Use of English language by Kosova Youth

Abstract

Due to political situation in Kosova, Serb and Albanian youth are still distanced from each other and do not learn the language of each other though they are both official languages in Kosova. This situation is leading to misunderstandings, uncertainty and feeling unsafe in many aspects of everyday life. Furthermore, it is leading to social separation of ethnicities what is making a large gap in joint efforts to develop Kosova and improve existing deficiencies, in order for Kosova to become a prosperous multicultural society. Albanian and Serb youth communicate in English language so that English Language, in these regions, has expanded from its previous function as a sign of prestige and necessity for people who want to get educated or work abroad, to the main tool of communication between the two ethnicities. The study results determine students’ preferences, their level of intercultural competence and English language proficiency. It also proof hypothesis that all students from particular communities have low level of intercultural competence, they have similar preferences, but focusing on their ethnicity, furthermore, their level of English language proficiency is similar. This study covers 316 Albanian and 171 Serb students from high school students from various cities in Kosova.