Magdolna Nemes’s scientific contributions

The present paper deals with the issues of teaching a second language to school-aged children in Hungary with mild intellectual disabilities. The frameworks for language teaching are described in the National Core Curriculum and the Frame Curriculum. In our research we conducted semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions featuring 11 language teachers, and asked for their experience in teaching a second language to children with mild intellectual disabilities. Moreover, our research involves a focus group discussion in spring 2023 featuring 8 children in Grade 7 with mild intellectual disabilities. We came to the conclusion that teachers pay attention to individual development and playful, communicative language teaching, even though it is challenging to teach English to children with such disabilities, as they often have difficulties in their mother tongue. The research has revealed there is a need for teachers to display creativity because these children require a lot of revision. The children asked do not encounter English at home and only a few of them listen to music in English. However, they all think learning English is important for their future, especially in the areas of work and travel. Our experience underlines that it is beneficial for learners with mild intellectual disabilities to get to know a foreign language, even though they will not be independent users of the language and might not use this knowledge in the future.

In our paper, we deal with the significance of learning languages at an early age. The research aimed to explore how the teaching methods employed in kindergartens have altered with the change of the political regime in 1989–90. A case-study was conducted using semi-structured interviews (n=7) with early childhood educators and language teachers in 2016/2017. Oral history method was used because no written material was produced. Based on information we received from the informants and local authorities, early English activities were available in 68% of kindergartens in the North-East Hungarian city when the research was undertaken. The number of kindergartens which organize playbased foreign language practices has been increasing since the 1990s. In the beginning, providing educational personnal was the most difficult task. Using audio-visual devices and props has been highly important, and Early Childhood Educators have been doing their best when working with children aged 4–7. However, there are differences too, due to the development of technology.

Nowadays it is inevitable to speak foreign languages especially English as it is a lingua franca in Europe and all over the world. Whether it is a good idea to start learning English at an early age, has been under a constant debate. Previous research indicates that playful learning is the most important for a preschoolaged child in every field. Research has shown that several factors may lead to succesful language learning such as age, methods as well as the quality and quantity of the L2 input. There is an increasing evidence on the importance of the first years of life from the perspective of effective language learning. This study advances our understanding of parents’ attitude, expectations and opinion concerning Early English. We carried out our research in an institution in Debrecen in 2020. Using a sample of 65 children (N=65), we collected data from two sources: questionnaires filled in by parents whose children take part in English activities in the kindergarten and questionnaires filled in by parents whose children don’t take part in them. As predicted, the parents believe the point of Early English activities is to provide them a positive experience during the activities, enjoy them and feel free to say at least words int he target languae. Contrary to our expectations, parents involved in our research do not find it necessary to use ICT tools in English activities in preschools. Our study confirmed that there is a need for English activities in Hungarian preschools. The findings address a controversial belief among parents in terms of the ideal age to start learning a second language. The findings support the prediction that playfulness and intercultural competence are important for parents. We conclude that ECEC professionals need to find balance between using ICT tools and traditional props and tools in the second language activities.