Accepted Abstracts -- 2021

Competence-Based Language Teaching and Testing in Digital Environments (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
As the Hungarian diaspora in the US in is expanding, a deeper understanding of the needs Hungarian as Heritage Language (HHL) learners and a systematic approach to addressing these needs are imperative. This paper examines the possibilities of aligning the competence-based framework of the European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages (ECL) language exam with the goals of Hungarian schools with special attention to online education.

Following Brown’s six components of curriculum development (Brown, 1995), valuable insights and trends arise at the early phases of the development process. The needs assessment, for example, revealed a desire for online education delivery and accredited testing. Therefore, the objective clearly emerged to develop HHL teaching and testing materials for digital Learning Management Systems (LMSs). Leveraging a body of knowledge about the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in language education, reflections on online teaching practices in the Hungarian Diaspora communities, and test-administration experiences in the ECL framework, testing materials were developed in three competency areas: reading, writing, listening. The pilot testing of these online materials inform us about how suitable the platform and the contents are to the needs of heritage speakers. Our findings will be instrumental in further development of teaching and testing materials for HHL education, and they will benefit educators working in diaspora communities and interested in online teaching technologies.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Katalin Beck is a Senior Lecturer at Clemson University’s Department of English (Clemson, SC, USA) where she teaches Advanced Writing and Word Literature and 20th and 21st Century Literature face-to-face and online. Her research areas are online teaching and virtual collaboration. She is an exam facilitator for the European Consortium for the Certification of Attainment in Modern Languages, and as member of the Carolinas Hungarian Group she founded and taught Hungarian language and culture at the first Hungarian online school in the US.

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Heritage Language Transmission in the American Hungarian Diaspora – Results of an Online Survey (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In order to gain insights in what factors play a role in language maintenance in a diaspora, it is crucial to investigate heritage language transmission during first language acquisition. Previous linguistic research has focused on adults in American Hungarian communities, while less attention has been paid to parent-child communication in the Hungarian diaspora in the U.S. A survey has been launched online to fill this research gap.
Parents of children of Hungarian heritage (ages 3-18) have been invited to complete the survey. All participants reside in the U.S. and no knowledge of Hungarian is required for the completion of the survey. The bilingual survey mainly includes multiple-choice questions and Likert-type scales to gain quantitative data on the potential factors behind heritage language maintenance. The survey also contains some open-ended questions to gather qualitative data on the American variety of Hungarian as it is used by the Hungarian-speaking parents and their children. The questionnaire has four parts: 1) parents’ linguistic background, language usage and linguistic beliefs, 2) children’s language usage, 3) characteristics of the parent-child communication, 4) parents’ attitudes towards the local and homeland varieties of Hungarian, as well as towards bilingualism and bilingual language acquisition in the diaspora.
224 submissions have been received to date, but the survey is still open and collecting responses (see at https://forms.gle/DRQdRFWfbrvke5oe6). The talk will present the preliminary results of the survey in progress.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Krisztina Fehér is an assistant professor at the Department of Hungarian Linguistics, University of Debrecen, Hungary. Her research interests are child language, bilingualism and bidialectism. She has published numerous journal articles in the fields of socio- and psycholinguistics. She earned her Ph.D. in 2012 in Hungarian Linguistics. She is the author of three recent books on linguistic methodology (2016), the phonology of child language (2017), and cognitive grammar (2018).

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Hungarian Language and Culture in Delhi, India (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Hungarian is taught in the capital of India, in Delhi, in a culturally sensitive, multilingual surrounding, to students with very different demands. Classes are held in two central locations in Delhi University and in the Triveni Art Center, that gives home for Hungarian classes twice a week for the time of the construction of the Hungarian Cultural Institute. The linguistic preparedness, gifts and demands of the students are varied, but they can be characterized by openness. The talk deals with the interpretation of a Hungarian play, Gandhi’s Death by László Németh, a film, One Day directed by Zsófia Szilágyi and a poem With Pure Heart by Attila József by Indian students. Though these pieces have a local, hindi, and English translation in each case the students also deal with the original Hungarian text, and evaluate the relationship and differences of the original and the Hindi version. The paper will show to what extent the students’ understanding of Hungarian language, literature and culture is structured around commonalities, differences and similarities and bring about a number of local historical and social associations, call forth new interpretation of classical and new literary works.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Margit Köves (PhD) is teaching Hungarian language and literature in Delhi University. She was a fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research (1994-1997) and Indian Council of Philosophical Research (2001-2004) doing research on Hungarian responses to India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She has co-translated and edited five collections of Hungarian prose and poetry in Hindi.

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Mihály Lieb or Munkácsy Mihály? Developing Cultural Identity in Hungary’s German National Minority Schools (Accepted)

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Abstract (max. 250 words):
In the Carpathian Basin Germans have lived alongside Hungarians for hundreds of years, resulting in many points of cultural and historical inter-crossing. (Although commonly referred to as svábok [‘Swabians’], this term is inaccurate since Hungarian Germans do not share the same origin with the Swabians found in Germany’s borders today). In the wake of World War II, the number of Hungarian Germans fell sharply; for decades, their language and dialect could not be used. Today, young generations primarily reconnect with their German roots and dialect in state-funded, national minority schools where students receive instruction in a subject called népismeret [‘folk traditions’]. During this type of lesson, educators are responsible for teaching the Hungarian German language, history and traditions. Since families often cannot provide a sense of Hungarian German identity, teachers not only have to enrich their students’ connection, but also deepen their awareness of the many ways in which Hungary’s German communities have made their own, unique contributions to Hungarian history and culture. This lecture provides a brief overview of the current legal documents and rulings that determine the curriculum in Hungary’s national minority schools before detailing the day-to-day practice and methods found in a Hungarian German népismeret class. By outlining a few significant aspects of Hungarian German history, it is our aim to demonstrate what methods can be used to strengthen and develop cultural identity in Hungary’s national minority schools.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Éva Márkus (Dr. habil.) is Faculty Dean of Eötvös University’s Faculty of Primary and Preschool Education (ELTE TÓK). After completing her degree in Germanic Studies at Eötvös University’s Faculty of the Humanities (ELTE BTK), she achieved her PhD in the field of linguistic studies. The title of her dissertation was German Dialects in the Villages of Buda’s Hill Regions. Her habilitation thesis focused on the German dialect found in Nagybörzsöny (Deutschpilsen) and was published by Praesens Publishers (Vienna) in 2014. A professor at ELTE TÓK’s Department of Foreign Language and Literature, she teaches German-language courses in subjects related to Hungary’s German minority groups, including ethnography, history, literature and children’s literature, and has published texts in each area. Her research examines Hungarian German dialects and the past and present of national minority education in primary and preschool education.

Maya J. Lo Bello (PhD candidate) is an assistant professor at ELTE TÓK’s Department of Foreign Language and Literature, where she teaches English-language courses and literature. She is currently completing her PhD in Modern Hungarian Language and Literature at ELTE BTK; her research focuses on the role played by the impressionistic critic and editor, Miksa Fenyő, in both the modern literature movement of Nyugat [‘West’] and the industrialization of Hungary’s economy via his position at the Hungarian Industrialists’ Association, GyOSz. Her latest study, Chasing Impressions: A Comparative Cultural Analysis of Impressionistic Criticism in Hungary, was published in 2019 by the University of Pennsylvania’s journal, Comparative Literature Studies. Maya Lo Bello translates extensively and is Technical Editor of the journal, Hungarian Cultural Studies.

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The Nature and Implications of Expertise and Expert Learners (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Critical thinking is defined as “the ability to apply higher-order cognitive skills and the disposition to be deliberate about thinking that leads to action that is logical and appropriate.” Knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors are foundational to critical thinking and are required to assess, diagnose, and solve problems in any discipline. It encompasses the entire range of actions and decisions that are not automatic and innate but rather require thought and mental processing. The absence of critical thinking can result in delayed or missed diagnoses, errors, and mismanagement. More specifically, critical thinking includes all conscious thought that goes into establishing a diagnosis and deciding on a plan of action specific to a problem or circumstances. It is a skill that is assumed to develop and grow as a consequence of education and experience. It is also assumed that everyone sooner or later becomes an expert in his/her field. But this is not necessarily so; studies distinguish between routine experts and adaptive experts. Using examples from the medical field, this talk will present three divergent lines of research in the critical thinking literature, 1) case studies illustrating diagnostic acumen, 2) representational theories of the mind, and 3) studies of decisions gone awry. We will consider research findings on the relationship between critical thinking and language instruction. These studies may inform Hungarian language instruction to help students more effectively learn the language. Using this framework, teachers can guide learners to improve their expertise, cognitive growth and development.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Klara Papp, PhD is the Graber Term Professor Emerita of Health Learning. She served as Associate Dean of Student Assessment and CQI in the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. Her areas of expertise include program evaluation, learner assessment, and educational research and scholarship. She served as deputy guest editor for the Journal of General Internal Medicine and is also on the editorial board for the International Journal of Medical Education. She chaired the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) Research Committee and is recipient of the CDIM’s Charles H. Griffith III Educational Research Award.

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Teaching Legal English for Hungarian Students Studying at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Teaching legal English for students studying at Sapientia University to become translators is a permanent challenge for both the teacher and the student. In our case, the situation is even more complicated because our students must learn not only Hungarian and English legal terminology but they have to acquire knowledge in the domain of Romanian legal terminology, too. This is the consequence of the fact that in Romania according to the legislation in force the mother tongue of all the citizens – regardless of their nationality – is considered to be Romanian. Besides this fact – though the Act on Public Administration permits to use the mother tongue in official contexts – legal procedures take place mainly in Romanian. That is why it is necessary to teach our students first of all Romanian legal concepts and only based on this may we teach them legal English. Thus this teaching process becomes a permanent search for equivalence among Hungarian, English and Romanian legal terms. Our paper deals with the methodology of teaching legal English for students whose mother tongue is Hungarian but for whom it is compulsory the know legal Romanian, too. We will present the main difficulties that are due to the differences of the three concerned legal systems and the cultural differences related to the applying of these legal systems. These differences are mirrored in the three legal languages used by specialists and must be recognized by future translators to make them able to communicate efficiently in their work languages.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Krisztina-Mária Sárosi-Márdirosz (PhD) is currently an assistant professor at the Sapientia University of
Marosvásárhely, at the Department of Humanities. She completed her university degree in Hungarian
language and literature and English language and literature at Babeș‒Bolyai University in 2002. She
continued her studies at the same university and received her master’s degree in Hungarian linguistics in
2004. In 2009 she defended her PhD thesis with the title Problems of Translation in the case of the
Language of Official Documents (regarding Romanian-Hungarian Relations) Her main field of research is
translation studies focusing on the official translations and on the problems occurring in the domain of legal
translation. She presented the results of her research in numerous national and international conferences.

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Átalakuló magyar szakképzés, főszerepben a „Z” generáció/Transforming Hungarian Vocational Education, Starring Generation „Z” (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
A szakképzés napjaink aktuális témájává vált. A szakképző iskolák presztízse alacsony szinten áll, miközben Magyarországon a cégek a szakemberek hiányával küzdenek. A neveléstudománnyal foglalkozó szakértők az oktatás és a képzés válságáról beszélnek, és az eredményeket az oktatási- és a szakképzési rendszerek gyors egymás utáni átalakításától remélik. A 2020-as év a szakképzés átalakításának éve. A „Z” generáció (1996-2010 között született) tagjai lesznek az aktuális évtized munkavállalói. Ők már az iskolák padjaiban ülnek. A generációs jellemzőket szintén figyelembe kell(ene) venni, amikor az oktatás, szakképzés átalakításához hozzákezdenek a szakemberek. Ezek a fiúk és leányok a sikerre szomjaznak, nagy hatással van rájuk a közösségi média, nem szeretnek tanulni, és rendszerint nem is tanulnak. A szakképző iskolába járó diákok tanulási motivációja tehát alacsony szinten áll. A jogszabályi változtatások mellett ezeknek diákoknak tanulási motivációját szükséges emelni ahhoz, hogy a szakképzés sikeres legyen, és jól képzett szakemberek kerüljenek ki az iskolapadból.
Előadásomban összehasonlítom a jelenlegi és a 2020. július 1-től érvényes szakképzési rendszert, a diákokat érintő pozitív változásokat, kitérek a generációs jellemzőkre és ismertetem a szakképző iskolások tanulási motivációjával kapcsolatos kutatásom során kapott legfontosabb eredményeket.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Éva Sütő is a PhD student at the Education and Society Doctoral School of Education at the University of Pécs. She is an economist and education teacher.
In addition, she has been working in a Trade and Catering Vocational Training School called István Széchenyi in Kaposvár for 14 years. Her research theme is students’ learning motivation at vocational training school. She has taken part in several conferences and her studies were published in conference books or year books. The English publication „Learning motivation and self-regulated learning at vocational training schools” was published by J. Selye University in Komarno in 2020.

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’Inter-Line Education’ © - At the Digital Classroom (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This presentation is about an innovative method of teaching languages for students between ages of 12-19 in Australia, called ’Inter-Line Education’ ©. This method crosses the cultural boundaries of teaching in a traditional classroom setting and online. Contrasting to studying from prerecorded theory material, this method aims to create a real-time education space, where-by tutorials take place with students at the same time with their teacher through Skype or other video call conference programs, engaging in practical tasks based on the subject material. There are multiple case studies about online teaching. However these studies rarely explore real-time online education. The techniques used in ’Inter-Line Education’ © were developed by the presenter over the last 8 years, successfully ensuring 17 students to matriculate from the Hungarian language in Australia, with results sitting at an average of 87/100 in the students’ ATAR results, in the Nationally Assessed Hungarian Language, Continuous Level. While the students are physically isolated, the observation has been that the graduates of these programs form life-long friendships. The online classes still require the students to work in teams, as well as working in pairs and alone to complete tasks, which creates a sense of belonging, rather than passive co-presence. The presenter argues that the teaching tools developed in the ’Inter-Line Education’ © method helped create a sense of well-being in the students, which has contributed to the students inviting their friends to the course, without any pressure from their parents.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ágnes Szabó is a language education specialist, teacher, interpreter and founder of ’Inter-Line Education’ ©. Agnes holds a Diploma in Foreign Trade (Russian, English languages) from Külkereskedelmi Főiskola, Hungary (1981), a BA in Languages (Chinese, Spanish, Pitjantjatjara, Yolngu languages) from Flinders University (2017) and a BA in Indigenous Studies (2020). Agnes has been a NAATI certified Interpreter – Translator for 30 years. Agnes has been the Principal of the Hungarian Community School of Adelaide Inc. since 2012. Agnes is the CEO of ’Inter-Line Education’ © method for providing real-time online language education.

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Implementing Learner-Centered Methods in Teaching Hungarian, Especially in Heritage Language Education (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This paper aims to present the potential effectiveness of using learner-centered methods in Hungarian teaching contexts, concentrating on the so-called weekend or Sunday schools. Instructors who teach at these kinds of schools must deal with different language levels, age groups and learning styles, all at the same time; this makes it difficult to achieve a great deal of progress, especially in those circumstances when lessons are organized and held only every second weekend.
Learner-centered methods, such as Project Based Learning (PBL), Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), could be a solution for these schools, and to those groups of language learners, in or outside of Hungary, which are similarly mixed. Applying these learner-centered methods, originally created for English as a Second Language, requires some modifications, experience for the teacher, and preparation before the lessons. But it is not impossible to teach our language with these approaches.
Since Hungarian language instruction traditionally focuses on teaching adults, in particular university students, there is a finite amount of resource material for teaching children. Application of the methods mentioned above, however, can be adapted for young learners. This is what inspired us two years ago, when my colleague and I volunteered to share our experiences and good practices with teachers of Hungarian on our website: Midkid.org. Our purpose is to create a collection of ideas of how these learner-centered methods could be used during Hungarian weekend school lessons, and to support teachers of Hungarian worldwide.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
After graduation as a teacher of Hungarian language and literature, Hungarian as a foreign language and History in 2009, I continued my studies and became an ESL teacher in 2013 at the same university, at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary. I have taught Hungarian, English and History mostly for foreigners at an international K-12 school for eight years.
Currently, I am taking my PhD studies in Applied Linguistics at the University of Pécs and working as a visiting lecturer at the University of Belgrade, Serbia.

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