Zagreb method
The Zagreb method is a way of teaching the Esperanto language to students. It contains the 500 most-used morphemes according to studies by Zlatko Tišljar.
Necessity and invention
The Zagreb method was invented in Zagreb when many courses were held for people of different ages, using various methods and textbooks, but the results, especially with children in schools, were unsatisfactory. A pedagogical team in the International Cultural Service (IKS) in the 1970s found that the materials that were not based on the structure of Esperanto itself, but instead imitated textbooks of national languages, were to blame. They made large textbooks with many lessons and spread out simple Esperanto grammar over a very long period (e.g. a conditional was found in the Szerdahely textbook in the 30th lesson).
The research
Zlatko Tišljar did research on the frequency of morphemes used in spoken Esperanto. During the World Esperanto Congress of 1979 in Lucerne, he recorded spoken material of Esperantists in daily conversations – 60,000 words (which he processed by computer) – and obtained the list with 1,500 morphemes in total, of which the first 467 by frequency covered 95% of the entire corpus. In the IKS a team was chosen (Zlatko Tišljar, Spomenka Štimec, Roger Imbert and Ivica Špoljarec) who together shared the task of making a textbook, taking care that it not be large (12 lessons at most) and that it contain only the 500 morphemes of the mentioned research.
Textbook based on the Zagreb method
The first textbook appeared experimentally in 1980 and was distributed to 350 teachers across the world with a request for their remarks. The Croatian version of the textbook was changed based on the remarks in its first 4 editions up to the year 1985. Stylistically, the lessons were improved in the 4th edition by Tibor Sekelj. The later editions were not changed further.
There appeared also a "B" textbook and a set of instructions for teachers, an additional cartoon by C. Piron (who also wrote 3 separate songs for it), and a reading novel by G.F. Cooper, La sentimulo, based on the 500 morphemes. The Croatian version appeared until 2006 in 9 editions and 42,000 copies, and all were sold.
Good results, then translation and experimentation
Teachers in Croatia held a multitude of courses using this method with very good results. There was a set of experimental courses: in 1983, 300 people from Zagreb took part in an experiment to learn it during one 3-day weekend (12 hours); then there were experiments for teachers from Austria and Croatia during 2 weekends (24 hours); some experiments concerning holiday courses for the elderly; children's courses in schools in Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia, etc. The IKS team followed up and observed the results.
In the meantime, the basic textbook has appeared in 30 adaptations to various languages—mainly European ones, but also some Asian and African.
An instruction set for teachers teaching by the Zagreb method helps them by containing clarifications on the method, usefulness, the scheme for a 24-hour course, additional exercises, questionnaires, songs, and exam materials. With the help of this booklet and the textbook, it is possible to teach with quality in beginning courses of all kinds (with monolingual or multilingual course members, and with children from about the age of 11 to elderly people) without special preparations. The Zagreb method enables students to learn at the start, without ballast words or grammar, only what is absolutely necessary and immediately practical, and thus the students progress more quickly than with other methods. This raises learning motivations. Usually after learning the first half of the textbook, the students can manage with the language in all everyday situations. The basic Esperanto knowledge acquired by this method is very appropriate as a minimal teaching tool, but also sufficient as preliminary knowledge needed for later learning another foreign language – so as a necessary course of study when Esperanto serves as a propaedeutic measure.
External links
- esperanto12.net – an online version of the Zagreb method, optimized for smartphones
- The Zagreb method on Lernu.net
- The Zagreb method - Zlatko Tišljar - Esperanto (film)
- Lots of information on the Zagreb method (ZM) Archived 2018-06-17 at the Wayback Machine from the Croatian Esperanto League
- Online course following the ZM at the Croatian Esperanto League, for Croatian speakers Archived 2008-01-09 at the Wayback Machine Only 8 out of the 12 lessons, but with many more explanations, examples, and tasks. Instructor checks homework by email. Created by Davor Klobuchar
- Zagreb method as a book in Spanish and English
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