IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTEMPORARY TEACHING METHODOLOGY KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE OUTCOMES IN CROATIAN LANGUAGE TEACHING IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

The implementation of modern methodological knowledge implies respect for the algorithm of the initial science 1 in the choice of teaching content and a scientifically determined choice of teaching procedures that most effectively enable the achievement of outcomes provided by the curriculum. Methodological articulation should be such that students are active participants in the teaching process, i.e. that they are involved in the language activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The microstructured model of teaching the Croatian language comprises a motivational introduction, language teaching template, lesson-content announcement, introduction to language occurrences in context, practice, repetition, evaluation of student’ achievement and a sequence for global word memorization. The choice of the methodological system in which the teaching model will be microstructured depends on the teacher’s assessment of what is the optimal correlation between teachers, pupils, content and the methodological template in order to achieve the goal/learning outcomes. This paper describes the correlation between these factors with examples of usual methodological systems in the teaching of the Croatian language. Fourth-year students of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb (N = 39) observed the teaching process during 70 classes of Croatian language teaching. The aim was to investigate whether teachers implement modern methodological knowledge in the teaching process. The results indicate

The implementation of modern methodological knowledge implies respect for the algorithm of the initial science 1 in the choice of teaching content and a scientifically determined choice of teaching procedures that most effectively enable the achievement of outcomes provided by the curriculum. Methodological articulation should be such that students are active participants in the teaching process, i.e. that they are involved in the language activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The microstructured model of teaching the Croatian language comprises a motivational introduction, language teaching template, lesson-content announcement, introduction to language occurrences in context, practice, repetition, evaluation of student' achievement and a sequence for global word memorization. The choice of the methodological system in which the teaching model will be microstructured depends on the teacher's assessment of what is the optimal correlation between teachers, pupils, content and the methodological template in order to achieve the goal/learning outcomes. This paper describes the correlation between these factors with examples of usual methodological systems in the teaching of the Croatian language.
Fourth-year students of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb (N = 39) observed the teaching process during 70 classes of Croatian language teaching. The aim was to investigate whether teachers implement modern methodological knowledge in the teaching process. The results indicate that 20% of the observed articulations of teaching classes deviate from the methodologically based structure; linguistic-methodological templates (texts intended for teaching language items) are appropriate, but 30% of teachers do not use the provided linguistic-methodological templates for teaching a language item. It was further noticed that the most common 1 Initial sciences -primary sciences serving as resources for the content which is to be taught in a school subject.

Theoretical framework
Modern methodological scientific knowledge implies the choice of teaching content and its methodological transfer in accordance with the algorithm of the initial science (e.g. linguistics), the selection of the most efficient methodological procedures that will enable the achievement of outcomes and implementation in the appropriate, scientifically determined temporal dimension of teaching. It is necessary to take into account the results of previous research on the methodological content-time optimum of teaching (Budinski 2019) and scientific knowledge about a successful model of language development (Erdeljac 2009) and language reception and production skills in early Croatian language learning (Kuvač 2007), on the basis of which implementation will be achieved in appropriate methodological systems. Croatian language teaching in the modern curricular context should take into account epistemological knowledge about the relationship between competencies, learning outcomes and teaching content as well as the application of methodological articulation that will optimize the learning process and achieve outcomes (Kolar Billege 2020). The selection and implementation of methodological systems and components of methodological instruments in achieving outcomes in the teaching of the Croatian language in primary education must be aimed at activating students in language activities of reception and production in spoken and written language modality. The compatibility of content and methodological articulation ensures the achievement of outcomes. This compatibility is based on the choice of content in accordance with the language algorithm and the choice of appropriate methods, procedures, systems and strategies. Achieving outcomes includes the development of language skills, which according to Peti-Stantić (2019) are potential and not innate abilities; therefore, in the educational system and especially in the teaching of Croatian (the mother tongue), the importance of students' participation in all language activities during the articulated methodological act should be recognized and emphasised. A methodological template in the teaching of the Croatian language is the starting point for mastering the content. The structure and characteristics of the methodological template and its interpretation enable the decoding of linguistic concepts and the achievement of outcomes (Bežen, Budinski and Kolar Billege 2018). Therefore, it is important to choose a methodological template well in order to stimulate students' cognitive activity with methodologically based articulation. The acquisition of language knowledge depends on the method of teaching, but also on the recognition of scientific knowledge about how primary school children master the spoken modality of the language and how they transfer it to the written modality. The choice of teaching content is an extremely sensitive area and it is important to systematically observe the appropriateness and excellence of the methodological template as the template will be a stimulus for the reception, understanding and production of the language. The new curricular documents in the Republic of Croatia from 2019 are conceptually competency-based and outcome-oriented, and in relation to content they leave open the possibility for each methodological practitioner (teacher) to independently choose the content of teaching. Inconsistent choice of content can be an obstacle to learning, i.e., it can prevent reception and complete language learning. In methodical transfer (selection of content from the initial science that enters the teaching discourse), it is necessary to respect the algorithms of the modern science. The issue of content selection is one of the key curricular questions, and the answer to this question must be given exclusively by scientists in the field of the initial sciences in agreement with methodological scientists. Methodological articulation must enable students to actively participate in learning, i.e., to be involved in the language activities of speaking, listening, reading and writing (in interaction) initiated by the teacher, creating a relationship between students, teachers and the methodological template. Methodological systems differ in terms of key strategic determinants and the relationship between students, teachers and the methodological template, as well as the forms, communication and methods of work. Various systems of methodological implementation described in the methodological literature (Bežen 2008;Rosandić 2005;Težak 1998) differ in regard to the activity of students in the learning process. The reproductive and explicative systems involve a passive student who receives data based on a methodological template. The student reproduces this data, with more or less of his or her own input, faithfully. The student's share in the interpretation is completely in the background. The interpretative system includes the experiential and cognitive process that the student goes through based on the structured guidance of the teacher. The student is an aesthetic subject and teaching is performed in multidirectional communication. In the communicative methodological system, the teacher designs communication situations in which the student interactively learns the (language) content.
The communicative situation that the teacher creates, conducting classes in the communicative methodological system, is not primarily intended for the acquisition of communication skills, but it is also indirectly achieved. In the communication system, the content of teaching retains its primacy, i.e. this content conditioned the choice of the communication system as the most suitable for mediating the content. (Budinski and Kolar Billege 2017).
The basic characteristic of the correlative-integrative system is in connecting related disciplines on a structural and semantic level with the aim of holistic cognition. Active involvement of students is expected in this system. The problem-based learning system is based on a research method that "activates the student, i.e., causes doubts, and requires commitment and setting of theses" (Rosandić 2005). Based on the knowledge in the process of research and learning, students take a critical attitude towards the information they received through research. The multimedia system enables greater interactivity of students with the content presented in different media, but always with the aim of learning and achieving outcomes. The open learning system differs from the listed systems in the openness of the offer of various content with the help of which the same set outcome can be achieved. In doing so, the offer of different methods and procedures for learning puts the student in the role of a responsible subject in the process of learning. In primary education, students should be approached with guided articulation that will encourage the ability to perceive, create concepts and store and access (language) data. Students' success depends on many factors, and one of them is the guided approach (Jambor-Fahlen 2018) and inevitably the teacher (Hattie 2013). Based on the data of international research on learning and teaching in TALIS 2018 (Markočić Dekanić, Markuš Sandrić and Gregurović 2019), it is concluded that in Croatia the average share of time spent on learning and teaching activities during classes is 83%. Teachers from Estonia and Russia spend the most time teaching during the class (86%), while teachers from Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Brazil spend the least (around 66%). Croatian teachers over the age of 50 spend significantly more time teaching than teachers under the age of 30. The differences are 6%. In Croatia, a significant share of time is spent on administrative tasks (noting absentees, providing school information, maintaining order in the classroom), and it should be emphasised that a lesson in the Croatian subject-lesson system encompasses a temporal dimension of 45 minutes. Cognitive activation refers to activities that encourage active learning during which students need to evaluate, integrate and apply knowledge in the context of problem solving.

Research procedure
The research was conducted on the basis of the observation of classes by 4 th year students of Teacher Education at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb (N = 39). They observed a total of 70 Croatian language classes during their student internship in February 2020.

Aim of the research
The aim of the research was to examine the implementation of contemporary methodological knowledge in order to achieve outcomes in the teaching of the Croatian language in primary education.

Research problems and hypotheses
P1 To determine which teaching stages, and in which average temporal dimension, are achieved by teachers in the methodological articulation of performance in the subject area language in the teaching of the Croatian language. H1 Teachers will assign the largest temporal dimension of the lesson to learning/ teaching activities, and less to practicing the teaching content. P2 To determine the presence of the characteristics of a valid linguistic-methodological template in the applied templates (saturation with a taught language item, completeness, intelligibility, brevity and clarity) and to check whether there is a statistically significant difference with regard to publishers. H2 It is assumed that linguistic-methodological templates will be suitable for teaching (contain all the features of a valid linguistic-methodological template) because they are found in textbooks approved for use in schools. P3 To determine whether teachers teach a language item (in the stage Learning a language item in context) on the basis of a linguistic-methodological template and to check whether there is a statistically significant difference with regard to which textbook they use. H3 Teachers teach without creating a context for learning with the help of a linguisticmethodological template, i.e. they teach language content by interpreting the taught language item at the normative level. P4 To determine which is the most common methodological system that teachers use, and which is the least represented. H4 We assume that the dominant position will be occupied by the correlativeintegrative system due to the modern interdisciplinary approach to language teaching. P5 To determine how many students have the opportunity to speak in a language class and, in classes in which not all students are involved in the language activity of speaking, to examine what the average percentage is of involved students. H5 We assume that not all students are involved in the language activity of speaking, i.e., that language production is absent in language classes. P6 To determine in which language activity the students are most involved during the teaching of the Croatian language and to check whether there is a connection in the activities: speaking-listening, reading-writing and speaking-writing. H6 We assume that students are more involved in the language activities of listening and writing than in the language activities of speaking and reading.

Research results
In order to answer the first research problem, we calculated the percentages in the answer to the question about which teaching stage the students recognized in the methodological articulation of the language lesson (Croatian language) and based on the student assessment we calculated the average time spent for each stage (Table 1). The results in Table 1 indicate that the largest share of students recognize Practice, Preparation, Work on a linguistic-methodological template, Revision and Announcement of the teaching unit. All stages are recognized in more than 80% of cases. The sequence for the global memorization of words is the least recognizable stage (about 21% of respondents).
There is a statistically significant difference in the minutes spent on each teaching stage (F = 23.18; df = 7; p < 0.01). By reviewing the arithmetic means based on the observers' assessments, we notice that on average the most time was spent on Practice (about 11.5 minutes (AM)), or about 12.5 minutes based on the assessment of students who noticed this teaching stage (N = 36)).
Regarding the second research problem, we checked the percentage of students who noticed certain features of the linguistic-methodological templates for teaching Croatian language (Table 2) and the Chi-Square test in order to check statistically significant differences with respect to different textbooks (publishers: Profil Klett, Alfa and Školska knjiga). Based on the data in Table 2, we note that all characteristics were recognized in a very high percentage in about 85% or more of the study participants. The results of the analysis of repeated measurements indicate that there is no difference in the share of recognized characteristics (F = 1.00; df = 4; p > 0.05).
Additional analyses by the Chi-Square test provide information that there is no difference in the recognized features depending on the publisher. In the third problem, we calculated the percentage of students stating that the teacher teaches language content in the teaching stage of Learning a language item in a context based on a linguistic-methodological template, and we calculated a Chi-Square test to check statistically significant differences by publishers.
The results show that 71.8% of students state that teachers teach language content in the teaching stage of Learning a language item in a context based on examples from the linguistic-methodological template. It was also evident that there was no statistically significant difference depending on the publisher (χ² = 1.78; df = 6; p > 0.05).
In the fourth problem, we wanted to determine which methodological system that teachers use is the most common and which is the least represented. The results are shown in table 3.  Table 3 we see that communicative system is the most represented methodological system (about 95%), for the correlative-integrative and interpretative system about a third of respondents state that they are represented, and for the reproductive and problematic about a quarter. Only 5% of respondents recognize the multimedia system and none of them the open system. The results of the analysis of repeated measurements indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in recognition between these shares (F = 28.02; df = 6, p < 0.01).
Answering the fifth problem of the research, we get the information that 66.7% of respondents answer that all students are involved in the language activity of speaking in a language class. Those who state that students are not involved, on average, state that there is 66.9% of the total number of students that are involved. When all 39 respondents are observed together and the average percentage of students that observers say are involved in the language activity of speaking is calculated, the data show that a total of 89% of students are involved. This means that the hypothesis that not all students are involved in the language activity of speaking has been confirmed, i.e. that the language interaction of speaking and listening, which is a prerequisite for the development of communicative language competence, has not been achieved.
In the sixth research problem, we wanted to determine in which language activity students are most involved in Croatian language teaching and to check whether there is any connection in the activities of speaking-listening, reading-writing and speaking-writing. We hypothesized that students are more involved in the language activities of listening and writing than in the language activities of speaking and reading. The results related to the sixth problem are shown in Table 4. LEGEND: * -lower AM means higher rank, i.e. higher involvement AM -arithmetic mean SD -standard deviation p -probability of error Based on the data in Table 4, it is observed that the highest ranked involvement is in speaking (2.26), then in writing (2.46), followed by listening (2.54) and the least represented is reading (2.67). Although we notice small differences here, the testing of significance by the method of repeated measurements showed that there is no statistically significant difference in involvement in individual language activities (F = 1.05; df = 3; p > 0.05). Additionally, by checking the connection between speaking and writing (r = 0.10; p > 0.05), speaking and listening (r = 0.19; p > 0.05), and reading and writing (r = -0.05; p > 0.05), it was found that there is no statistically significant correlation. Based on these results, we can conclude that the hypothesis of the dominant involvement of students in listening and writing has not been confirmed, but that students are most involved in speaking, then in writing, after that in listening and least in the language activity of reading.

Interpretation of results and discussion
In the context of the first research problem, students observed the performance of teaching classes and logged the teaching stages and the temporal dimension assigned to them. Given that the observers were students of the 4 th year of academic teacher training, we can accept with great confidence the assessment of the components of the structure of a language lesson. The microstructure of the lesson in the methodological context includes the following teaching stages: Preparation / motivational introduction; Work on the linguistic-methodological template; Announcement of the content of the teaching unit; Getting to know the taught language item in a context; Practice; Revision and reinforcement; Evaluating student achievement; and Sequence for the global memorization of words. In more than 80% of the observed methodological articulations, students noted that the content is structured in all scientifically based teaching stages. It should be pointed out that 20% of the observed articulations deviate from the established structure. The least recorded is the implementation of the stage in which the language content (spelling or grammar) is identified and globally memorized, and that is the teaching stage of Sequence for the global memorization of words. The aim of this teaching stage (Sequence for the global memorization of words) is to expose students to words in an orthographic-orthoepic section so that they can remember them based on visual perception because, given the degree of the language development, they cannot learn them using language rules. This stage is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the content of the lesson, so we can assume that the content of the observed teaching was not saturated with orthographic problems. In the observed lessons, the least time was spent on the sequence for the global memorization of words (less than half a minute in total, or a little less than 2 minutes in those hours in which the respondents noticed this teaching stage). It is important to point out that 7.7% of students do not notice the implementation of the teaching stage of Practice. This teaching stage in the structure of the lesson of learning new language content is extremely important because students practically apply the acquired knowledge in spoken and written language situations. The process of learning/teaching new content is accomplished in three stages. These are: Work on a linguistic-methodological template (the goal is to get to know a language concept based on a linguistic-methodological template), Announcement of the content of the teaching unit (the goal is to direct the student's attention to the language learning problem and educational outcome), and Getting to know the taught language item in a context (the goal is to learn about the language item and the functional application of content). Therefore, we consider these three teaching stages as an inseparable whole in which the learning about the language item is realized. These teaching stages were assigned the largest time dimension during the lesson. According to the assessment of observers who noticed the implementation of these teaching stages, teaching is articulated in about 20 minutes of one teaching lesson. This data is in line with methodological expectations in the microstructuring of language teaching models.
In the second problem, we wanted to determine the validity of the linguisticmethodological template (saturation with the taught language item, completeness, intelligibility, brevity and clarity) and to check whether there are statistically significant differences with regard to textbook publishers. Based on the conducted analysis, we can conclude that the authors of the textbooks have selected appropriate linguistic-methodological templates for teaching a language item and that the initial conditions for teaching in a methodological context have been achieved. The texts are in the highest percentage saturated with the language item being learned and they are clear, and in a very high percentage they are complete, comprehensible and short. This is a good starting point for achieving an appropriate methodological transfer.
In the third problem, we investigated how many teachers teach a language item in the context of a linguistic-methodological template and we assumed that there are significant deviations from such teaching, i.e., that they teach a language item by interpreting at the normative level. The results show that 71.8% of students state that teachers teach a language item in the teaching stage of Learning a language item in a context based on examples from the linguistic-methodological template.
Although hypothesis H3 has not been confirmed, these data indicate that almost 30% of teachers do not use a linguistic-methodological template (which is used to create a learning context) to highlight examples of the language item which is being learned. The question of the purpose of the linguistic-methodological template can be asked because it is intended for a clear and interesting presentation of the language item being learned. The content in the teaching stage of Practice is also systematized in the existing context, and only in the stage of Revision and reinforcement is it expected to solve the language problem situation outside the context of the linguistic-methodological template.
In the fourth problem we wanted to determine the most common methodological system in which teachers teach because the curricular context and methodological concept enable the teacher and oblige them to choose the optimal methodological system with regard to the content algorithm and characteristics of students' language development. By choosing the system, the teacher establishes the correlation between the students, the teacher and the methodological template. This methodological possibility allows the student to accomplish language production, implying the dominant role of the teacher as a coordinator and facilitator. This means that in the methodological implementation the teacher is the creator of the teaching sequence and chooses the most appropriate methodological system with regard to the content and learning outcomes. The methodological system is determined by these key factors: the position of students, the position of the teacher, the position of the methodological template and their relationship in the interaction that is achieved by choosing specific methods, procedures, etc. The combination is recognized in methodological instrumentaria (Bežen et al. 2018). The results indicate that the communication methodological system is the most common (94.9%), which fosters the student's language reception and language production. This a good starting point for mastering the language. The hypothesis in which we assumed that the correlative-integrative system would occupy the dominant position has not been confirmed.
In the fifth problem, we examined the share of students involved in the language activity of speaking in a Croatian language class, assuming that not all students are involved in language production. The results indicate that about 89% of students are involved in language production, i.e., that they had the opportunity to speak in a Croatian language class. This data, statistically speaking, indicates a high degree of student involvement in the language activity of speaking, but in the methodological context it is important to enable all students (100%) to communicate in the spoken language modality.
We examined the connection between language activities and the involvement of students in these activities in the sixth problem, assuming that students are more involved in the language activities of listening and writing than in the language activities of speaking and reading. The results showed that students were most involved in speaking, followed by writing and listening, and least involved in reading. There is no statistically significant difference in the involvement of students in individual language activities. These results lead to the conclusion that not all students are involved in the language activity of speaking, but that they are still most involved in this particular language activity. Its importance was emphasised already in 1916 by De Saussure, who stated: ...we learn our mother tongue by listening to others; it will settle in our brain only after countless experiences. And, finally, speech is what makes a language develop: the imprints we receive by listening to others change our language habits. Thus, there is interdependence between language and speech (De Saussure 2000).
In further research, it is necessary to examine whether and to what extent students are involved in the language activities of language reception and language production in interaction.

Conclusion
The research aimed at the implementation of modern methodological knowledge in order to achieve outcomes in Croatian language teaching in primary education pointed out the state of student involvement in language activities in the process of teaching Croatian, the application of methodological systems, characteristics of linguistic-methodological templates and the temporal dimension of learning/ teaching and the application of what was learned. Since the Curriculum for the subject of Croatian language for primary schools and gymnasiums in the Republic of Croatia has been implemented in the education system in the Republic of Croatia since 2019 (NN 10/2019), it is necessary to identify the state of all curricular elements (which was necessary even before the implementation of this document), which includes, among others, the following elements: content selection, content organization (programming), selection of teaching/learning methods, teaching/ learning organization and evaluation instruments. This paper contributes to the identification of the organization of the content and the choice of the way of teaching the mother tongue (Croatian) in a new, curricular context. The methodological concept described in this paper obliges teachers to apply scientifically based methodological models. The change of goals (outcomes) also determines the choice of appropriate content and learning/teaching procedures, but does not suggest a deviation from the methodologically determined laws of shaping the teaching process.
Since the curriculum is a complete system that must answer the questions of what, why, how and in what and what kind of conditions to organize the entire course of the educational process, these scientific indicators will be relevant to modern methodologically based organization of learning/teaching the Croatian language. It should be pointed out that the contemporary educational system is precisely one that respects contemporary (methodological) scientific knowledge based on the empirical indicators of sequences important for the development of reading literacy in the broadest sense. If communicative language competence is one of the fundamental goals of education, then in the methodological context it is important to emphasise that the development of such important competence must be systematic, and the prerequisite is the development of language (and other) abilities. This development implies a designed involvement of all students in all language activities. The results of this paper can contribute to the current National Strategy for Encouraging Reading (2017Reading ( -2022, which has been implemented in the education system and non-formal forms of education.