Abstract:

One of the most significant trends in research on language learning motivation employs a socio-psychological perspective. According to this research paradigm, students’ motivated foreign language learning behaviour can be explained by attitudes about language, speakers, and language learning. This presentation seeks to answer the question on the attitude about the Hungarian language and culture in the motivation to learn Hungarian as a foreign language among Slovak-speaking language learners in Slovakia.
The Department of Regional Tourism at the Faculty of Central European Studies of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra offers the possibility to study Hungarian as a foreign language. In the first lesson of the course, we tried to find out the students’ opinions about languages, linguistic myths, and Hungarian as a foreign language with the help of a Slovak-language questionnaire containing 16 questions. In the last six academic years, 64 Slovak native language students completed this questionnaire. The group of surveyed language learning university students can be considered homogeneous in terms of age. The foreign language is acquired in a source language environment, where their mother tongue is the state language; the Hungarian language has no official status in Slovakia; it is only a minority language; however, it is the official language of the neighbouring country (Hungary).
The study yielded revealing results. Based on the received data, negative opinions and prejudices can be observed among the respondents, as they have not had a connection with the Hungarian language so far, and they have judged it based on misconceptions and myths. However, among those already completing (or have completed) the second year of the Hungarian language course, the attitude towards the Hungarian language and culture is becoming more and more favourable based on experience. Thus, for the teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language in Slovakia, it is vital to develop positive attitudes towards the culture and people behind the language to be learned.

Keywords:

Hungarian as a Foreign Language, Slovak students, Questionnaire survey, Myths and misconceptions about the Hungarian language.