Kontrastiven Ansatz im Fremdsprachenunterricht: Analyse und Vorschlag zur Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase THERE + BE gemäß dem Schüleralter im Englischunterricht

U ovome radu prikazat ćemo kontrastivni pristup obrade egzistencijalne glagolske fraze there + be u engleskome jeziku. Poučavajući učenike na početnom i naprednom stupnju engleskoga jezika primjećujemo kako, osim nekih drugih gramatičkih kategorija, učenike često zbunjuje egzistencijalna glagolska fraza there + be, za koju ne postoji pravi ekvivalent u hrvatskome jeziku te ponekad njezino nepravilno korištenje i tumačenje kod učenika uzrokuje nepravilnu komunikaciju na engleskome jeziku. Prilikom učenja stranoga jezika učenici se svjesno ili nesvjesno oslanjaju na materinski jezik, koji je često uzrok negativnog prijenosa u stranome jeziku. Kako bi se spriječio negativni prijenos materinskoga jezika i omogućio pozitivni prijenos u učenju stranoga jezika, u suvremenoj nastavi stranoga jezika bitno je koristiti se tehnikama rada koje uključuju spoj komunikacijskih, kognitivnih i kontrastivnih elemenata i na taj način pomoći učenicima u boljem razumijevanju nekih najčešćih pogrešaka koje su uglavnom posljedica utjecaja materinskoga jezika. S tim ćemo ciljem dati prikaz obrade egzistencijalne glagolske fraze na različitim stupnjevima učenja engleskoga jezika.This article presents a contrastive approach in the analysis of existential verb phrase there + be in the English language. We have noticed that many students at the beginner and advanced level are often confused by the use of the phrase, because it has no real equivalent in the Croatian language. Its incorrect use can lead students to the inaccurate communication in the English. When learning a foreign language, students, consciously or unconsciously, rely on their first language, which is mainly the result of a negative transfer in the foreign language. In order to prevent negative transfer of the first language and enable positive transfer in the foreign language learning, the contemporary language teaching requires the use of teaching techniques that involve the combination of communicative, cognitive and contrastive elements. In such a way we can help our students to better understand some of the most common mistakes they make, especially those that are the result of the negative transfer from the first language. Therefore, we propose activities for the better acquisition of the existential verb phrase at different stages of the English language learning.In diesem Beitrag wird der kontrastive Ansatz zur Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase there + be im Englischunterricht veranschaulicht. Es ist nicht zu übersehen, dass neben einigen anderen grammatischen Kategorien im Englischunterricht für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene die Schüler oft von der existentiellen Verbalphrase there + be verwirrt werden, für die es kein richtiges Äquivalent in kroatischer Sprache gibt, und manchmal führt ihr unsachgemäßer Gebrauch und Deutung die Schüler zur fehlerhaften Kommunikation in englischer Sprache. Beim Erlernen einer Fremdsprache verlassen sich die Lernenden bewusst oder unbewusst auf ihre Muttersprache, die oft die Ursache des negativen Transfers in der Fremdsprache ist. Um den negativen Transfer der Muttersprache zu verhindern und damit den positiven Transfer beim Fremdsprachenlernen zu gewährleisten, ist im modernen Fremdsprachenunterricht von Bedeutung, solche Arbeitstechniken zu nutzen, die eine Kombination aus kommunikativen, kognitiven und kontrastiven Elementen einschließen und so den Schülern helfen, einige der häufigsten Fehler besser zu verstehen, deren Ursachen größtenteils dem Einfluss der Muttersprache zu verdanken sind. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wird die Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase in verschiedenen Stadien des Englischlernens veranschaulicht

Positive and Negative Lexical Transfer in English Vocabulary Acquisition

The aim of the paper is to explore the appearance of positive and negative lexical transfer of plurilingual learners in English vocabulary acquisition. Cross-linguistic influences in the study are examined by word translation tasks from Croatian into English, including true, partial, and deceptive cognates or false friends in English, German, and Italian. The results have revealed different language dominances and positive or negative transfer manifestation. Lexical transfer from L4 German is manifested positively, but the Italian language seems to play a dominant role in the acquisition of English vocabulary. The effect of Croatian is manifested both positively and negatively. The study has confirmed previous psycholinguistic studies on the complexity of lexical connections in plurilingual learners and the dynamic interaction of various learning-based factors, such as language recency, proficiency, exposure to languages, the order in which languages are learned, and the formal context in language learning

Il plurilinguismo individuale nel contesto dell’educazione Croata

Individualna višejezičnost definira se prvenstveno s obzirom na raslojenost verbalnoga repertoara pojedinca (Banjavčić, Erdeljac, 2009, 18). Tako Königs (2000 u Neuner, 2004, 15) razlikuje tri vrste individualne višejezičnosti: retrospektivnu višejezičnost (engl. retrospective plurilingualism), koja se odnosi na dvojezične govornike koji dolaskom na nastavu već posjeduju znanje u drugome jeziku (J2 znanje), odnosno znanje jezika koji je i predmet nastave i prema tome su u prednosti naspram ostalih učenika; retrospektivno-prospektivnu višejezičnost (engl. retrospective – prospective plurilingualism), koja podrazumijeva višejezične govornike koji su dolaskom na nastavu u prednosti naspram ostalih učenika u inojezičnome znanju, no niti jedan od njihovih jezika nije predmet nastave, već daljnjim učenjem trećega ili dodatnoga jezika razvijaju svoju višejezičnost, i prospektivnu višejezičnost (engl. prospective plurilingualism), specifičnu za učenike koji su dolaskom na nastavu jednojezični govornici i svoju višejezičnost razvijaju učenjem ponajprije prvoga stranog jezika u školi. Posljednja vrsta višejezičnosti, odnosno prospektivna višejezičnost, karakteristična je za većinu europskih škola, a tako i Hrvatsku, gdje se polaskom u školu većina učenika po prvi puta susreće s učenjem jednoga ili više stranih jezika te svoju višejezičnost razvijaju učenjem ponajprije prvoga stranog jezika u školi. Nova perspektiva obrazovanja glede učenja stranih jezika u Hrvatskoj započinje uvođenjem barem jednoga stranog jezika kao obaveznoga nastavnog predmeta u osnovne škole 2003. godine, a u ostalim ciklusima obrazovanja i drugih stranih jezika. Prema ZEROJ-u (Zajedničkom europskom referentnom okviru za jezike, 2005, 4) višejezični pristup podrazumijeva stvaranje zajedničke komunikacijske kompetencije svih jezika koje učenik poznaje i kojoj pridonose znanje i iskustvo svih njegovih jezika, a u kojoj se svi jezici međusobno isprepliću. To svakako uključuje povezivanje materinskoga jezika, prvoga stranog jezika i ostalih dodatnih jezika koje učenik uči, bilo konsekutivnim slijedom ili paralelno. Stoga se i cilj jezičnoga obrazovanja mijenja i ne obuhvaća više ovladavanje jednim ili dvama, čak i trima jezicima zasebno, što dovodi k težnji idealnoga izvornog govornika, već stvaranje jezičnoga repertoara u kojem sve jezične sposobnosti dolaze do izražaja. U takvome slučaju ponuda stranih jezika u obrazovnim ustanovama mora biti raznolika, a učenicima se mora pružiti mogućnost razvijanja višejezične kompetencije. Cilj ovoga rada je dati teorijski prikaz individualne višejezičnosti i analizirati je kroz hrvatske kurikulume te dati smjernice za njezin održivi razvoj u svrhu stvaranja kompetentnih višejezičnih korisnika stranih jezika.Plurilingualism is primarily defined with regard to the stratification of the verbal repertoire of an individual (Banjavčić, Erdeljac, 2009, 18). According to Königs (2000 in Neuner, 2004, 15) there are three types of plurilingualism: retrospective plurilingualism, relating to bilingual speakers with considerable knowledge of a second language (L2), that is the language being taught, and thus have a substantial advantage in terms of knowledge and skills in this language over the other learners; retrospective-prospective plurilingualism, when learners bring their plurilingualism into the classroom and therefore have a substantial advantage in linguistic knowledge over other learners, but neither of these two languages is the subject being taught, and prospective plurilingualism refers to learners who enter the foreign language classroom as monolinguals and begin developing their plurilingualism in a foreign language classroom. Prospective plurilingualism is typical of the majority of European schools, as well as those in Croatia. When beginning school, most students are faced with learning one or more foreign languages and they extend their plurilingualism by learning their first foreign language in school. A new perspective in the Croatian educational system, with foreign language learning in mind, began with the introduction of at least one foreign language as a compulsory subject in primary schools in 2003, later including even more foreign languages. CEFRL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, 2005, 4) states that the plurilingual approach emphasizes the creation of communicative competence to which all knowledge and experience of language contributes and in which languages interrelate and interact. It certainly entails the interaction between the native language and the first foreign language and other additional languages learned by a student, whether consecutively or simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of language education has changed so that the mastery and acquisition of one or two languages, or even three (resulting in an ideal native speaker) is no longer considered primary, but the creation of a linguistic repertoire in which all linguistic abilities have a place. Furthermore, the offer of foreign languages in educational institutions has to be diversified and at the same time give students possibility to develop plurilingual competence. The focus of this work is to provide a theoretical review of plurilingualism and analyze it through Croatian curricula, and provide directions for its sustainable development in forming competent plurilingual users of languages.Il plurilinguismo individuale viene definito soprattutto in base alla stratificazione del repertorio verbale di un individuo (Banjavčić, Erdeljac, 2009, 18). Così Königs (2000 in: Neuner, 2004, 15) distingue 3 tipi di plurilinguismo individuale: il plurilinguismo retrospettivo (ingl. retrospective plurilingualism), che si riferisce ai parlanti bilingui che al momento della frequentazione delle lezioni già possiedono la conoscenza di una seconda lingua (L2), ovvero, conoscono già la lingua oggetto dell’insegnamento, e quindi, sono avvantaggiati rispetto ad altri studenti; il plurilinguismo retrospettivo – prospettivo (ing. retrospective - prospective plurilingualism), che si riferisce ai parlanti plurilingui che al momento della frequentazione delle lezioni sono avvantaggiati rispetto agli altri studenti nelle loro conoscenze di altre lingue (L2, L3, LS), ma nessuna delle quali è oggetto delle lezioni e sviluppano il loro plurilinguismo con ulteriore apprendimento della terza lingua o di una lingua aggiuntiva; e infine, il plurilinguismo prospettivo (ingl. prospective plurilingualism) che si riferisce agli studenti che cominciano a frequentare le lezioni come monolingui e sviluppano il loro plurilinguismo soprattutto tramite l’apprendimento scolastico della prima lingua straniera. Quest’ultimo tipo di plurilinguismo, prospettivo, è caratteristico della maggior parte delle scuole europee, e anche delle scuole in Croazia, in cui la maggior parte degli alunni comincia a studiare una o più lingue straniere dal primo anno della scuola elementare e sviluppa il proprio plurilinguismo prevalentemente tramite l’apprendimento della prima lingua straniera a scuola. Dal 2003 in Croazia si è sviluppata una nuova prospettiva nell’apprendimento di lingue straniere con l’introduzione di almeno una lingua straniera come materia scolastica obbligatoria nelle elementari, e aggiungendo altre lingue straniere nei cicli successivi. Secondo il Quadro comune europeo (QCER, 2005, 4) l’approccio plurilingue sottintende lo sviluppo della competenza comunicativa comune per tutte le lingue che l’alunno conosce e alla quale contribuiscono il sapere e l’esperienza di tutte le lingue conosciute, ovvero, una competenza in cui s’intersecano tutte quelle lingue. Questo concetto sottintende il collegamento della lingua materna, della prima e seconda lingua straniera, e tutte le altre lingue che l’alunno studia, sia consecutivamente sia parallelamente. Di conseguenza cambia anche l’ obiettivo della formazione linguistica, il che non implica solamente l’apprendimento di una, due o tre lingue, separatamente – avvicinandosi così il più possibile al parlante nativo ideale in ciascuna delle lingue –, ma determina, anzi, la creazione di un repertorio linguistico in cui si riflettono tutte le abilità linguistiche. L’ obiettivo di questo contributo è di fornire un quadro teorico del plurilinguismo individuale e, analizzando i curricula croati, offrire le linee guida per il suo sviluppo sostenibile con lo scopo di formare utenti plurilingui competenti nelle diverse lingue straniere

Crosslinguistic influence in English vocabulary acquisition – the role of language recency and proficiency

Disertacija se bavi ispitivanjem međujezičnih utjecaja u ovladavanju engleskim leksikom. Naglasak je na dvama čimbenicima – skorašnjosti i jezičnome znanju. Cilj istraživanja je ispitati povezanost skorašnjosti i jezičnoga znanja s pojavom pozitivnih i negativnih međujezičnih utjecaja. U središtu ispitivanja su višejezični učenici s različitim početkom ovladavanja stranim jezicima. Radi se o srednjoškolskim učenicima, kojima je materinski jezik hrvatski (J1), prvi ili drugi strani jezik (J2/J3) engleski i talijanski, te treći strani jezik njemački (J4). Međujezični utjecaji ispituju se zadacima prijevoda s hrvatskog na engleski jezik, koji se sastoje od pravih i djelomičnih sličnica i lažnih prijatelja u engleskom, njemačkom i manjem broju u talijanskom jeziku. U podrobnijem određivanju smjera međujezičnih utjecaja, odnosno iz kojeg jezika se očituje pozitivni ili negativni utjecaj upotrebljava se retrospektivni zadatak, tj. učeničko izvješće, u kojemu neposredno nakon zadatka prijevoda učenici navode je li im prilikom prijevoda pomogao ili odmogao neki od jezika. Na temelju subjektivne procjene učenika, kao i objektivne, u koju je uključena vlastita procjena istraživača, procjena neovisnih ocjenjivača i kontrolirane varijable (psihotipologija, izloženost jezicima, jezično znanje, motivacija) prikazuje se očitovanje pozitivnih i negativnih prijenosa iz pojedinog jezika u engleski jezik. Kako je, osim jezičnog znanja, ključni čimbenik u provjeravanju utjecaja skorašnjost, odnosno uloga posljednjeg jezika po redoslijedu učenja, fokus je na provjeravanju bočnog prijenosa, iz J4 na J2/J3. Rezultati ukazuju na to da skorašnjost J4 njemačkog nije pokazala značajnu ulogu u pojavi međujezičnih utjecaja, osim što se više utjecaja iz J4 odrazilo pozitivno. Zanimljiva je činjenica da se učenje za sat njemačkog jezika pokazalo povezanim sa skorašnjosti jezika i time rezultiralo pojavom negativnih utjecaja, dok su pozitivni utjecaji bili povezani s jačom motivacijom za njemački jezik, kao i s upotrebom jezika u slobodne svrhe. Talijanski, kao prethodno ovladavani jezik, preuzeo je dominirajuću ulogu u pojavi i pozitivnih i negativnih utjecaja, dok je hrvatski kao materinski jezik pokazao manje dominirajuću ulogu, no negativni utjecaji bili su odraz svakodnevne upotrebe jezika, a pozitivni utjecaji visoke ocjene iz hrvatskog jezika, odnosno formalnog učenja za sat hrvatskog. Jezično znanje pokazalo je različitu dinamiku u ovladavanju leksikom, čime se potvrđuju prijašnja istraživanja, da će se višejezični korisnici koristiti znanjem leksika iz onog jezika koji im je u tome trenutku najdostupniji, neovisno o njihovom jezičnom znanju. Osnovne glotodidaktičke implikacije ovog istraživanja sastoje se u potrebi za osvještavanjem i nastavnika i učenika o međujezičnom povezivanju u nastavi stranoga jezika, osobito u pogledu leksika. Također, potiče se bolje promišljanje u izgradnji nacionalnog i školskih kurikuluma u jezičnome području, u kojima bi glavna svrha trebala biti postizanje komunikacijske kompetencije u određenom stranom jeziku na osnovi postojećih jezičnih iskustava i nadogradnjom novih.The thesis deals with the study of crosslinguistic influence in English vocabulary acquisition. Despite a long interest for them, studies of crosslinguistic influence in foreign languages still represent underexplored phenomenon in the foreign language teaching. The focus is on two psycholinguistic factors – recency and language proficiency, although other factors, such as psychotypology, exposure to languages outside the classroom, motivation, metalinguistic awareness and language talent are discussed. Studies in terms of language proficiency have shown that transfer happens regardless of students' stage of learning and whether the student knows or does not know his/her non-native language well. Some researchers (Shanon, 1991; Williams & Hammarberg, 1998; Ecke, 2001) also assume that there will be more transfer from the language that has actively been used by the learners, but even from the language the learner knows, but does not use it (Schmidt & Frota, 1986 as cited in De Angelis, 2007) . The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between recency and language proficiency as factors that may affect the appearance of positive and negative crosslinguistic influences in multilingual learners' English vocabulary acquisition. The following research questions are put forward, and accordingly, our assumptions have been made : Research question 1: Will the knowledge of German as the last learned language be linked with the appearance of crosslinguistic influences in the English language? H1: There will be more negative crosslinguistic influence from German, that is, the knowledge of German will be closely connected with negative crosslinguistic influence. H2: There will be less positive crosslinguistic influence from German, or the knowledge of German will not show a significant positive influence. Research question 2: Will the knowledge of Italian be linked with the appearance of crosslinguistic influences in English language? H3: There will be less negative crosslinguistic influence from Italian, that is, the knowledge of Italian will not be closely connected with the appearance of negative crosslinguistic influence. H4: There will be more positive crosslinguistic influence from Italian, or the knowledge of Italian will be connected with positive crosslinguistic influence. Research question 3: Will the knowledge of Croatian as mother tongue be linked with the appearance of crosslinguistic influence in the English language? H5: The knowledge of Croatian as the mother tongue will not show a significant relationship with the appearance of both positive and negative crosslinguistic influences in English language. H6: If there were any influences, they would result in negative influence from Croatian. Participants are multilingual learners who are at different age onset of learning foreign languages. They are secondary school students, whose mother tongue is Croatian (L1), the first or second foreign language (L2/L3) English and Italian, and the third foreign language German (L4). Crosslinguistic influences in the study are examined by word translation tasks, from Croatian into English, including true, partial and deceptive cognates in English, German, and lesser number in the Italian language. In order to determine the direction of transfer, that is, which language is considered to be the main source of transfer, and whether it will be manifested postively or negatively, a retrospection task is used. In this task, students are asked, shortly after word translation tasks, to decide which language helped them or not in language production. On the basis of the students' subjective estimation, used in the retrospective task, as well as objective estimation, which included the researcher's estimation, the estimation of two independent evaluators and controlled variables (psychotypology, exposure to languages, language proficiency, motivation), the manifestation of positive and negative transfer from the other languages into the English language is shown. Since one of the key factors used in the study is recency, the type of transfer used for the main observation is decided to be lateral transfer, from L4 to L2/L3. The results have shown that the recency of L4 German is not a determinant factor in the appearance of crosslinguistic influences, although more influences from L4 are manifested positively. Therefore, the first hypothesis (H1), that there will be more negative influences from L4 German is not confirmed, as well as the second hypothesis (H2), because L4 German has shown some positive influences, especially in correlation with motivation and the use of the language in free time. There is also an interesting finding, that the studying for German classes or formal exposure to the language outside the classroom has correlated with recency, and it resulted in the appearance of negative influences from German in English language production. The Italian language has played a dominant role, although the influences from Italian are both positive and negative. The third hypothesis (H3) for the Italian language has been partly confirmed, since both positive and negative influences have been found, while the fourth hypothesis (H4) is fully confirmed, as there are more positive influences. The Croatian language, as the learners' first language, has been less dominant, thus the fifth hypothesis (H5) is mostly confirmed. The sixth hypothesis (H6) has been partly confirmed, since negative influences from Croatian can be found, especially in correlation with its everyday usage. High school grades and formal exposure to the language outside the classroom have been the result of positive influence of Croatian. Language proficiency has shown different dynamics in vocabulary acquisition. It means that, regardless of the proficiency in any of the learners' languages, multilingual learners will search for lexical mental links and use their knowledge from the language which they find most available at a particular moment. It is important to point out that there are certain limitations of the study and the results obtained are specific exclusively for the presented context. Nevertheless, the complexity of crosslinguistic influence in multilingual contexts is confirmed, as well as some directions for future studies are opened up. Thus, the most important glottodidactic implication of this study is that both teachers and learners of foreign languages should become aware of crosslinguistic connections in foreign language classroom, particularly in the area of vocabulary. Moreover, teachers should, whenever it is possible, develop learners' mental lexical connections among languages and point to the presence of cognates, by using appropriate teaching techniques in the classroom. The study also implies better national and school curriculum creation, having in mind the achievement of communicative competence in a foreign language through various language modes experienced by the learner

Plurilingualism in the Context of the Croatian Educational System

Plurilingualism is primarily defined with regard to the stratification of the verbal repertoire of an individual (Banjavčić, Erdeljac, 2009, 18). According to Königs (2000 in Neuner, 2004, 15) there are three types of plurilingualism: retrospective plurilingualism, relating to bilingual speakers with considerable knowledge of a second language (L2), that is the language being taught, and thus have a substantial advantage in terms of knowledge and skills in this language over the other learners; retrospective-prospective plurilingualism, when learners bring their plurilingualism into the classroom and therefore have a substantial advantage in linguistic knowledge over other learners, but neither of these two languages is the subject being taught, and prospective plurilingualism refers to learners who enter the foreign language classroom as monolinguals and begin developing their plurilingualism in a foreign language classroom. Prospective plurilingualism is typical of the majority of European schools, as well as those in Croatia. When beginning school, most students are faced with learning one or more foreign languages and they extend their plurilingualism by learning their first foreign language in school. A new perspective in the Croatian educational system, with foreign language learning in mind, began with the introduction of at least one foreign language as a compulsory subject in primary schools in 2003, later including even more foreign languages. CEFRL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, 2005, 4) states that the plurilingual approach emphasizes the creation of communicative competence to which all knowledge and experience of language contributes and in which languages interrelate and interact. It certainly entails the interaction between the native language and the first foreign language and other additional languages learned by a student, whether consecutively or simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of language education has changed so that the mastery and acquisition of one or two languages, or even three (resulting in an ideal native speaker) is no longer considered primary, but the creation of a linguistic repertoire in which all linguistic abilities have a place. Furthermore, the offer of foreign languages in educational institutions has to be diversified and at the same time give students possibility to develop plurilingual competence. The focus of this work is to provide a theoretical review of plurilingualism and analyze it through Croatian curricula, and provide directions for its sustainable development in forming competent plurilingual users of languages

Kontrastiven Ansatz im Fremdsprachenunterricht: Analyse und Vorschlag zur Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase THERE + BE gemäß dem Schüleralter im Englischunterricht

U ovome radu prikazat ćemo kontrastivni pristup obrade egzistencijalne glagolske fraze there + be u engleskome jeziku. Poučavajući učenike na početnom i naprednom stupnju engleskoga jezika primjećujemo kako, osim nekih drugih gramatičkih kategorija, učenike često zbunjuje egzistencijalna glagolska fraza there + be, za koju ne postoji pravi ekvivalent u hrvatskome jeziku te ponekad njezino nepravilno korištenje i tumačenje kod učenika uzrokuje nepravilnu komunikaciju na engleskome jeziku. Prilikom učenja stranoga jezika učenici se svjesno ili nesvjesno oslanjaju na materinski jezik, koji je često uzrok negativnog prijenosa u stranome jeziku. Kako bi se spriječio negativni prijenos materinskoga jezika i omogućio pozitivni prijenos u učenju stranoga jezika, u suvremenoj nastavi stranoga jezika bitno je koristiti se tehnikama rada koje uključuju spoj komunikacijskih, kognitivnih i kontrastivnih elemenata i na taj način pomoći učenicima u boljem razumijevanju nekih najčešćih pogrešaka koje su uglavnom posljedica utjecaja materinskoga jezika. S tim ćemo ciljem dati prikaz obrade egzistencijalne glagolske fraze na različitim stupnjevima učenja engleskoga jezika.This article presents a contrastive approach in the analysis of existential verb phrase there + be in the English language. We have noticed that many students at the beginner and advanced level are often confused by the use of the phrase, because it has no real equivalent in the Croatian language. Its incorrect use can lead students to the inaccurate communication in the English. When learning a foreign language, students, consciously or unconsciously, rely on their first language, which is mainly the result of a negative transfer in the foreign language. In order to prevent negative transfer of the first language and enable positive transfer in the foreign language learning, the contemporary language teaching requires the use of teaching techniques that involve the combination of communicative, cognitive and contrastive elements. In such a way we can help our students to better understand some of the most common mistakes they make, especially those that are the result of the negative transfer from the first language. Therefore, we propose activities for the better acquisition of the existential verb phrase at different stages of the English language learning.In diesem Beitrag wird der kontrastive Ansatz zur Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase there + be im Englischunterricht veranschaulicht. Es ist nicht zu übersehen, dass neben einigen anderen grammatischen Kategorien im Englischunterricht für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene die Schüler oft von der existentiellen Verbalphrase there + be verwirrt werden, für die es kein richtiges Äquivalent in kroatischer Sprache gibt, und manchmal führt ihr unsachgemäßer Gebrauch und Deutung die Schüler zur fehlerhaften Kommunikation in englischer Sprache. Beim Erlernen einer Fremdsprache verlassen sich die Lernenden bewusst oder unbewusst auf ihre Muttersprache, die oft die Ursache des negativen Transfers in der Fremdsprache ist. Um den negativen Transfer der Muttersprache zu verhindern und damit den positiven Transfer beim Fremdsprachenlernen zu gewährleisten, ist im modernen Fremdsprachenunterricht von Bedeutung, solche Arbeitstechniken zu nutzen, die eine Kombination aus kommunikativen, kognitiven und kontrastiven Elementen einschließen und so den Schülern helfen, einige der häufigsten Fehler besser zu verstehen, deren Ursachen größtenteils dem Einfluss der Muttersprache zu verdanken sind. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wird die Bearbeitung der existentiellen Verbalphrase in verschiedenen Stadien des Englischlernens veranschaulicht