The language proficiency of English teachers in Transcarpathian Hungarian schools

Abstract

Abstract. It is common knowledge that knowing a foreign language in the 21st century in multicultural Europe is of utmost importance. Meeting the demand of the market and following the trends, more and more language schools are started and language courses launched where those willing to learn a foreign language can select from a wide range of languages the one that corresponds to their needs and interests most. In accordance with this world-wide tendency, it can also be observed how in our closer context (Transcarpathia) new language centres are opened for learners intending to learn a foreign language. All the above possibilities are related to learners’ language proficiency. The international academic literature on language pedagogy provides a significant number of research articles dealing with the language learners’ language proficiency [2]. However, there are few studies available dealing with the language proficiency of English teachers [10; 11]. In Transcarpathia, this issue has not been investigated before; therefore, one of the main motivating reasons to carry out research in the area in question was to fill the gap with a survey on the English language teachers’ language proficiency. The research questions included ones on the relationship between the teachers’ English language proficiency and their ability to teach English as a foreign language, as well as the role of the teachers’ language proficiency in the teaching process. The initial hypothesis was that the research respondents found relationships between language proficiency and the ability to teach English.

Резюме. У статті розглядається взаємозв'язок між рівнем володіння англійською мовою вчителями та їхнім умінням викладати англійську мову в школах з угорською мовою навчання на Закарпатті: чим вищий у вчителя рівень володіння мовою, тим успішнішим є навчання англійської мови в навчальному процесі.