CLIL: Conceptual Differences in Teaching “Realia“ to Philological and Non-philological Students

Anna Zelenková & Jana Javorčíková, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica Slovakia.        In Slovakia, modern Cultural Studies of English-speaking countries have been integrated into university curricula since the 1990s. However, there is a fundamental difference in teaching “realia“ (i. e. cultural studies, country studies) for philological students via CLIL method and teaching realia for students of business at non-philological (e.g. economic) faculties. While philological students study realia with primary linguistic and cultural goals (i.e. to learn new words, terminology and its context and comparative cultural aspects), business students' goals are market-oriented (that is, they allow successful graduates to function effectively in a culturally-new business environment). This study analyses the theoretical framework and practical implications stemming from differences between the role of the cultural studies phenomenon and its effect upon methodology of all three diciplines in debate – general English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Business English (BE) and Cultural Studies for philological students.

Key words: Business English (BE), Cultural Studies, Culture-wise level, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Language-wise level