CHINESE AS A THIRD LANGUAGE: BIH TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON LINGUISTIC INTERFERENCE, LEARNING DIFFICULTIES, AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

This paper examines the learning and teaching of Chinese as a third language (L3) in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the perspective of Chinese language teachers, with particular attention to cross linguistic influence, learning difficulties, motivational factors, and didactic practices. Anchored in contemporary Third Language Acquisition (TLA) theory, the study draws on recent key insights and recent empirical research highlighting the dynamic and non linear interaction between previously acquired languages and additional language learning. The empirical component combines semi structured questionnaires with Chinese language teachers working in higher education and secondary education contexts in BiH including institutional settings such as university sinology departments and Confucius Institutes with a learner corpus consisting of students’ written assignments produced across different proficiency levels. By combining teacher perspectives with corpus based evidence, the study seeks to provide an empirically grounded account of the specific challenges and pedagogical implications associated with teaching Chinese as an L3 in a multilingual European context. Qualitative thematic analysis of teacher interviews reveals recurring challenges related to negative transfer from students’ first language (Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian) and dominant second languages (primarily English), particularly in the domains of syntax, lexical selection, word order, and the use of function words. Corpus based analysis corroborates these perceptions by identifying systematic error patterns attributable to cross linguistic interference, limited metalinguistic awareness, and insufficient exposure to authentic input. Teachers further highlight motivational fluctuations linked to the perceived difficulty of Chinese orthography, tonal pronunciation, and delayed communicative payoff, as well as institutional constraints affecting curriculum design and instructional time. The findings are interpreted within recent TLA models that view multilingual competence as a dynamic and non linear system, shaped by typological distance, proficiency asymmetries, and instructional context. The paper argues that targeted pedagogical interventions such as contrastive awareness raising, strategic use of previously acquired languages, corpus informed feedback, and motivation sensitive task design can significantly enhance learning outcomes. The study concludes with practical implications for improving Chinese language teaching in Bosnia and Herzegovina and contributes to the broader European discussion on multilingual education and less commonly taught languages.