See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279534777

Romanian as a Foreign Language

RESEARCH JULY 2015
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4689.0082

READS

110

1 AUTHOR:
Florina Codreanu
Universitatea Tehnica Cluj-Napoca
15 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE

Available from: Florina Codreanu

Retrieved on: 10 January 2016

REVIEW
ROMANIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Florina CODREANU1

Abstract: Review of Romanian at First Sight A Textbook for Beginners by Raluca Suciu & Virginia
Fazaka. Editura Campania, Bucureti, 2006, 384 p.
Keywords: international student; preparatory year; Romanian as a Foreign Language (RLS);
multilingualism; multiculturalism.

Teaching Romanian as a foreign language nowadays has conquered plenty of allies and supporters,
from well-designed courses and workbooks to specialised workshops and training sessions for the
acting teachers. Moreover, the Institute of Romanian Language as a European Language 2 from
Cluj-Napoca has fully promoted the language to the European league by publishing an impressive
number of materials related to the learning and teaching process of Romanian as described in the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. More recently, starting with the year
2013 the Department for Permanent Training, Distance and Low-Frequency Education from the
Universitatea Tehnic din Cluj-Napoca, Departamentul Limbi Moderne si Comunicare, asistent universitar,
florina.codreanu@lang.utcluj.ro
2
http://institute.ubbcluj.ro/ilrle/biblioteca-rls-cluj.html (site accesat n data de 01.03.2015)
1

177

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca has initiated a program of teaching RLS to the future students
of the same university or other universities in the country.
Among the teaching materials selected to support the preparation process in the field of Romanian
language of the future students, the textbook published by the teachers Raluca Suciu and Virginia
Fazaka in 2006 was near at hand because it can be used either in classroom or individually at home.
Except English, the book knows more bilingual versions such as German, Italian and French,
covering this way more needs of language knowledge. As far as the preparatory year students from
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca are concerned, most of them are familiar with English, only a
few with French and an important part with non-European languages from Asia or Northern Africa.
The main components that are lined through the textbook in question are as follows: fourteen
lessons with two revisions adequately included after the first and the second half of the content,
topics of general interest, todays formal and informal Romanian, a wide number of practical
exercises, simple grammatical structures, a vocabulary list at the end of each lesson, two
comprehensive self-assessment tests, a key to all the exercises and free audio files to be easily
downloaded on www.compania.ro the website of the publishing house responsible for the
existence of the book. The latter component raises tremendously the linguistic value of the textbook,
otherwise it would have remained just another publication about the Romanian language. Also, the
fact that all the explanations and tasks are in English (as well) facilitates the getting through of the
entire book both systematically and randomly in accordance with the students needs.
Starting with the title that emphasises the first encounter with a foreign language, the book aims at
making many new acquaintances and friends due to its accessible and colloquial approach. The
theoretical information is altogether practical and simple, despite the fact Romanian language on the
whole is not considered by the majority of the students a simple or easily approachable language.
Furthermore, the book is conceived in such a way to address the needs of an industrious student and
the ones of an already working busy adult, so the language chunks are mostly taken from the close
surroundings, the street or the media, everything that emerges at first sight. In this respect, the
experience accumulated by the foreigners that were located for a period of time in Romania on
business reasons gets to be used to complete the themes of the language course: daily schedule,
professional activities, domestic affairs, travels and leisure.
The chosen common vocabulary intermingles spontaneously with frequent grammatical
constructions, for all of which the progress explanations are given in useful boxes and translated
into English to make them more visible on the one hand and to smooth the reading and the exercise

178

solving on the other hand. No matter the topic, there are a large number of exercises meant to
consolidate the new vocabulary, the acquisition of current grammatical structures and the revision
of the lexis. One inherent advantage lies in the common layout of each lesson, which has the
following main interrogative sections: What am I learning today? What am I reading today? What
explanations do I have in todays lesson? What exercises am I doing today? What is the vocabulary
in todays lesson? What useful things have I learned? This common set-up raises students
awareness of the language level and progress, not to mention that the students know exactly what to
search for in each lesson, making their learning process as coherent and unitary as possible.
According to the layout, the first section includes the conversational and grammatical objectives of
the lesson, while the second introduces texts in the format of dialogues and, from a certain point, the
texts are followed by small assignments which check the comprehension of the text and the
understanding of the previous vocabulary. In addition, this second section consists of the main
grammatical matters discussed within the lesson. Moving to the third section, one can see that the
theoretical data is not put aside, the learner being able to follow the grammatical explanations in
bold and the English translations in italics. Equally, the exercises from the fourth section ensure the
proper development of the four skills and by their diversity guarantee the accurate use of the given
constructions with the possibility of a double check via previous teaching and the answers key at the
back of the book.
Finally, the fifth section deals with new words, parts of speech, expressions and verbal conjugations
at present tense, whereas the last section invites the learner to write down all the relevant
information from the lesson along with the lexical forms that he or she has the wish to memorise.
Herein major difficulties, key words for further use or revision details may find a place of
engagement. Last but not least, the free audio files offer the reading of the texts that are present in
the section What am I reading today? in order to keep a necessary balance between written and
spoken words. What is more, the audible vocabulary is recycled and reused to ensure its gradual
acquisition.
Based on the direct method of teaching, which prevents the students from using their native
language, at times even impossible since the teacher does not know their mother tongue, and on the
language immersion method in which the learners, encouraged by the teacher, are supposed to use
RLS as much as possible, the textbook Romanian at First Sight fosters multilingualism through its
Anglophone version (and all the other available on the market) and multiculturalism through its
topics of discussion as most of the students are not fully acquainted with the European lifestyle and

179

daily practices. For a better understanding of the Romanian customs, cultural background and
language identity, during the preparatory year, the foreign students are at the same time involved in
extracurricular activities with the support of the teachers and the students organization from
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
Being an introductory Romanian course, Raluca Suciu and Virginia Fazakas textbook for
beginners holds the key to a quick conversational language that not only allows the students to be
introduced to a different type of language, but also accompanies them throughout the journey of
developing and enhancing their knowledge of it. Blending successfully simple grammatical
structures with close-at-hand conversational topics such as personal introduction, weekly schedule,
at the restaurant, shopping and clothes, houses and furniture, family relations and friendship,
holidays and health problems etc.; the book succeeds to pave the way to a complete and accurate
language acquisition. At the end of the course, the students will be able to properly carry out their
daily activities in a Romanian town, to colourfully describe places or people and narrate different
sorts of events, to firmly handle any type of conversation and speech. Since the book employs
authentic situations of speaking and writing, the learners find it easy and convenient to solve the
grammar or vocabulary exercises and to perform the creative tasks and assignments. Additionally,
some of them are liable to further extension and follow-up activities, which may turn the slightly
linear input of the course into a more dynamic and engaging outcome.
On completion of this course, the students adhere naturally to the status of international students by being
able to put together a thoroughly new linguistic experience that combines their previous knowledge of nonEuropean formation with a Latin-based linguistic education. More than that, the students get the opportunity
to compare and contrast Romanian with other Romance languages in case they already know French, Italian
or Spanish. All in all, given the versatility of Romanian at First Sight a Textbook for Beginners the

learners have the opportunity to use it both as supplementary material and main course teaching
material within formal and guided instruction.

180