The conditions of contemporary foreign language teaching in Hungary

The study of how to teach effectively in general, and that of the circumstances necessary to successful teaching in particular is an extremely complicated and new field to examine, due to the lack of sources on this topic on the one hand, and the fast changes of methods, approaches, and demands on the other hand. However, the importance of foreign languages is growing continually, while their role changes time after time. As a result, it is very difficult to trace the changes that require flexible foreign language teachers. My interest in this topic was raised during methodology lessons, and later through my teaching, where I faced problems, which made me want to understand the features that are necessary in order to be loved by children, as well as to become acknowledged and successful in foreign language teaching. Therefore, the aim of my thesis is to examine whether the conditions exist in Hungary at the beginning of the 2l stcentury for foreign language teaching relevant to the current and future needs of the country. In addition, in this thesis I focus on elementary school teachers of English, as they are teaching the language of international communication. I intend to reach a conclusion by taking into account various influencing factors, such as teaching methods, the national curriculum, and my personal experiences. I will prove that Hungarian public education is not prepared for joining the European Community as it has already not provided the necessary conditions particularly for elementary foreign language teaching.