SWOT ANALYSIS ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITON AND LANGUAGE SKILLS OF THE TRAINING STAFF EMPLOYED IN ACADEMIC TRAINING IN HUNGARY

~ 1 ~

In the following analysis we are going to explore the Hungarian situation concerning

language skills and competences possessed by the academic staff. Our statements are

mainly based on the legal environment in Hungary as well as on several publications

issued in the topic of foreign language skills requirement.

Our main aim with this analysis is to find out what conclusions can be drawn in order to

assist the work in the project „Improving the Communicative English Language

Competence of Academic Personnel within the framework of VET” (project number:

2013-1-TR1-LEO05-47528 - funded by the EU) as well as to make the outcome valid,

relevant and valuable.

On the following pages we are using several references with footnotes. Unfortunately

some of the sources are accessible only in Hungarian. This is the reason why in the second

part of the present analysis we give you some summaries of the references in English so

that - in case you want futher information - we can provide it on request.

Although the project partnership have decided to apply a SWOT analysis, we must clearly

see that the present analysis is different in many aspects from the analysis used in the

business world.

These aspects are the following:

We are not planning to establish a business venture in which we want to explore the

business possibilities with the threats, potentials, weaknesses and strength. What we

want to achieve is to find out in what ways the Hungarian situation can help the present

project and what best practices can be taken over from the existing Hungarian policy.

That means we want to concentrate on the Strength and not so much on the weaknesses.

The other aspect is the Potentials - the potentials of the Hungarian situation can

contribute to the potentials of the project.

So let us examine the stregths of the Hungarian legal environment, best practices and

conditions.

STRENGTHs

1. Since 1998 no degree has been issued without the acquisition of minimum one

foreign language intermediate exam in Hungary with the exception of graduates over

45 in adult training – this is contained int he White Book.1

2. In 2005 – when Hungary introduced the European regulations (Bologna Process) –

language training and language competences evaluation have been unified (defined

11

The so-called White Book was issued by the Hungarian Ministry of Education in 2012

~ 2 ~

in details in the so-called Training and Output Requirements) and centrally monitored

by the Hungarian Accreditation Committe (MAB).2

3. In 2000 Hungary accepted the Common European Reference Framework of language

examination system, which defines in details the „can dos” of the six-grade language

exam scale (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) as well as introduced the unified language

examination requirements accredited updated and regularly monitored by the state.3

4. In 2011 an Act defined the input and output requirements of foreign language

competences for academic institutions. According to this the three levels of academic

training are clearly mirrored in this field: in bachelor training the input can be defined

by the academic institution but the output is an intermediate language exam (B2) of

minimum one foreign language (general). In master training (logically) the input is B2,

the output is the same. In doctorate training the output prescribes two foreign

languages (the level requirements depend on the schools’ internal regulation.4 )

5. There have been several studies and surveys covering the issues of foreign language

acquisition (some of them „canonised”- that is used as the basis for introducing new

measures in the policy of foreign language teaching in Hungary)5 The most important

one from our point of view is the „Study on the offer of professional language

training courses” by Kurtán Zsuzsa and Silye Magdolna6

6. As member state of the EU since 2004, there have been several international

cooperation and projects funded by the EU whose objetive – among others – has

been to explore and improve the situation of foreign language teaching and learning

in Hungary7

7. Since 2004 the mobility of foreign students 8 seeking academic training in

English/German in Hungary has greatly increased, which led to the growth of offer of

university studies in foreign languages. Thus created the need for academic training

staff that could provide instruction in foreign languages. This is the reason why –

2 established in 1993 http://www.mab.hu/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=224&Itemid=733&lang=e (short history of MAB in English) 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages (it describes the six language levels covering all the written and oral competences 4 The so-called White Book clearly defines the requirements at the three levels 5 Metszetek 2012/4. szám – 2013/1. szám - articles on the bridge between academic education and the

labour market (some paragraphs deal with the foreign language competences

6 Kurtán Zsuzsa - Silye Magdolna: Professional language training in the system of the Hungarian academic

training - detailed info in the Appendix 7 In the so-called ADAM software we can access the summary of the EU funded project summaries among

which a lot have covered the issue of language teaching, teaching material design and development as well as piloting and testing the outcomes. As far as we could find there is not one specific project whose aim was to produce a specific course for improving the foreign language competences of the academic staff. 8 http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf (p.10-11-15) - the tendecy of Erasmus

students’ mobility by countries

~ 3 ~

besides the legal environment – more and more academic staff have a really good

command of (mainly) English.9 10

8. Since 2004 there has been a steady increase in mobility aiming the EU countries –

naturally among job-seekers at all levels11, which naturally adds to the motivation

level of language learners as well as the motivation level of language teaching

providers.

9. In the recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of mobilities

among the academic teaching staff12 - where English is the number one language and

5 days is the most common duration of the stay.13

10. More and more course books have been appearing on the market - many of which

aims specific language competences (e.g. presentation tehniques).14

11. Due to the market demands on the language teachers and training places (language

schools, public education, academic institutions, private teachers), the teachers’

motivation to use renewed resources, books and non-traditional tools have greatly

increased, which has led to the growing number of EU projects in which Hungarian

educational institutions, companies have either participated as partners or have

planned and coordinated projects in the form of European consortiums to meet their

needs and the market demands. This way the pedagogical approach and

methodology have more or less successfully followed the latest trends and technical

solutions.

12. One of the above-mentioned projects was „Trainers English” coordinated by the

Hungarian partner of the present project (Trainers’English – The Development of IT

Teachers’English Language Competences – Leonardo LdV, 2007), in which the

consortium – after the preparatory phase when the situation and the needs of the

partner countries were mapped up – the main task was to design and develop an

English course (interative, with a lot of multimedia elements) for the teaching staff of

vocational schools covering the main topics of ICT English (internet, Hardware-

Software, Programming, IT jobs, Mobility etc.). This way a lot of experiences gained

during this project work can be profited from and used in the current tasks.

9 Peter Lang: International Student Mobility and the Bologna Process (in the Journal of International Mobility,

nr. 13/2013)

10 Rédei Mária – Telbisz Erzsébet – Nemes-Nagy Anna: Erasmus oktatói mobilitás

Magyarországról kiutazó oktatók jellemzése kérdőívek alapján (2005/2006) - a study on the Erasmus mobility for teachers in the academic education (Tempus Foundation online Hoppá füzetek 14 - 2008)

11HVG (journal)2014/5. on the Hungarian workers abroad with statistical data

12 http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf - chart 49 p. 41

13 http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf - chart 52 (page 42)

14 http://www.beta-iatefl.org/cogitoergosum/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Newsletter_September-October-

2013.pdf#page=30 http://www.google.hu/books?hl=hu&lr=&id=0aLcAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Presentation+skills+course+book&ots=w52x2dOlvk&sig=QLtqrWVTp1fkcSkf1pK078BTwTo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Presentation%20skills%20course%20book&f=false - book on how to teach presentation skills to teachers

~ 4 ~

The issue of teaching and learning professional languages is in the focus of interest both

from the demand and the offer sides. On 31st March, this year, Tempus Foundation, which

is the Hungarian Agency of EU projects as well as a kind of center for monitoring and

forerunning the latest issues in the Hungarian education palette, organized a conference

entitled "The role of professional language teaching for increasing employability"15 The

conference materials can be accessed from the direct page of the conference.16

WEAKNESSES

1. The outcome cannot give sufficient answers as

o A lot of statistical data provide numbers where there is no distinction made

between teachers working in lower or higher level of education,

o There is no difference made between language competences in the field of

general and specific language skills (e.g. business, legal, technical, medical etc.),

o There is no such specific language competence area which would clearly cover

the needs of teachers - thus we cannot know - based on research - what we

mean by „educational language skills”.

o Although there is a clear definition of language requirements regulated by law,

there is little mention of language competences for specific purposes (e.g. medical,

technical etc.) and even if there is some – as I have mentioned before – the field of

„pedagogical foreign language competences” has not been elaborated so far (if

there scientifically is anything well-defined at all!)

o Although the issue of foreign language teacher training for specific languages is

evident, the policy to answer the increasing need is still in the form of directives. It

means language teachers mostly acquire their skills in this field in the form of

short in-practice courses (in most cases provided abroad and funded by the EU in

the form of teacher mobility grants.17 18

2. This survey has been made in the Hungarian environment based on the Hungarian

conditions and historical background. As the project mainly faces the challenges in

Turkey and tries to find answers for the Turkish problems, it cannot give satisfactory

answers without considering the outcome of the similar analyses made by all the

partners – and mainly that of the Turkish partners.

15 http://www.tpf.hu/pages/eventarchive/index.php?page_id=812 - the aim of the conference was to give an insight into the present situation, discuss the best practices - with a special emphasis on the employers expectations from the new job-seekers in this field as well as with focus on methodology issues - and map up the future potentials. 16 http://oktataskepzes.tka.hu/pages/content/index.php?page_id=1204 unfortunately only in Hungarian. 17 see table 52 on page 42 of http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf (it shows that most study mobilities for teaching staff cover a short period of 5 days) 18

Annual report of Tempus Public foundation –accessible from the website of the National Agency: http://www.tpf.hu/document.php?doc_name=konyvtar/tka/2012/TKA_eves_jelentes_2012_web.pdf Table 57 on P. 86:

~ 5 ~

3. The present analysis does not have the task to answer issues covering:

o Pedagogical and methodological questions (e.g. evaluation, proportions between

lexis and language accuracy, duration, e- tutoring etc.)

o Contextual questions (topics to include, numerical data – e.g. the deepness and

area of lexis, number of multimedia elements)

o Technical details (learning platform, storage of data etc.)

o Potential differences between the needs of the partner countries (if there are

such?)

OPPORTUNITIES

As professional language teaching/learning is in the focus of interest in Hungary, the

objectives of the present project are very important for us, which means we are willing to

contribute to the success with further study or information - should the need arise in the

course of the next stages of the joint efforts of the consortium.

Hopefully with the help of this analysis the present project partners will be able to make

decisions that will turn the outcome of the project valid, useful, effective and practical for

all the partners.

Prepared by the Hungarian partner,

Számalk-Szalézi Post-Secondary Vocational School

in April 2014

~ 6 ~

APPENDIX (1) Footnotes-related explanations

Footnote 1.

WHITE BOOK on the Strategy of the development of foreign language teaching from the

primary school to the university in Hungary between 2012-18 was issued in December,

2012. Its main objective is - besides providing an insight into the present situation and

exploring the problems - to define the main tendencies and principles of language

teaching and language competence development in the near future.

The book first describes the situation in the different educational levels (primary,

secondary, tertiary). From our view point the most important part is where the foreign

language input and output requirements are described in academic training (bachelor

degree, master degree and doctor degree - see Strength nr 4.) Unfortunately these

regulations include only general language exam requirements, professional language

training is present in very few academic programs - and even there mostly in the first

(bachelor) level. This fact involves that professional language teaching methodology still

needs a lot of impetus (both legal and practical) in the near future.

The most important part of the White book for us is where the future measures to be

introduced are described:

- specific input and output requirements to be elaborated and introduced in the field of

professional language competence training output,

- provision of subjects to be elected in foreign languages

- the increase in the offer of specific language courses (both abroad and Hungary) for

in-practice language teacher training.

- professional language teacher training in the teacher training academic institutions.

Footnote 6 :

Kurtán Zsuzsa - Silye Magdolna: „Professional language training in the system of the

Hungarian academic training” (Kurtán Zsuzsa participated in the conference organized by

Tempus Foundation in March, 2013 with her presentation on the same topic with the

same title).

In this presentation she gives a detailed picture - among others - (with tables) about the

different fields of specific languages (not only English) and about foreign language

training (page 6). From the table we learn that the offer in the so-called pedagogic

specific language courses is about 2% in English and German - whereas the offer in e.g.

business language courses is over 21%.

Another interesting information from this presentation shows us the background

competences of the language teachers involved in teaching professional languages. It

shows that most of them possess a general language teaching graduate (about 75%) and

only about 13% possess some kind of professional language degree.

~ 7 ~

Footnote 7: ADAM Software - europe.eu/adam/project/search.htm#.U1zPZVdlsbs

This is a very useful database on the Leonardo projects in which the final products as well

as the summary of the funded projects can be found (thousands on language

competences development).

Footnote 10: Rédei Mária – Telbisz Erzsébet – Nemes-Nagy Anna: „Erasmus oktatói

mobilitás”

Magyarországról kiutazó oktatók jellemzése kérdőívek alapján (2005/2006) - a study on

the Erasmus mobility for teachers in the academic education (Tempus Foundation online)

Hoppá füzetek, 2008.

The survey is based on questionnaires filled in by academic teaching staff about their

mobility in the school year 2005-2006 (unfortunately there are no more recent data

available). We learn that over 600 teachers participated in funded mobilities, and

interestingly about 23% chose Germany and many Austria, the UK not even mentioned -

only among those below 5%).

About 21% of the teaching staff were involved in linguistics and language teaching, and

one third of the teachers involved in teacher training and pedagogy chose a German

destination. At the same time it is interesting to note that 54% of the teachers used

English as their teaching tool, which probably suggests that some of the courses were

delivered in English even in Germany! (p 19, diagram nr. 9).

~ 8 ~

APPENDIX 2. - Tables and charts

1. White Book – the following two tables show:

i. the percentage of students studying for the language exam after their

final academic exams in order to achieve their degree (30%)

ii. rates of the students of academic training participating in language

courses organized by the institution (blue: overall percentage, red:

learning a foreign language, green: majoring in foreign languages

~ 9 ~

II. White Book: about the academic training programs and the

requirements of language exams (at the level of Masters degree)

First column: number of training programs. Second column: language exam regulations

first line (second column): intermediate, complex

second line: intermediate, complex + basic (A or B)

third line: intermediate complex

fourth line: advanced complex

fifth line: advanced complex + intermediate complex

sixth line: advanced complex

III. White Book: About the academic training programs and the requirements of language exams (at the level of Bachelors’ degree)

Number of training programs Language exam requirements

First line: intermediate complex

Second line: professional intermediate complex

Third line: professional intermediate complex

~ 10 ~

IV. White book: table about the language exam requirements at the

doctorate training programs

Input requirements Output requirements

(Only the last row): Intermediate general complex proof for the possession of two foreign languages –

defined in the regulations of

the training institution

V. Erasmus publication on Erasmus mobilities - it shows the length of

Erasmus study tours (http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf)

~ 11 ~

VI. Erasmus publication on Erasmus mobilities - it shows the number of

academic staff according to the different EU countries – outbound and inbound (http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/reports/erasmus1112_en.pdf )

VII. Rédei Mária – Telbisz Erzsébet – Nemes-Nagy Anna: Erasmus

oktatói mobilitás

Magyarországról kiutazó oktatók jellemzése kérdőívek alapján (2005/2006) - a

study on the Erasmus mobility for teachers in the academic education (Tempus

Foundation online) Hoppá füzetek, 2008.

Table one:

The participation of Hungarian academic staff in the Erasmus mobility according to the

three levels (bachelor, master, doctor)

45%: bachelor

44%: master

11%: doctor

~ 12 ~

Table two: Participation of academic training staff in mobility programs according to the language of

the program

English: 54%

German: 23%

French: 10%

Italian: 5% …

~ 13 ~

Table three: Motivation – why did you decide to take part in the mobility program?

5: the least important

1: the most important

columns: exchange of experiences

contact keeping and building

research project

professional career building

language development

VIII. There is another chance for the Hungarian academic staff to improve their

English professional language skills in the program called Campus Hungary.

About the program information can be accessed in English at

http://www.campushungary.hu/about-us#.U2J3MVfInMk

IX. Annual report of Tempus Public foundation –

accessible from the website of the National Agency:

http://www.tpf.hu/document.php?doc_name=konyvtar/tka/2012/TKA_eves_jelentes_201

2_web.pdf

~ 14 ~

The rate of Outbound (lighter) and Inbound (darker) teacher mobility in 2010-

2011