Submitted Papers

Heritage Language Instruction and the Success in Attaining Communication Goals

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The issue of whether polite language usage should be taught in a foreign language classroom is actually preceded by the following, equally complex question: what gestures, language strategies, or attitudes represent politeness for a given culture? While many may view politeness as a conceptual, or even ideological matter, it can also be interpreted as an opportunity for translating daily practice and customs into an essential classroom exercise. Throughout my work as an educator of Hungarian as a Second and Heritage Language and researcher in the field of empirical pragmatic linguistics, it has been the latter aspects of these questions—those pertaining to the instruction of foreign language students in the nuances of how Hungarian culture constructs politeness—that have fueled and continue to fuel my interest. In this lecture I will therefore explore how the question of politeness relates to the broader area of Hungarian as a Second Language and Hungarian Heritage Language instruction.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Orsolya Maróti (MA Hungarian Literature, Linguistics and Language Pedagogy, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; MA Hungarian as a Second Language and Hungarian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; MA Cultural Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; working on her doctoral thesis in Pragmatics) is working as the Head of the Hungarian Language Department at the Balassi Institute. She has experience in teaching foreign (HSL) and heritage students (HHL) for 15 years in the Balassi Institute, at Eötvös Loránd University and at the Corvinus University in Budapest as well. She has worked with Hungarian language teachers as a teacher trainer (HSL and HHL) in Canada, in the Netherlands, in Germany and in many other countries where there are Hungarian language courses for heritage and HSL students. orsolyamaroti12@gmail.com

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