A szlovák nyelv tanításának kihívásai a szlovákiai magyar tannyelvű iskolákban pedagógusok percepciói alapján
Teachers’ perceptions of the challenges of teaching Slovak in schools with Hungarian as the language of instruction

Summary/Abstract: This quantitative study was conducted via questionnaire data collection, in which the attitudes and experiences of Slovak teachers (n=112) were assessed in primary and secondary schools related to language teaching. The research revealed that the greatest difficulties in developing students’ Slovak language competences occur in the field of productive language use, particularly in vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and speaking and writing skills. Receptive skills and pronunciation are less problem¬atic. Although teachers strive for a communication-centred education, institutional conditions and the limited language environment outside of school hinder students’ confident and spontaneous use of Slovak. The research examined how the practice of teaching Slovak differs between upper primary and secondary schools. Secondary school respondents gave significantly higher average values for statements about the exclusive use of Slovak, an increased number of lessons, focus on literature, and organizing joint activities with Slovak-language schools than did primary school teach¬ers. Based on the results of the chi-square test applied to examine regional differenc¬es, the most significant differences were found in the following statements: “Students have difficulties with listening comprehension” (χ² = 15.417; p = 0.001), “Students’ spontaneous communication in Slovak language classes is fluent and coherent” (χ² = 13.825; p = 0.003), “I often use Slovak in everyday life outside of school (e.g. in the store, with friends, etc.)” (χ² = 15.865; p = 0.001). The results show that teachers rated the use of Slovak outside of school as significantly more positive than students did: the largest differences occurred on items related to everyday use of Slovak, its use outside of school, and the future role of the language.

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