2. 2009.

Abstracts in English

Studies

Nádor, Orsolya
Education and the changes in the political status of Hungarian
(About the history of teaching Hungarian)


The role of first language is unquestionable in primary-school education. This was an established fact when the work of teachers was under no regulation yet. With the appearance of language policy, the scope of certain languages was regulated in law: the scope of the official language was increased, whereas the scope of minority languages was decreased. These regulations have effect still today; lawmakers often refer back to nineteenth-century law when discussing the strict regulations about the language use of the Hungarian minority. This study reviews the changes in the language of education from a historical perspective. It examines the spontaneous changes and later the conscious planning of the Hungarian language. Finally, it provides examples of the acts regulating the language of education and examples of the teaching materials. 

 

 

 

Keszler, Borbála
The formal features of punctuation marks, symbols and abbreviations

When teaching punctuation, teachers usually discuss where to use which punctuation mark. It is often the source of mistake, however, that they do not consider whether there is a space after the punctuation mark. Therefore, common spelling mistakes are to use a space before the first word within brackets, to use a hyphen instead of a dash, and to use no space before and after dashes. It is even more problematic how to use symbols (for example, the symbol of extraction, percentage or degree) and abbreviations (for example, the abbreviation of measures or monetary units). This article aims to provide help with the correct use of these punctuation marks, symbols, and abbreviations.

 

 

 

Gonda, Zsuzsa
Competence acquisition and development in the use of dictionaries

This study discusses the differences between printed and electronic dictionaries, and the possibilities of acquiring and developing the competences in reading dictionaries. The first section presents some details of the results of an empirical research on the use of handbooks. The next section summarizes the formal, structural and content features of printed and electronic texts and dictionaries. Then it examines the relation between dictionary reading and the development tasks connected to first-language teaching in the National Core Curriculum (NAT). Later the author explains the basic principles of the acquisition and development of the competences required for the effective use of dictionaries: introduces the steps of acquiring effective dictionary reading and the methods of using dictionaries. The strategies of effective dictionary reading have implications for electronic dictionaries as well. Therefore, the study also discusses how information and communication technologies contribute to competence development. As an addition to the study paper-and-pencil exercises,   downloadable material from the internet as well as interactive board tasks are available .

 

 

 

Workshop

Tancz, Tünde
The role of folk tales in speech development in early childhood

As folk tales gain less and less attention in everyday life, they are losing their importance in education as well. General pedagogical practice seems to forget their function in the development of first language and personality. Folk tales are social representations with public and mental roles. They convey knowledge which contributes to cultural integration, language acquisition, socialization and identity forming. The study draws attention to the values of folk tales concerning first-language teaching and psychology. It introduces those developmental functions and correction effects that contribute to the realization of the aims of first-language education in early childhood. Practical examples illustrate what effective role the text of folk tales plays in the development of communicative competences, multicultural education and personality forming.

 

 

 

Fodor, Éva
Tips for teaching stylistics to eleventh-grade students

The basis of this study is provided by the second prize winning task sheet of the Ötletpályázat (Call for applications: Tips for first-language teaching) from 2008. It starts by introducing the objectives of first-language teaching from the last decades, and arrives at first-language communication, which is one of the main competences in NAT 2007 (Nemzeti Alaptanterv, National Curriculum). The study then explains the principles of the National Curriculum from a linguistic perspective, providing a number of methodological suggestions as well. The third section of the study contains exercises that can be applied in the practice of elementary- and secondary-school teaching. The aim of this collection of exercises is to generate ideas about how teachers can achieve the objectives and fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum in an effective way.

 

 

 

Kerner, Anna
Essays at secondary school. The philosophical essay

A main characteristic of humans is to reflect on the world. Essay as a genre provides an appropriate form for this for all thinking human beings. Therefore, it is our duty to introduce essay to secondary school students. In its original sense, an essay is an attempt of self- expression (experiences, feelings, and thoughts) about a certain problem. When teaching essay writing to students, we teach them how to communicate their academic and non-academic knowledge while expressing their opinion. The first part of this paper, illustrated by examples, deals with the possibilities, experiences, and methods of this process. The second part describes the status of philosophy teaching at the secondary school today. It considers the aims of this school subject, its role in subject integration and its potential for the development of mother tongue culture.

 

 

 

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