The state of teaching Hungarian in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine

Abstract

The primary objective of the paper is to provide a brief summary of the circumstances of teaching Hungarian as a
(second) foreign language in Transcarpathia, Ukraine. In the recent years (2018, 2019 and 2022) I have conducted
several small-scale empirical studies with the aim of getting a picture of the possibilities of teaching Hungarian as
a foreign language in Transcarpathia. My goal was to reveal and summarize the problems, shortcomings and good
practices that help or hinder the effective teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language within institutional
frameworks among non-Hungarian speakers living in Transcarpathia. A new pilot study was conducted in 2024,
which, in addition to the previous research questions, also sought answers to the question how the specialized
further teacher training programme of teachers at the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of
Higher Education in Berehovo, Ukraine (an off-site teacher training programme of the Károli Gáspár University of
the Reformed Church in Hungary) furthers and supports the effective teaching of the Hungarian language in
Transcarpathia.