Past Abstracts
1,037 abstracts found
English Teaching Upside Down
Education/Social Sciences„Translate these sentences and make these multiple choice tests” – this is what I mainly heard in my English lessons 20-25 years ago. Now being an English teacher in the same school, same classrooms – even the desks and the posters on the walls are exactly the same – I give completely different instructions to my students. Is the old method so out of date? Is there anything wrong with the old teachers, books or the reason for the drastic alteration of teaching attitude is due to the changing requirements of the 21st century? How can teachers adapt to these changes and what help do they get in case they have some problem? Can they apply the latest technology in the classroom considering there were even no computers in the schools 20 years ago and they have no idea what gadgets their students use on an everyday basis? What motivation do they have to improve taking their miserable salaries and the uncertain economic situation into consideration?
With its ups and downs, positive and nagative points I have seen teaching history in the making from the beginning of the 80s up till the present day. Also, being in the last place in terms of foreign languages Hungary has to face serious problems. What I’d like to focus on is what I can do for a better future working in a secondary school of a small town.
Some points I’d like to focus on:
- comparison of the grammar-translation method of the 80s and the present communicative one
- presentation of the text book of the past and the present
- presentation of an interview with a retiring teacher
- discussing changes in teacher training at Pannon University, Veszprém
- perspectives for a teacher in 2013 in Hungary
- differences between big citites and the countryside in terms of language teaching
- finding the reason why Hungarians are the worst in Europe at foreign language speaking
With its ups and downs, positive and nagative points I have seen teaching history in the making from the beginning of the 80s up till the present day. Also, being in the last place in terms of foreign languages Hungary has to face serious problems. What I’d like to focus on is what I can do for a better future working in a secondary school of a small town.
Some points I’d like to focus on:
- comparison of the grammar-translation method of the 80s and the present communicative one
- presentation of the text book of the past and the present
- presentation of an interview with a retiring teacher
- discussing changes in teacher training at Pannon University, Veszprém
- perspectives for a teacher in 2013 in Hungary
- differences between big citites and the countryside in terms of language teaching
- finding the reason why Hungarians are the worst in Europe at foreign language speaking
Erasing Borders: The Reacquaintance of Trianon and Felvidék Hungarians
History/Political ScienceThis paper explores the reconnection of Hungarians in Felvidék and Hungary proper after the expansion of Hungary’s northern border in November 1938. During the previous twenty years of Czechoslovak rule, contact between Hungarians living within the Trianon borders and those in Felvidék had been curtailed and regional distinctions became more pronounced during the separation. The minority experience and exposure to democratic processes in Felvidék had transformed the area’s Hungarian residents in the eyes of many. The two sides became reacquainted first through extensive press coverage of the Grand Re-Entry of the Hungarian Army as both groups celebrated the first major triumph of Hungarian revisionism. A stream of civil service migration into Felvidék followed shortly thereafter, along with a smaller flow of leading Felvidék politicians to represent the region in Budapest. Later, tourism opportunities arose for average citizens to visit sites in the redeemed territory as travel restrictions in and out of Felvidék gradually eased. This paper examines these encounters, the two sides’ mutual suspicions, and the attempts to overcome them. It reveals that despite widespread support for the re-annexation both in Hungary proper and Felvidék, practical concerns abounded and solutions were difficult to achieve.
Ervin Sinkó and Hungary: A Story of Unrequited Love
History/Political ScienceThe writer and poet Ervin Sinkó was born in Szabadka in 1898 but spent only the first 21 years of his life within Hungary. As a participant in the Soviet Republic of 1919, he was a in danger of arrest had he returned to the country during the Horthy regime. Nor was he willing to return to live in Hungary under the Rákosi or the Kádár regimes. Instead, he lived his life as a Hungarian writer beyond Hungary's borders as an outsider in Austria, Yugoslavia, France, and the Soviet Union. He finally settled in Yugoslavia after World War II where he became the director of the Department of Hungarian Language and Literature at the University of Novi Sad. His marginality was exacerbated by his Jewish origins, from which he was also alienated. As a writer, the Hungarian language and the humanistic strain of its culture that it embodied, formed the basis of his identity. This presentation will examine Sinkó's attitudes towards his exile and marginal status, and evaluate what kind of loss it meant to him as well as to his motherland. The presentation will focus on the following episodes in his story. Why did Sinkó need to evade extradition from Yugoslavia after World War I? Why did he fear meeting members of the Jewish congregation in Szabadka in the early 1920s? How did he react to the Rajk trial? What did he say about Hungary in 1962, when he returned there for a short visit?
Ervin Sinkó’s Path to Communism, 1914-1919
History/Political ScienceErvin Sinkó was a Hungarian writer born in Szabadka in 1898 and died in Zagreb in 1967 after a peripatetic and in some ways emblematic twentieth century life. He was an active participant in the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, an experience about which he wrote his best known work, Optimists. Sinkó was only 20 years old when the events described in that book took place. His experiences in World War I, before he was drafted and after, when he served on the Russian Front, were critical in setting him on the path to Revolution.
My presentation, in preparation for what might eventually become a biography of Sinkó, will explore in some detail aspects of Sinkó’s life during the war. Most of this material will be taken from Sinkó’s diaries, his newspaper articles, and from his fictional account in Optimists (to the extent that we can verify from other sources that the events described are based on real experiences). My intention is to see how the precocious, adolescent Sinkó’s political opinions developed. I will explore the following questions and issues: Sinkó’s positive and negative attitudes towards military service; his years of service behind the lines as well as his time at the Russian Front in 1917-1918; was Sinkó redeployed to the Italian Front after the war with Russia had ended following Brest-Litovsk; how did the war turn Sinkó towards Lenin’s project of world revolution; and finally, what role, if any, did Sinkó’s Jewish background play in this trajectory.
I would like to propose a paper for the section on World War I, in which Peter Pastor will also be presenting a paper.
My presentation, in preparation for what might eventually become a biography of Sinkó, will explore in some detail aspects of Sinkó’s life during the war. Most of this material will be taken from Sinkó’s diaries, his newspaper articles, and from his fictional account in Optimists (to the extent that we can verify from other sources that the events described are based on real experiences). My intention is to see how the precocious, adolescent Sinkó’s political opinions developed. I will explore the following questions and issues: Sinkó’s positive and negative attitudes towards military service; his years of service behind the lines as well as his time at the Russian Front in 1917-1918; was Sinkó redeployed to the Italian Front after the war with Russia had ended following Brest-Litovsk; how did the war turn Sinkó towards Lenin’s project of world revolution; and finally, what role, if any, did Sinkó’s Jewish background play in this trajectory.
I would like to propose a paper for the section on World War I, in which Peter Pastor will also be presenting a paper.
Escape from Fear to Freedom: Social Sisters as Refugees
History/Political ScienceMargit Slachta, or Sister Margaret Slachta, as she was known in the United States, was reburied in the Fiumei Úti National Cemetery in December 2021. The first Hungarian female MP founded the Sisters of Social Service in 1923, which played a significant role in the rescue efforts of about a 1,000 Jews, and in the resistance to Nazi ideology. The SSS started to expand internationally already in the 1920s, and Sister Margaret visited the foundations overseas three times. She was forced to go into exile in 1949, and the paper wishes to examine her activities during her exile in the U.S., as well as how some of the sisters became refugees themselves in 1956, and what happened to them. Sister Margaret died in Buffalo, NY in 1974, and she received a memorial plaque in the Alba Regia Chapel in Berkeley Springs, WV by the Hungarian Freedom Fighters Federation. Although she wasn’t as active as before in Hungary due to her failing health, she was still a respected figure among American Hungarians, and her legacy finds its proper and adjusted place in our collective memory.
Eva Mozes Kor: Leader Confronting Today’s Challenges of Religious and Cultural Interactions from the Aftermath of the Holocaust
History/Political ScienceThis presentation will reflect the life experiences of Eva Mozes Kor, a child survivor of Mengele’s twin studies in Auschwitz. Born in the village of Portz in Transylvania (a former Hungarian territory), she and her twin sister were ten years old when they arrived in Auschwitz. Subjected to sadistic medical experiments, Eva fought daily for her and her twin’s survival which ultimately led to her victory over the most inhumane grievances against mankind. As a child, Eva exhibited unbelievably strong leadership characteristics that would continue to develop throughout her years. Her journey from Auschwitz to Israel to the United States will be highlighted in this presentation. Perhaps her greatest triumph was her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. According to Kor, “My forgiving the Nazis is a gift of freedom I gave myself. . . .” Eva and her identical twin, Miriam, lost their parents, grandparents, two older sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins during the Holocaust.
Eva Mozes Kor is the founder of Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors (CANDLES), a Museum and Education Center dedicated to the Mengele twins who survived the horrific experiments of Dr. Mengele and his team of Nazi doctors. In addition she is a national and international lecturer on the Holocaust, human rights, bioethics and forgiveness.
Eva Mozes Kor has published several books on the topic of the Nazi doctor’s twin experiments. Her most recent book entitled Surviving the Angel of Death: the Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz was nominated for the 2010 Church and Synagogue Library Association Rodda Book Award.
Eva Mozes Kor is the founder of Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors (CANDLES), a Museum and Education Center dedicated to the Mengele twins who survived the horrific experiments of Dr. Mengele and his team of Nazi doctors. In addition she is a national and international lecturer on the Holocaust, human rights, bioethics and forgiveness.
Eva Mozes Kor has published several books on the topic of the Nazi doctor’s twin experiments. Her most recent book entitled Surviving the Angel of Death: the Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz was nominated for the 2010 Church and Synagogue Library Association Rodda Book Award.
Eva Zeisel: A Tourist in Life
Cultural Studies/ArtsOn December 30, 2011, ceramics designer Eva Zeisel passed away at the august age of 105. Her amazing career spanned most of the 20th century and continued into the 21st. Her status as a designer and her artistic influence is unquestionable. Her personal story as a citizen of the world through the exigencies of history is equally compelling.
Eva Polanyi Stricker was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1906 into an affluent, intellectual family. An unconventional spirit from early on, she learned the craft of pottery making by joining the local potters’ guild. Her talent and her sense of adventure took her to Berlin in the early 1930’s. There she designed Bauhaus-influenced designs for commercial production. In 1932 she made an adventuresome visit to Russia. Surprisingly finding employment there, she eventually became official Director of the China and Glass Industry in Moscow. She was falsely arrested in 1936 in a Stalinist purge, was imprisoned for 16 months, then was suddenly released. She returned to Vienna, but was forced to flee in advance of the Nazi occupation. She left for England, married Hans Zeisel, and emigrated to the United States.
Arriving in New York in 1938, Eva began life anew. She successfully found freelance work designing china, had a groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and was the director of the industrial design curriculum at Pratt Institute. Her elegant, always contemporary designs made her a design icon and her reputation only increased with time. Eva Zeisel always looked to the future, and never mourned the past. She survived the ordeals of fate, observing life dispassionately with grace, charm and humor, as a perpetual tourist in life.
Eva Polanyi Stricker was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1906 into an affluent, intellectual family. An unconventional spirit from early on, she learned the craft of pottery making by joining the local potters’ guild. Her talent and her sense of adventure took her to Berlin in the early 1930’s. There she designed Bauhaus-influenced designs for commercial production. In 1932 she made an adventuresome visit to Russia. Surprisingly finding employment there, she eventually became official Director of the China and Glass Industry in Moscow. She was falsely arrested in 1936 in a Stalinist purge, was imprisoned for 16 months, then was suddenly released. She returned to Vienna, but was forced to flee in advance of the Nazi occupation. She left for England, married Hans Zeisel, and emigrated to the United States.
Arriving in New York in 1938, Eva began life anew. She successfully found freelance work designing china, had a groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and was the director of the industrial design curriculum at Pratt Institute. Her elegant, always contemporary designs made her a design icon and her reputation only increased with time. Eva Zeisel always looked to the future, and never mourned the past. She survived the ordeals of fate, observing life dispassionately with grace, charm and humor, as a perpetual tourist in life.
Even Pictures Don’t Tell: Constructing a Sense of History in Stories of the Past
Cultural Studies/ArtsIn this paper I discuss the power of history as narrated in personal stories about family members’ participation in major events of Hungarian and world history. Interview-based narratives are analyzed from the perspective of the storytellers’ sense of history. Narratives shift the focus of history from texts to interpreters and historical culture thus becomes a story created by participants rather than something read or viewed by them. Stories about historical events create and maintain communities as well as ethno-cultural identities in specific ways that allow several interpretations and recontextualizations. Relating to personal stories, a sense of history is defined as the knowledge of multiple series of events in the past that the individual applies to create interpretive frames of the surrounding world. Thus, the past and the present are linked in the narrative, which often breaks the traditions of linearity and disrupts the unity of textual truth and textual purpose. I approach the stories from narrative and discourse analytical perspectives.
Evolving Hungarian-American Academic Relations: Insights and Broader Reflections from Quinnipiac’s Experience with Hungary since 2005
Education/Social SciencesAHEA 2023 Keynote Presentation
This presentation shares my own thoughts and reflections on cross boarder academic cooperation
between America and Hungary. Starting with a short history of my own experience in this field going
back to the mid-1990s, I discuss the launching of Hungarian programs at Quinnipiac University in 2005,
the aims of establishing an Istvan Szechenyi Chair in 2008 and the building of programs around that.
Throughout I discuss the evolving challenges and successes around these efforts. I address some
general trends as I see them in both the US and Hungary and discuss how they affect programs and
opportunities. Finally, I share my personal thoughts on where I see the need for programs going
forward.
This presentation shares my own thoughts and reflections on cross boarder academic cooperation
between America and Hungary. Starting with a short history of my own experience in this field going
back to the mid-1990s, I discuss the launching of Hungarian programs at Quinnipiac University in 2005,
the aims of establishing an Istvan Szechenyi Chair in 2008 and the building of programs around that.
Throughout I discuss the evolving challenges and successes around these efforts. I address some
general trends as I see them in both the US and Hungary and discuss how they affect programs and
opportunities. Finally, I share my personal thoughts on where I see the need for programs going
forward.
Exhibit: Modern Artwork Honoring Hungarian Traditions
Cultural Studies/ArtsI recognize the disappearing yet rich heritage of Hungarian folk craftsmanship.
In a world swept-up in homogenization of culture and economy, I believe Hungarian folk art reflects positive aspects of traditional human societies the modern world often seems too busy to notice.
I turn to the old in order to create modern works which respect the deep values of regional cultures in historical and modern Hungary. I use mixed media, traditional printmaking and modern printmaking to share my love of these crafts. I hope to open the minds of those not familiar with Hungarian art and society through the large scope of some of my works. As well, I seek to re-energize Hungarians of all ages who I hope will notice the detail in my pieces.
In a world swept-up in homogenization of culture and economy, I believe Hungarian folk art reflects positive aspects of traditional human societies the modern world often seems too busy to notice.
I turn to the old in order to create modern works which respect the deep values of regional cultures in historical and modern Hungary. I use mixed media, traditional printmaking and modern printmaking to share my love of these crafts. I hope to open the minds of those not familiar with Hungarian art and society through the large scope of some of my works. As well, I seek to re-energize Hungarians of all ages who I hope will notice the detail in my pieces.
Exiled Hungarians in Argentina: The Formation of a Community
History/Political ScienceThis paper presents the cultural activism of a group of Hungarian émigrés who fled their homeland following Soviet occupation at the end of World War II and arrived in Argentina around 1948. It deals with the intellectual activity of these exiles, especially through their cultural and educational institutions. Within five years of their arrival as dispossessed “D.P.’s,” they founded a Hungarian Center (“Centro Húngaro”) that housed, among others, a theater group, a free university, a cultural and scientific academy, a weekend school, and scout troops. At the same time, new periodicals appeared, and a substantive number of books banned in Hungary were published. I argue that it is due to the work of these institutions that the community flourished and is vital to date, in spite of its isolation and lack of reinforcement through new emigrant waves, of its hostile relationship with the government of the People’s Republic of Hungary, and of a series of Argentine economic crises that forced many of its members to re-emigrate.
I also discuss the impact the exiles had on their descendants, contending that as a result of the strong cultural foundations laid by them during their first twenty years of emigration, third- and fourth-generation Hungarian-Argentines have maintained to this day a strong cultural and ethnic identity, while fully integrating into Argentine society at large.
I also discuss the impact the exiles had on their descendants, contending that as a result of the strong cultural foundations laid by them during their first twenty years of emigration, third- and fourth-generation Hungarian-Argentines have maintained to this day a strong cultural and ethnic identity, while fully integrating into Argentine society at large.
Expanding Perspectives Beyond Borders for American Educators through Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad to Hungary and Eastern Europe
Education/Social SciencesPresentation focuses on two Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad conducted in Hungary in 1990 and 1991, organized and directed by Ruth G. Biro. Marta Pereszlenyi-Pintér served as co-director for the $50,000 six-week award for fourteen professors (from four Pittsburgh area universities representing different academic disciplines), held in Pécs, Western Hungary, and Budapest in May-June 1990. Julianna Nádas Ludanyi was co-director of the 1991 July-August $60,000 grant for fourteen F-H fellows (four faculty and three graduate-in-service teachers from Duquesne University and seven teachers from the Oregon International Council. Elizabeth Simon was the native informant for both years. The on-site Hungarian Leadership team was composed of three English professors from Janus Pannonius University(now University of Pécs).
The purpose, benefits, eligibility, criteria, personnel, pre-departure orientation, itinerary abroad, assessment, follow-up, outcomes, and outreach relating to the F-H GPA (CFDA 84.021 A) will be specified. Aspects of the 1990 and 1991 Duquesne University grants, now twenty-five years later, will be described in relationship and comparison with recent awards for Hungary (and Hungary in combination one or two other countries). Additionally, Eastern European nations bordering Hungary that have been the subject of F-H grants will be mentioned.
The potential for AHEA member(s) to develop and/or AHEA to sponsored a future F-H GPA application will be addressed. Principal Investigator role, Federal Register announcements, application packet procurement, priorities, deadlines, preparation (orientation, time frame, travel arrangements, accommodations, field trios, lectures, honoraria, debriefings, dissemination plans), along with online submission details, peer review, notification, and final reporting will be enumerated. Possible contacts, sites, topics, and activities will be discussed pertaining to a prospective proposal involving Hungary and/or one or two neighboring nations. American professors, teachers, and graduate students would have the opportunity to greatly expand their perspectives on Hungary and other Eastern European countries through a carefully planned overseas project designed to achieve the goals of the Fulbright- Hays Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act-- P.L. 87-256, 75 Stat. 527.
The purpose, benefits, eligibility, criteria, personnel, pre-departure orientation, itinerary abroad, assessment, follow-up, outcomes, and outreach relating to the F-H GPA (CFDA 84.021 A) will be specified. Aspects of the 1990 and 1991 Duquesne University grants, now twenty-five years later, will be described in relationship and comparison with recent awards for Hungary (and Hungary in combination one or two other countries). Additionally, Eastern European nations bordering Hungary that have been the subject of F-H grants will be mentioned.
The potential for AHEA member(s) to develop and/or AHEA to sponsored a future F-H GPA application will be addressed. Principal Investigator role, Federal Register announcements, application packet procurement, priorities, deadlines, preparation (orientation, time frame, travel arrangements, accommodations, field trios, lectures, honoraria, debriefings, dissemination plans), along with online submission details, peer review, notification, and final reporting will be enumerated. Possible contacts, sites, topics, and activities will be discussed pertaining to a prospective proposal involving Hungary and/or one or two neighboring nations. American professors, teachers, and graduate students would have the opportunity to greatly expand their perspectives on Hungary and other Eastern European countries through a carefully planned overseas project designed to achieve the goals of the Fulbright- Hays Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act-- P.L. 87-256, 75 Stat. 527.
Expanding the View: Shedding the Horse Blinders on Migratory–Era Scholarship
History/Political ScienceRecent investigation along the broad theme of collaborative research between Central
European and Western scholars on ancient Hungarian cultural history revealed siloed practices of scholarship that were set 100 years ago and which, still today, determine the shape of topics, composition of research teams, as well as access
to funding, publications of articles and scholarly outcomes. Initial publications of early Scythian finds within Hungary in European journals in the
1920s set the precedence for continued collaboration of Hungarian researchers with European colleagues – while American scholarship starting up in the 1960s formed relations with select Russian and Chinese archeologists. Entrenchment within these two polarities continues to this day, with fettered research resulting in inconclusive results at best, and mistaken conclusions at its worst. This paper interrogates past practices on both sides of the divide, then reports on recent advances in cross-over research that subvert old conclusions with interesting results.
European and Western scholars on ancient Hungarian cultural history revealed siloed practices of scholarship that were set 100 years ago and which, still today, determine the shape of topics, composition of research teams, as well as access
to funding, publications of articles and scholarly outcomes. Initial publications of early Scythian finds within Hungary in European journals in the
1920s set the precedence for continued collaboration of Hungarian researchers with European colleagues – while American scholarship starting up in the 1960s formed relations with select Russian and Chinese archeologists. Entrenchment within these two polarities continues to this day, with fettered research resulting in inconclusive results at best, and mistaken conclusions at its worst. This paper interrogates past practices on both sides of the divide, then reports on recent advances in cross-over research that subvert old conclusions with interesting results.
Experiences of the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme: Perspectives of Students, Universities and the National Agency
Education/Social SciencesThe Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme was established in 2020 by the Hungarian Government for those who live in a Hungarian diaspora and wish to study at a Hungarian higher education institution to develop their personal, professional, and cultural relations to Hungary. The program is supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and managed by Tempus Public Foundation. Most of the scholarship holders are from the North American region (the USA as number 1, Canada in the top 3) out of the 121 students enrolled in the Fall Semester of Academic Year 2022/23.
The session focuses on the experiences of the program from three different angles: the students’, the higher education institutions’ and the coordinating national organization’s points of view. The conclusions are drawn based on the annual reports of the participating universities, the findings of the student satisfaction surveys as well as the national program management experiences. The presentation explores a range of topics relevant to higher education professionals such as student services, program development, partner relations, the program-level experiences of the nationwide coordination of the compulsory Hungarian language and culture courses, and the compulsory voluntary work in the diaspora community.
As an introduction to the topic, the presentation aims to provide a general idea about the internationalization process of Hungarian higher education and touches on statistical information and trends about North American students studying in Hungarian higher education, with a special focus on those with Hungarian dual citizenship.
The session focuses on the experiences of the program from three different angles: the students’, the higher education institutions’ and the coordinating national organization’s points of view. The conclusions are drawn based on the annual reports of the participating universities, the findings of the student satisfaction surveys as well as the national program management experiences. The presentation explores a range of topics relevant to higher education professionals such as student services, program development, partner relations, the program-level experiences of the nationwide coordination of the compulsory Hungarian language and culture courses, and the compulsory voluntary work in the diaspora community.
As an introduction to the topic, the presentation aims to provide a general idea about the internationalization process of Hungarian higher education and touches on statistical information and trends about North American students studying in Hungarian higher education, with a special focus on those with Hungarian dual citizenship.
Explore New Innovative Playmath, Love and Understand Mathematics Experience from New York, Budapest to Beijing (Panel Discussion)
Education/Social SciencesEveryone is capable of making music, creating art, and understanding mathematics. However, how? We believe that Playmath - a method rooted in learning by doing and experience-based knowledge - is one of the most effective approaches to learning and teaching. Playmath teaches mathematical concepts through games that incorporate adjustable challenges. Each game has its own structure, which can be understood as both geometric and algebraic, with seamless transformations between these representations. By manipulating functions with physical elements and exploring transformations between structures, learners gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. This approach emphasizes understanding fundamental mathematical ideas over simply memorizing formulas or rules. Guided play fosters intuitive comprehension, and once that foundation is established, learners can generalize their understanding using the language of mathematics.Teacher candidates need to play and experience the effect of this approach themselves before using it in the classroom. This ensures that teaching becomes a shared, enjoyable experience of play for both teachers and learners. By experiencing the power of play first-hand, teacher candidates can create a collaborative and engaging environment for learning mathematics. In our panel discussion, we will highlight how this approach has been implemented in different parts of the world - Peking, China; Budapest, Hungary; and New York, USA - with Rubik’s Gridlock. Join us to explore the transformative potential of Playmath in rethinking how we learn and teach mathematics. The prehistory was a Transatlantic Erasmus+ grant partnership between CSI CUNY and ELTE. Under this collaboration began a common research in this innovation.
Panel lead: Judit Kerekes
Panel Member: Imre Kökényesi
Panel Member: Ödön Vancsó
Panel lead: Judit Kerekes
Panel Member: Imre Kökényesi
Panel Member: Ödön Vancsó
Exploring Hungarian English Learners’ Imagined Second Language Habitus
Language/LiteratureFekete’s (2018) concept of the language learner’s imagined second language habitus refers to how language learners speak, act, and think differently using the second language from how they would do so in their mother tongue. The concept is linked to Bourdieu’s (1997) construct of habitus, Kristeva’s (1980) concept of desire and her understanding of the realm of the semiotic and the realm of the symbolic (1987), Sussman’s (2002) cultural identity model, and Kramsch’s (2009) concept of the subjectivity-in-process. Furthermore, imagination plays a crucial role in creating learners’ imagined second language habitus.
In this qualitative study, involving 38 first-year English majors studying at the University of Pécs, in Hungary, I explore how these English learners think, feel, act and speak differently using English and Hungarian. Data were collected with the help of a structured writing task, and I employed qualitative content analysis to make sense of the qualitative datasets.
The participants recall changes in their way of thinking, acting, and feeling, as well as in their voice when they switch between English and Hungarian. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence for the construction of an imagined second language habitus in advanced English learners that they adopt in English language interactions, shaping their identity construction in and via English.
In this qualitative study, involving 38 first-year English majors studying at the University of Pécs, in Hungary, I explore how these English learners think, feel, act and speak differently using English and Hungarian. Data were collected with the help of a structured writing task, and I employed qualitative content analysis to make sense of the qualitative datasets.
The participants recall changes in their way of thinking, acting, and feeling, as well as in their voice when they switch between English and Hungarian. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence for the construction of an imagined second language habitus in advanced English learners that they adopt in English language interactions, shaping their identity construction in and via English.
Exploring Hungarian Heritage Language Learning Motivations
Language/LiteratureJoining the methodological segment of the call, this presentation highlights methodological insights from prior research on adult language learning motivations conducted in another context. It also outlines the methodological framework for ongoing research on the motivations of Hungarian Americans learning a second language, supplemented by planned fieldwork in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2026. This research investigates the motivations of adult learners studying Hungarian as a heritage language in the USA. The study focuses on individuals for whom Hungarian is neither their mother tongue nor a foreign language. It aims to understand how root-seeking and cultural connections influence their conscious decision to learn the language. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project combines semi-structured interviews with Hungarian language teachers and learners, surveys distributed among adult heritage learners, and field observations. This triangulated methodology ensures comprehensive insights. The research is framed within Zoltán Dörnyei's model of language learning motivation and theories of migration, assimilation, and identity formation. Building on a 2022 study conducted in Finland, which examined motivations for learning Hungarian as a foreign language in organized educational settings, this project offers a comparative perspective. The current research examines a setting shaped by over a century of Hungarian migration, focusing on heritage learners outside Europe. Together, these complementary studies provide a nuanced understanding of the diverse motivations driving adult Hungarian language learning across global contexts. The findings will contribute to the fields of heritage language education, language motivation theory, and the preservation of linguistic and cultural identity within diaspora communities.
Exploring the Pros and Cons of Student Peer Mentoring
Education/Social SciencesIn recent years, student peer mentoring in science has emerged as an important educational approach promoted by many stakeholders in academia and medical education. Indeed, it has been shown to increase both academic performance and personal development among students. Student peer mentoring utilizes senior or more experienced students to direct their peers through coursework and sometimes research projects with the aim of encouraging collaborative learning, offering mentees with individualized support while aiding mentors solidify their own knowledge and acquire crucial leadership and communication skills. Peer mentoring in science has also been shown to stimulate a positive learning environment, lowers feelings of isolation, and boosts active engagement with course material. Despite these positive aspects, there are many challenges associated with peer mentoring in science. Here, we address the benefits, challenges, and best practices for implementing student peer mentoring programs in science education, emphasizing their potential to support effective learning.
Eyewitness to History: Follow up on the Hungarian Scholar Program at Rutgers University
Education/Social SciencesFollowing up on their 2012 AHEA paper, the authors present their findings about the professional and personal history of a small group of Hungarian scholars and graduate students. All were selected to participate in an intensive language immersion program at Rutgers University upon the initiation of the National Academy of Sciences in January 1957. With the help of online and library resources, most of the refugee scientists have been located in the past year. Fascinating life stories unfolded from the pieces of the puzzle, drawn from official biographies, traditional archives, social media applications, or the personal memories of the handful survivors contacted. Setting a great example to new immigrants, these Hungarian refugees contributed greatly to science and culture in their new homeland. Chronicling their history utilized some best practices of information science in a multicultural setting, and will be of interest to broad audiences from a methodological perspective too.
Fabriczy Kováts Mihály ezredes: A magyar huszár, aki megteremtette az amerikai könnyűlovasságot
History/Political ScienceFabriczy Kováts Mihály ezredes az amerikai függetlenség ügyének legkorábbi és legjelentősebb magyar hozzájárulója, aki nemes életét az amerikai függetlenség ügyéért áldozta fel. Az öreg kontinens hadseregeiben évtizedeken át szolgált huszártiszt kardját és életét a szabadság ügyéért ajánlotta fel Benjamin Franklin amerikai követ felé. Kováts az egyetlen magyar, aki személyesen találkozott George Washington amerikai főparancsnokkal és a francia La Fayette márkival, továbbá azon európai önkéntesek egyike, akik korszerű katonai szakértelmet hoztak az Újvilágba. A világ harmincnégy országában jött létre magyar katonai emigránsok útmutatása révén a huszárság, mint feladatközpontú, könnyűlovas fegyvernem, az Amerikai Egyesült Államok könnyűlovasságát e világlátott öreg magyar huszár és egy fiatal lengyel nemes, Kazimierz Pułaski hozta létre 1777 és 1779 között a Kontinentális Kongresszus megbízásából. Míg Kováts 1779. május 11-én halt hősi halált Charleston védelmében, fegyvertársa, az amerikai reguláris könnyűlovasság társalapítója, Kazimierz Pułaski néhány hónapra rá, 1779. október 11-én vesztette életét a Savannah visszavételéért zajló hadművelet során. Pułaskit, mint lengyel nemzeti szabadsághőst ma óriási kultusz övezi mind az ó-, mind az újhazában. Kováts Mihály kultusza ellenben épp csak kiépülőben van. A washingtoni székhelyű Hungary Foundation és Kossuth Foundation együttműködésre lépett a Kováts Mihály Baráti Társasággal, hogy Kovátsot a magyar-amerikai történelmi kapcsolatok tágabb narratívájába helyezhesse. A három civil szervezet jelentős eredményeket ért el abban, hogy Kováts ezredes emlékét az őt megillető polcra helyezze. Személye ugyanis kapocs az amerikai-magyar történelmi, diplomáciai viszonyban, melyre alapozva e két nagy, szabadságszerető nemzet új együttműködést nyithat egymás irányában. Kováts példája igazolja, hogy sokkal több van bennünk szabadságszeretetből és összefogásból, mint bármi másból, ami elválaszt egymástól!
