Interesting Serbian Language and Literature lessons at Savremena Gimnazija

After covering the topic of regional language variation (dialects) in one of the Serbian lessons, the students were introduced to the Prizren–Timok dialect by one of its speakers, Savremena’s teacher Milica Ivanović.

Another guest at the lesson was teacher Natalija Stanković, whose origin is also from the southern part of the country where one can hear the Prizren–Timok dialect. Natalija explained the etymology of toponyms from southern Serbia, i.e. the villages of Svinjarica, Štulac, Geglja, Krivača, Lebane, Konjino, Ždeglovo, Prekopčelica, etc.

After revising the features of this older Ekavian dialect, teacher Milica presented examples of this dialect which the students then compared to other Serbian dialects.

The students listened to original dialogues spoken in the Prizren-Timok dialect from the book Govorite li prekopčelački?, written by Nikola Stanković who was born in Prekopčelica, near Lebane. Afterwards, they listened to poems from the anthology of contemporary poems in the same dialect, Oratim da ne patim, which they then translated.

Students showed great interest in the dialect

The interested but confused students wondered what language this was, confirming that it’s important to listen to dialects, rather than merely read about them. The students were also shown clips from Stanković’s Koštana and Sremac’s Ivkova slava and Zona Zamfirova; however, what impressed them the most was talking to a person from the south of Serbia, said Serbian teacher Marija Pilčević Tomašević.

This lesson, like everything at Savremena, was truly different. In order to learn the basics of the Prizren-Timok dialect and make the lesson more interesting, the Serbian teacher brought in a guest. Although she announced her as a “mysterious guest”, a well-known face entered the classroom – our Spanish teacher. We learnt that our guest’s origin is from the southern city of Leskovac. After a brief introduction, we read and translated impressive poems from the collection “Oratim da ne patim”, written in the Prizren-Timok dialect, which enabled us to get to know its main features. I believe that this type of lessons is both innovative and effective, as it allows students to learn in an interesting manner, said Savremena’s student Aleksandar Kašerić.

I am extremely pleased and proud to be the parent of a Savremena student. During my first encounter with the school management, when I asked about my child’s potential enrolment, I saw how much love, enthusiasm and professionalism you put in your work. I was impressed by your approach, ideas and methods. I couldn’t believe something like this existed in our country! It doesn’t take long to realise that this is a school you would recommend to everyone. Creativity, modern technology, top-quality education, and most of all, the humaneness that can be seen throughout the school, make it truly different and worthy of its name – Savremena Gimnazija. With such an approach, the success of this school and, consequently, our children’s success, is unavoidable. Congratulations! Jelena Đorđević, Andrija’s mum
Contemporary in any sense of the word, our school offers functional knowledge and quality preparation for tertiary education in Serbia and abroad. Implementing modern and creative teaching in the classroom, where the teachers’ pedagogy and students’ performance are aligned with the highest academic standards for the high-school finals, our school develops linguistic, mathematical, scientific, artistic, cultural, technical and ICT competence, which is a prerequisite for further education and professional development. Teaching is supported by the interactive whiteboards and educational software, whereas practice exercises research and critical thinking.