A cikk írója: katie f
Once you move and relocate to Hungary, you’re going to have to learn some Magyar, the language of the Huns if you want to get by. It sounds archaic and strange with seemingly funny vowels and accents, sounds you’ve never made before in your life. Your tongue twists trying to pronounce even the simplest words.
The truth is that as English speakers, we often take advantage of it being the most internationally spoken language, almost without even thinking. It’s easy to just expect everyone to speak English and it’s easy to get by travelling throughout Europe with only English and a few other foreign phrases, until you get to Hungary.
Learning a language is part of the process when it comes to relocating to a foreign country to work or study abroad. Don’t see it as an inconvenience but a challenge, a very necessary one for a smooth transition to Hungarian life. Without a doubt you will need to take some language classes.
Hungary is home to thousands of foreign workers from the EU and beyond, expats that came to this Central European country as travellers and never left. Whether you find a private tutor, sign up for a beginner’s class at a language school like Katedra (one of the most popular in Hungary) or attempt to do-it-yourself by buying a Hungarian phrase book (by the way, this is not the most effective… speaking from experience), you will need to make the most out of every and any language class and exchange if you want to break the ice into this mysterious and oh-so-foreign tongue.
How to make the most out of Hungarian language classes:
1. Make mistakes and learn from them
When it comes to learning, not only the language but the culture as well in daily interactions it’s important to know first that you’re going to make mistakes (this is inevitable) and second that if you’re going to completely fit into expat life in Hungary that you’d also better learn from them. To do this, you need to focus not on the fact that you made a mistake but on the fact that you have the potential to learn from it. Making mistakes is better than not trying, so take advantage of whatever Hungarian words you’ve got in your vocabulary pocket and use them any way you think you can!
2. Let your teacher actually teach
After a while you may find yourself saying, “I get it, Hungarian isn’t so hard,” and hit the so-called language-learning plateau. You know the basics and have a standard vocabulary, just enough to get you by. The best teachers will push you to learn to express yourself in new ways, not always resorting to the same words you learned in Chapter 1. Invest in a thesaurus and good dictionary both of these will help. Listen and embrace the nuances of the Hungarian language, it’s as rich as any.
What you might find on a very eager language student’s bookshelf!
3. You’re the boss
One of the most important things to remember is that you, above all are the boss. The teacher, who you are paying, is only the teacher and you have the freedom to design your class experience how you would like. Good teachers will ask you what you want to focus on, even job-specific terms and phrases besides the usual grammar. It can be tough for a lot of adults to go back to the classroom as a student but by making it your own experience and being in total control of it is not only beneficial for you as the student but for your teacher as well.
4. Take your learning outside the classroom
The absolute best way to really dive into a language is of course to live in it, in daily life you have to eat, breathe, sleep and laugh in Hungarian. You will learn as much outside the classroom as inside it and there is no substitute for the daily encounters you will make with the lady at the bakery, post office, at the news stand or while out shopping. Eavesdrop on others conversations at cafés, trying to pick up what they’re saying. When it comes to learning Hungarian and any other language, the classroom doesn’t always have four walls.
Are you up for the challenge of learning Hungarian? Have you already started?
Akár nyelvtudással, vagy nyelvtudás nélkül keresel külföldi munkát, Érdemes feltölteni önéletrajzod a Lingojob.com portálra. Külföldi állásajánlatok várnak, Európa számos országában.
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I think the best way to learn hungarian quicker to hang with locals as much as possible and try to talk a lot. Hungarian is a difficult language specially the grammar so as a beginner I would put more weight on the actual conversations
you're totally right, it's amazing how much you can learn just by “listen and repeat”and hanging out with some local hungarians that don't mind slowing it down a little to explain a few things or two about their language!
Keep up the good work, I like your writing.
Thanks! There are more articles to come…
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!