed to the extent that we could simultaneously juggle two seemingly different or contradictory elements. The resulting cognitive mechanism of conceptual integration (Fauconnier & Turner, 2002) is believed to be responsible for emergent meanings in the core of creative endeavors. In this conceptual paper, supported by the results of a project conducted with EFL teachers, teachers of German and Math teachers, we discuss the idea of conceptual integration as a key process in creating paradigm shifts in teaching fundamental, but cognitively demanding school subjects, such as foreign languages and math.

Ovaj je vodič rezultat suradnje skupine stručnjaka s Filozofskoga fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu koji su na temelju svojega dugogodišnjega iskustva rada u obrazovanju budućih osnovnoškolskih i srednjoškolskih nastavnika prepoznali potrebu za njegovom izradom, s ciljem kontinuiranoga podizanja kvalitete studijskih programa koji uključuju nastavnu praksu. Vodič je nastao u sklopu projekta Učenje kroz rad i sustav upravljanja studentskim iskustvom na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zagrebu (2020. – 2023.) koji se financira iz Europskoga socijalnoga fonda. Namijenjen je svim mentorima nastavnicima, bez obzira na to koji nastavni predmet predaju. Cilj je vodiča afirmirati ulogu mentora koji rade sa studentima i koji su važna karika u obrazovanju nastavnikā. Naglasak je stavljen na opće vještine potrebne za mentoriranje, a ne na specifična znanja iz predmetnih metodika.

The global energy crises and the dramatic spike in natural gas prices, coupled with the upcoming European winter and uncertainties related to the availability as well as affordability of energy, makes energy a powerful topic that affects and shapes our leaders’ political image(s). The topic in question exposes their strengths and weaknesses in planning as well as managing the circumstances that arise from the crisis. In other words, energy as a topic has a huge potential for creating contrast within political discourse, which is by far the most powerful frame for constructing images of power vs. powerlessness. The talk focuses on the Croatian Prime Minister’s communication with journalists and members of the opposition parties in the Parliament. Our discussion of the data selected relies on the typological analysis of the narratives that invoke (verbal and non-verbal realizations of) seven master myths (see Jack Lule 2001). Furthermore, we discuss aspects of multimodal meaning construction by identifying emergent meanings that originate in conceptual blends, as described by Fauconnier and Turner (2002 and elsewhere). Finally, we address the role of the audience, the nature of the social occasion, underlying cultural practices, and dominant patterns in communication that create the leader’s political image.

As implied by many and explicitly stated by Florida (2002), „human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.“ However, just like human knowledge, which is one of the preconditions for creativity to occur, creativity does not happen out of thin air. It has its foundations, triggers and constituents. Consequently, it can be developed and fostered as well as studied and analyzed. The aim of this paper is to propose the idea of education-based situated creativity. According to Nonaka and Zhu (2012), situated creativity assumes “sense-making, context-interpreting, situation-framing, meaning-giving, fact-projecting, problem-shaping, opportunity- exploring, future-envisioning” (pp. 172-173). Expanding the concept by adding “education” we focus on the necessity of perceiving creativity as a backbone of any educational process and its systematic honing by focusing on one of its fundamental academic preconditions – interdisciplinarity. This particular precondition is related to the cognitive mechanism of conceptual integration responsible for human creative spark (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, Turner 2014). In other words, evolutionarily speaking, human creativity is quite likely to have developed at the time when our working memory could simultaneously hold and juggle two elements that are different, distant or seemingly unrelatable (e.g. think of William Kamkwamba’s wind turbine made out of bike parts and materials from a scrapyard, or the invention of the axle that combines a rod and wheels, or the system of Braille alphabet consisting of three-dimensional bumps). We shall exemplify the idea of education- based situated creativity by discussing the content as well as the process of creating a new standard of occupation and qualification (Applied Cognitive Science/Scientist) that is oriented towards creative economy, especially various aspects of R&D, while being anchored in the hexagon of interdisciplinary study of human mind known as cognitive science.

The aim of this thesis was to examine how ESL teachers in Croatia foster development of language learning strategies in their students. The study looked at their approaches, education, opinions and experiences with learning strategies and has also touched upon their attitudes on cross-curricular topic Learning how to learn. The theoretical part of the study includes a short overview of history of language learning strategies, their position in 21st century, an overview of the cross-curricular topic and a summary of previous studies on this topic. The research part includes the current study and its aims, sample, instruments, procedure and findings. The study was conducted in Croatia in two parts. The first part was a semi-structured interview with four EFL teachers which served as a pilot study and a basis for a questionnaire, which is the base of the present paper and the main study. The results showed that teachers in Croatia have positive attitudes towards language learning strategies and that they instruct them regularly and in different manners taking into account individual differences. They are also familiar with the cross-curricular topic Learning how to learn and regularly teach its contents. Teachers' education on language learning strategies mostly comes from professional education and their own research and they readily try new approaches and strategies. However, the study indicated that teachers lack in their assessment of their students' use of strategies and ways to test this segment of curriculum. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti na koje načine profesori engleskog jezika u Hrvatskoj potiču razvoj strategija učenja engleskog jezika, njihove stavove i obrazovanje o istima te stavove o međupredmetnoj temi Učiti kako učiti. Teorijski dio uključuje kratki pregled povijesti strategija učenja engleskog jezika, položaj strategija u 21 stoljeću, pregled glavnih ishoda međupredmetne teme Učiti kako učiti te sažetak prethodnih istraživanja na tu temu. Istraživački dio uključuje opis svrhe istraživanja, ispitanika, načina provođenja i pronalazaka. Istraživanje je provedeno u dva dijela. Prvi dio bio je polu-strukturirani intervju s četvero profesora koji je poslužio kao pilot istraživanje za drugi dio, upitnik proveden online u kojem je sudjelovalo 38 profesora. Rezultati su pokazali da profesori i učitelji u Hrvatskoj imaju pozitivne stavove prema strategijama učenja jezika te ih redovno poučavaju na razne načine uzimajući u obzir individualne razlike učenika. Upoznati su sa sadržajem kurikuluma međupredmetne teme Učiti kako učiti i poštuju njegove ishode. Obrazovanje profesora o strategijama učenja jezika najviše se svodi na stručne edukacije i njihovo vlastito istraživanje te oni spremno isprobavaju nove strategije. No, istraživanje je pokazalo da ispitanici imaju problema u procjeni i testiranju korištenja strategija kod svojih učenika.

Inojezična sposobnost (IS) defnira se kao skup kognitivnih i perceptivnih sposobnosti koje pojedincu omogućuju da brže i lakše savlada proces učenja stranoga jezika (Carroll, 1981). Cilj mjerenja IS-i prema tradicionalnom pristupu bio je predvidjeti ishod učenja na kraju određenoga razdoblja tijekom kojega se odvijao proces učenja stranoga jezika. Konstrukt IS-i odraslih tradicionalno je temeljen na sastavnicama koje počivaju na eksplicitnim kognitivnim procesima te poznavanju prvoga jezika. Novija saznanja u području kognitivne psihologije omogućila su istraživačima IS-i da se razvijanjem pristupa temeljenih na teoriji, a ne praksi, preispita uloga tradicionalnih sastavnica IS-i, a u skladu s time razviju nove mjere prilagođene specifičnim skupinama učenika stranih jezika. U skladu s time cilj istraživanja opisanoga u ovome doktorskome radu jest istražiti konstrukt IS-i u ranoj školskoj dobi, odnosno učenika prvoga razreda osnovne škole. Konstrukt IS-i učenika prvoga razreda osnovne škole te na samom početku formalnoga obrazovanja definiran je onim sastavnicma koje su pokazivale najbolju prediktivnost u istraživanjima s djecom, ali su ujedno pokazale najbolji potencijal za prilagodbu učenicima koji još uvijek razvijaju vještine čitanja i pisanja. To su sastavnice slušne pažnje te sposobnosti jezične analize. Ove su sastavnice operacionalizirane oslanjajući se s jedne strane na postojeće mjere (mjera učenja brojeva kao operacionalizacija slušne pažnje), a s druge strane na sasvim nove mjere (mjera slušne percepcije morfofonološkoga uzorka i mjera slušne percepcije točnosti nastavka za množinu kao dvije različite mjere sposobnosti jezične analize) na jeziku nepoznatom ispitanicima - mađarskom. Nakon prve faze istraživanja (N = 49) te druge faze istraživanja (N = 207) tijekom kojih se provjerila unutarnja i vanjska valjanost kao i latentna faktorska struktura sastavnica uključenih u konstrukt IS-i, uslijedilo je glavno istraživanje (N = 209). Provjeravanjem povezanosti mjera uključenih u konstrukt IS-i s individualnim razlikama u domeni kognitivnih sposobnosti (verbalno radno pamćenje, mentalna tranformacija i fonološka svjesnost) i nekognitivnih sposobnosti (mjere motivacije) te mjere okolišnih čimbenika (socioekonomski status obitelji, jezične navike u obitelji, izloženost stranome jeziku, uključenost djeteta u proces učenja stranoga jezika te stavovi roditelja) provedena je konvergentnodivergentna validacija konstrukta IS-i. Prediktivna valjanost utvrdila se provjeravanjem prediktivnosti svih varijabli (mjera IS-i te kognitivnih i nekognitivnih varijabli) u odnosu na kriterijsku varijablu (ishod na zadatku razumijevanja slušanjem), dok se inkrementalna valjanost vii utvrđivala usporedbom prediktivnosti mjera IS-i u odnosu na prediktivnost svih ostalih mjera uključenih u istraživanje. Rezultati provedenoga istraživanja (N = 209) ukazuju na rezultate koji su značajni u vidu definiranja konstrukta IS-i u ranoj školskoj dobi, ali i rasvjetljavanju njegove prirode. Naime, jednakim postotkom varijance postignuće u učenju stranoga jezika objašnjeno je tradicionalnom sastavnicom IS-i (mjerom slušne pažnje) te mjerom općekognitinivnih neverbalnih sposobnosti (mjerom menatalne transformacije). IS je potvrdila svoju inkrementalnu valjanost objašnjavanjem 4 % varijance uspjeha u učenju engleskog jezika. Mjera mentalne transformacije objasnila je dodatnih 4 % varijance, a motivacija te mjesečna primanja roditelja kao komponenta SES-a objasnili su po 10 % varijance uspjeha na rezultatu mjere razumijevanja slušanjem. Teorijski model sastavljen od čimbenika slušne pažnje, mentalne transformacije, motivacije, mjesečnih primanja roditelja te prethodnoga učenja engleskoga jezika objasio je 28 % varijance uspjeha u učenju engleskoga jezika na kraju prvoga razreda osnovne škole. Foreign language (FL) aptitude has been defined as a combination of cognitive and perceptual abilities that predispose individuals to learn foreign languages well and rapidly (Carroll, 1981). More recent definitions of FL aptitude describe it as a set of cognitive abilities that play a major role in both second and FL learning. (Li, 2022). It is considered that for adults, FL aptitude gives incremental predictive validity (Doughty, 2019). This means that FL aptitude explains success in FL learning beyond factors such as previous language learning, motivation, and personality facets. The construct of FL aptitude has been, for much of its history, seen as a stable, unitary construct operating on explicit cognitive processes and domain specific abilities (Carroll, 1959; 1973). Contemporary FL aptitude research, however, considers aptitude to be dynamic in its nature and composed of multiple independent components. As a result of this change in paradigm, the role of aptitude for specific groups of FL learners, such as young learners (YLs), is considered crucial in explaining success in reaching the outcomes of early FL learning programs (DeKeyser, 2000; Li, 2015; Robinson, 2019; Skehan, 2019). The research presented in this dissertation was motivated by three research gaps in the body of literature investigating FL aptitude of YLs. The first gap addresses the nature of the abilities making up the construct of FL aptitude of YLs or whether FL aptitude of YLs is domain general or domain specific. The importance of both domain general and domain specific abilities as predictors of FL aptitude of YLs aged 11 was confirmed by the LAPS project conducted in the Swiss context (Berthele & Lambelet, 2019). In addition to the cognitive variables, the LAPS research project also confirmed the importance of affective variables as well as socioeconomic factors in explaining the role of FL aptitude in FL achievement. Alexiou (2005) tested YLs aged 5-7 to determine the predictivity of domain general tasks originally designed by Esser and Kossling (1986). The results showed high predictive validity for success in YLs’ FL achievement. So far there have been no studies that attempted to compare the predictive validity of both traditional, domain specific measures and non-traditional domain general measures for YLs at the beginning of acquiring literacy skills. This brings us to the second gap related to the applicability of traditional aptitude measures like the MLAT-E for preliterate learners. Most of the tasks included in the MLAT-E do not cater to the needs of YLs at the very beginning of developing literacy skills. In other words, existing measures are not fully applicable for YLs at the beginning of formal education. Keeping in mind that the MLAT-E is designed to measure ix explicit cognitive abilities which are believed to be at the core of the FL aptitude construct, the question to be asked is can explicit cognitive processes underlying the traditional aptitude construct be operationalized without relying on YLs’ reading and writing skills? This question subsumes the third research gap and that is the question of the ways in which explicit cognitive processes play a role in the early stages of FL learning. With challenging the view of YLs purely relying on implicit learning mechanisms (Lichtman, 2016), came the need to address the role of language analytic ability as a possible component of the FL aptitude of young learners who are yet to acquire literacy skills (Alexiou, 2005). From existing language analytic ability measures it is clear that language analytic ability can be tapped into via tasks that measure explicit cognitive processes either in the participant's first language (e.g. grammatical sensitivity task (IV MLAT) in the MLAT-E, Carroll & Sapon, 2002) or via an unknown language to the participants (e.g. grammar inferencing task (LLAMA F in the LLAMA, Meara & Rogers, 2019), however the modality of the tasks needs to suit the learners' current literacy levels. When it comes to YLs who are at the very beginning of acquiring literacy skills, the only applicable measure is the artificial language game from the YLAT which is a measure relying on nonverbal material such as images and colours (Alexiou, 2005). Although applicable for young preliterate learners, such a task does not cater to the ecological validity of the FL aptitude measure by testing YLs’ auditory processing of unknown language material which is of crucial importance for the stage of input processing (Skehan, 1998, 2002, 2012). Such a measure could also provide explanatory power in addition to the predictive power of existing language analytic ability measures. Apart from versions of MLAT-E(elementary) (Carroll & Sapon, 2002), which has shown good predictive validity in several studies conducted in different L1 contexts (Kiss & Nikolov, 2005; Tellier & Roehr-Brackin, 2017), there have been no systematic attempts at designing new measures of FL aptitude of young learners (YLs). Drawing on existing literature as well as existing aptitude tests for YLs, a new aptitude measure was designed following the miniature natural language learning paradigm proposed by Kempe & Brooks (2016). The miniature language learning paradigm was used with the aim of achieving a measure of higher ecological validity in comparison to the existing measures. The ecological validity of the new measure was meant to ensure that the task demands resemble the demands of the particular language learning stage learners are trying to master as well as cater to the cognitive demands of a particular age group. During the validation process two studies (N=49; N=207) were conducted involving YLs x aged 7 to establish the final product of the validation: a novel aptitude test. A measure consisting of both visual and auditory input was designed using a natural language (Hungarian) which was at the same time a new language to the participants whose native language is Croatian. The final version of the aptitude test consisted of two measures: an auditory alertness measure and a language analytic ability measure consisting of two subtasks (auditory morphophonological pattern recognition and auditory perceptual acuity). To address the previously mentioned gaps in literature the present study is set out to investigate the FL aptitude construct of YLs at the very beginning of formal education. To test the convergent-divergent validity of the FL aptitude construct several correlations were explored: correlations between the FL aptitude construct and domain general abilities (verbal working memory and mental transformation), correlations between the FL aptitude construct and phonological awareness, correlations between the FL aptitude construct and motivation and, finally, correlations between FL aptitude construct and environmental factors were explored. All the variables included in the study (FL aptitude measures, verbal working memory, mental transformation, phonological awareness, motivation and environmental factors) were tested for their predictive validity for the results on the listening comprehension test administered at the end on the first year of FL learning. Finally, the study examined the incremental validity of the FL aptitude construct. The following research questions were asked, and subsequent hypothesis formed: 1. Is there a correlation between FL aptitude and domain general abilities (verbal working memory and mental transformation)? 2. Is there a correlation between FL aptitude and phonological awareness? 3. Is there a correlation between FL aptitude and environmental factors (socioeconomic status (SES) of the family (parents’ education, monthly income, number of books in the household), language related activities in the family, extramural exposure to English (including prior FL learning in formal contexts), YLs’ engagement with language learning activities, parental attitudes towards (early) language learning)? 4. Is there a correlation between FL aptitude and motivation? xi 5. Can language analytic ability measures designed for the main study predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension at the end of the participant's first year of learning English? 6. Can auditory alertness designed for the main study predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension at the end of the participant's first year of learning English? 7. Can both language analytic ability and auditory alertness predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension better than each of the tasks individually? 8. What is the incremental validity of the FL aptitude construct? H1: There is a positive correlation between FL aptitude and domain general abilities (measured by verbal working memory and mental transformation). H2: There is a positive correlation between FL aptitude and phonological awareness. H3: There is a positive correlation between foreign language aptitude and environmental factors. H4: There is a positive correlation between FL aptitude and motivation. H5: Language analytic ability can predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension at the end of the participant's first year of learning English. H6: Auditory alertness can predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension at the end of the participant's first year of learning English. H7: Language analytic ability and auditory alertness together can predict YLs' achievement measured via listening comprehension at the end of the participant's first year of learning English better than each of the two FL aptitude measures individually. H8: Language aptitude can explain an additional percentage of variance of success in learning English at the end of first year of learning English than any other measure included in the main study (verbal working memory, mental transformation, phonological awareness, environmental factors, motivation). The results of the main study (N=209) point towards auditory alertness as the one aptitude measure that showed to be positively correlated with both verbal working memory (r(201) = 0.19), mental transformation (r(201) = 0.23, p < 0.001)., phonological awareness (r(201) = 0.32, xii p < 0.001), parents’ attitudes towards FL learning (r(167) = 0.20, p = 0.08), maternal education (τ-b(184) = 0.16, p = 0.014), and motivation (r(201) = 0.14, p = 0.043). Auditory alertness was also the only aptitude measure included in the study to be predictive of listening comprehension in English at the end of the first year of FL learning (r(201) = 0.35, p < .001). Since language analytic ability displayed no correlation to the results of the listening comprehension measure, nor any other measure included in the main study, apart from auditory perceptual acuity task and the mental transformation task (r(206) = 0.13, p = 0.059), it could not be tested further for its predictivity as an aptitude measure. The hypothesized predictivity of language analytic ability for the construct of FL aptitude was not confirmed, thus questioning its importance for the construct of FL aptitude of YLs. The best overall predictor of success on the listening comprehension measure were motivation and parents’ monthly income followed by two cognitive measures: auditory alertness and mental transformation. Both motivation and parent’s monthly income each explained 10% of variance of success on a listening comprehension measure in English. Mental transformation as a domain general measure explained the additional 4% of variance. Finally, the incremental validity of FL aptitude was confirmed with auditory alertness explaining 4% of variance of success on a listening comprehension measure. Overall, 28 % of variance of success in FL learning at the end of the first year of FL learning was explained with the new model of the FL aptitude construct of YLs comprising of auditory alertness, mental transformation, motivation, SES and prior FL learning.

The aim of this study was to explore the use of video in EFL classroom and describe the positive transformation of English language teaching related to using technology and video in education. The textbooks analyzed are designed in line with current technological advancement. They offer a variety of topics and provide a source of authentic language. The content of textbook modules and units is presented in the tables and all the videos are listed for the purpose of this study. Selected videos are described and the suggestions for lessons using video are explained. The reason for using video is to stimulate students’ motivation. Our research is focused on person – centered learning and development of students’ 21st century skills – creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, learning to learn. We have shown that post-viewing tasks for practicing speaking and writing develop these skills.

This thesis proposes to explore some aspects of strategic construal of English verb-particle constructions, with the focus on factors that are theorized to influence learners’ visual representations of particle verbs. In order to determine what features of idiomatic particle verbs influence learners’ visual conceptualizations, a study was conducted on 80 Croatian high school students who are learning English. The participants were asked to draw the meaning of 24 verb-particle constructions containing 4 particles (out, in, up and down) and verbs that can semantically be described as either light (less specific, schematic) or heavy (more specific, denoting concrete actions). It was determined that the semantic nature of the verb played a role in how the participants visually represented the chosen particle verbs, as they were able to meaningfully decompose particle verbs more consistently when the lexical part of the construction was a heavy verb. Additionally, particle verbs with a heavy lexical element produced more responses that were characterized as lexical determination, while topological determination was prevalent in the case of light verbs. An overwhelming number of analyzed drawings contained concrete symbols and props, suggesting that learners favor this type of self-generated visual representations, and potentially implying that detailed illustrations might be more accessible to high school students, compared to decontextualized schematic diagrams. Another insight gleaned from the study was that Croatian high school learners of English are capable of conceptual integration, since their drawings incorporated the literal meaning of either one or both components of the relevant particle verb and its target figurative meaning in 31.74% of all drawings. Cilj ovog rada je istražiti aspekte strateškog konstruiranja značenja engleskih fraznih glagola s naglaskom na čimbenike koji utječu na slikovni prikaz fraznih glagola kod učenika engleskog jezika. Kako bi se utvrdilo koje značajke idiomatskih fraznih glagola određuju kako će učenici vizualno koncipirati te strukture, provedeno je istraživanje na 80 hrvatskih srednjoškolaca koji uče engleski. Od sudionika se tražilo da nacrtaju značenje 24 frazna glagola, u kojima su bila zastupljena 4 različita prijedloga (out, in, up i down), kao i jednak broj značenjski određenih te značenjski neodređenih glagola. Utvrđeno je da značenjska struktura (određenost) glagola igra ulogu u tome kako sudionici slikovno prikazuju frazne konstrukcije, s obzirom na to da su u većem broju slučaja prikazali jednu ili obje komponente fraznih glagola u crtežima koji se odnose na konstrukcije sa značenjski određenim glagolima. Nadalje, frazne konstrukcije sa značenjski određenim glagolima polučile su više crteža koje karakterizira leksičko određenje, dok se gramatičko/topološko određenje pokazalo svojstvenim za neodređene glagole. Veliki udio svih analiziranih crteža sadržava konkretne simbole i specifične predmete, što ukazuje na to da učenici preferiraju takav oblik individualnih vizualnih prikaza, i što potencijalno implicira da bi konkretne ili detaljne ilustracije mogle biti razumljivije srednjoškolcima, u usporedbi sa shematičnim dijagramima lišenima konteksta. Također je utvrđeno da su hrvatski srednjoškolci koji uče engleski sposobni konceptualno integrirati doslovna značenja elemenata fraznog glagola s cjelokupnim prenesenim značenjem izraza, što predočuje činjenica da su ispitanici u crtežima prikazali doslovno značenje jedne ili obiju komponenti frazne konstrukcije uz ciljano preneseno značenje fraznog glagola u 31.74% svih crteža.

The topic of this thesis is the types and roles of illustrations in EFL textbooks used in Croatian schools. The aim of the paper was to investigate the distribution and use of pictures and their categories in a selected number of Croatian secondary school EFL textbooks and establish the frequency of categories. The approach utilized in the analysis of six EFL textbooks was based on multimodal and content analysis, whilst the work of Carney and Levin (2002) provided the theoretical background for establishing categories. The results of the analysis show that the majority of illustrations are actively employed in teaching. However, transformational pictures, the type that students benefit most from, are rarely in the textbooks, while representational pictures are the most dominant. It should be noted that recently published series of textbooks employ more modern forms of content; nevertheless, they do not feature transformational pictures. The lower cost of designing textbooks may be to blame for the shortage of transformational visuals in recent textbooks. Tema ovoga rada su vrste i uloge ilustracija u udžbenicima engleskoga kao stranoga jezika koji se koriste u hrvatskim školama. Cilj rada je istražiti distribuciju i korištenje slika i njihovih kategorija u odabranom broju udžbenika engleskoga kao stranog jezika.za srednje škole koji se koriste u Hrvatskoj i utvrditi učestalost pojedinih kategorija. Metoda korištena u analizi šest udžbenika utemeljena je na multimodalnoj analizi i analizi sadržaja. Rad Carneya i Levina (2002) je osnova za teorijsku pozadinu za kategorije. Rezulati analize pokazuju da se većina ilustracija aktivno koristi u poučavanju. Transformacijske slike, kao vrsta od koje učenici imaju najviše koristi, rijetko se nalaze u udžbenicima, a reprezentacijske slike su najčešće prisutne. Valja istaknuti da u nedavno objavljenim serijama udžbenika koriste se modernije vrste sadržaja, no noviji udžbenici ne sadrže transformacijske slike. Mogući razlog za nepostojanje transformacijskih slika u novim udžbenicima je smanjenje troškova izrade udžbenika.

Video igre podržavaju svaki dio učinkovitog učenja pružajući: jak i zanimljiv narativ (kontekst), namjerne interakcije (autentičnost), emocionalni angažman (motivacija), sloboda neuspjeha (greške) i mogućnosti samostalnog odlučivanja (autonomija učenika). Učenje poboljšano igrom pruža skup učinkovitih strategija, kao što su jezična ponavljanja i kontekstualni tragovi, za vježbanje i korištenje vokabulara u autentičnom kontekstu. Neke od strategija kao što su popisi riječi i korištenje rječnika korisnije su u kombinaciji s izvornim govornicima ili interakcijama vršnjaka. Video igre su izrazito interaktivni i interkulturalni prostori afiniteta; igračima je potreban scaffolding da bi se privikli na mehaniku igre, kulturne norme u igri i kolokvijalni jezik. Video igre mogu biti vrlo uspješne u učenju i podučavanju stranih jezika ako postoje određeni uvjeti. Kada su učenici zainteresirani za svoju aktivnost ili imaju osobni interes i ono na čemu rade zajedno, bilo u stvarnom ili virtualnom svijetu, uvjeti su optimalni za učenje. Značajke dizajna koje povećavaju pedagošku korisnost video igara uključuju narativnu strukturu i igru koja se oslanja na slušanje, govor, čitanje i pisanje. Igre pružaju priliku učenicima da primjene svoje komunikacijske vještine i kulturno razumijevanje u smislenom, virtualnom kontekstu. Međutim, igre su samo medij kroz koji se pružaju kontekst i aktivnosti. Njihova korisnost u učenju proteže se samo do angažmana učenika. No, povezivanje obrazovne osnove s prednostima video igara omogućuje brže učenje nego samo tradicionalnim metodama. Uključivanje elemenata računalnih igara u učionice može biti korisno za učenike. Kako bi iskoristili obrazovne koristi od ozbiljnih igara, učenici i učitelji moraju uložiti svoje vrijeme i strpljenje u učenje funkcije igre i prevladavanje prepreka implementaciji. U ovom radu pokazat ćemo da video igre doista mogu utjecati na obrasce interakcije L2 i pridonijeti usvajanje drugog jezika, ali da to ovisi, kao i u svim drugim okruženjima za poučavanje i učenje, o pažljivom pedagoškom planiranju aktivnosti.

A major subset of teaching English as a second or foreign language, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) refers to the teaching of English with specific academic or professional needs in mind. For a number of professions, general English classes cannot properly equip students with the technical language and communication skills required to function in the work environment. Many non-philological faculties in Croatia have therefore incorporated specialised English language courses into their curricula. As students are one of the main stakeholders in an ESP programme, more research is needed to understand their perspectives. The purpose of this paper was to investigate needs and attitudes toward ESP among first-year students enrolled at the Faculty of Mining, Geology, and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb. The study also aimed to determine whether there is a connection between student attitudes and achievement, motivated by the fact that students display low interest and effort in their language classes. Instruments used were a short questionnaire containing basic demographic questions and items for language self-evaluation, followed by a semi-structured interview. The findings showed that students are aware of the importance of English in their field and generally have positive attitudes toward the English language and the ESP course, but some changes would be beneficial in order to fully meet their needs. Značajna grana poučavanja engleskog kao drugog ili stranog jezika, engleski za posebne namjene (ESP) odnosi se na učenje engleskog jezika za određene akademske ili profesionalne potrebe. Za niz zanimanja, nastava općeg engleskog ne može u potpunosti opremiti studente tehničkim jezikom i komunikacijskim vještinama potrebnim za funkcioniranje u radnom okruženju. Mnogi nefilološki fakulteti u Hrvatskoj stoga su u svoje nastavne planove i programe uključili specijalizirane tečajeve engleskog jezika. Budući da su studenti jedni od glavnih dionika u ESP programu, potrebno je više istraživanja kako bi se razumjela njihova perspektiva. Svrha ovog rada bila je istražiti potrebe i stavove prema ESP-u među studentima prve godine Rudarsko-geološko-naftnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Istraživanje je također imalo za cilj utvrditi postoji li veza između stavova polaznika i njihovih postignuća, potaknuto činjenicom da studenti pokazuju nizak interes i trud na nastavi jezika. Korišteni instrumenti bili su kratki upitnik koji je sadržavao osnovna demografska pitanja i stavke za jezičnu samoevaluaciju, nakon čega je slijedio polustrukturirani intervju. Rezultati su pokazali da su studenti svjesni važnosti engleskog jezika u svojoj struci te imaju pretežno pozitivne stavove prema engleskom jeziku i kolegiju ESP-a, no određene promjene bile bi korisne kako bi se u potpunosti zadovoljile njihove potrebe.