TEFL Budapest (Hungary)

Each component comprises a set of standardized statements of competence, accompanied by indicators of success. The indicators describe the skills, knowledge and qualities associated with effective teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The standardized statements of competence are as follows:

Pedagogy Theory

• Describe a range of teaching methodologies, approaches and strategies
• Describe the skills, knowledge and qualities which characterize an effective teacher
• Describe the factors which influence the establishment of an effective learning environment
• Describe a range of strategies for supporting, monitoring and assessing student progress

Language Awareness

• Describe the purposes and nature of Communication
• Describe key features in relation to the structure of the English language
• Describe and explain the English tense system and other, commonly taught, grammatical features
• Describe how sounds are made and modified and use phonetic symbols to describe the sounds of English

Teaching Skills

• Design and prepare effective lessons
• Prepare and manage the physical learning environment and use resources in an appropriate way
• Provide innovative and flexible learning experiences for individuals and groups of students
• Create learning environments that are student-centered, challenging and safe

Cultural Awareness

• Engage in the process of learning a foreign language
• Demonstrate an awareness of the issues in relation to culture and language teaching
• Demonstrate a willingness to foster positive relationships with members of the local community
• Demonstrate an awareness of cultural similarities and differences and our shared cultural heritage

Life Skills

• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills
• Demonstrate effective communication skills
• Demonstrate effective decision-making skills
• Demonstrate effective organizational skills
• Demonstrate effective financial skills
• Demonstrate effective employment awareness skills
• Demonstrate effective legal awareness skills
• Demonstrate effective personal welfare skills

Each component of the Via Lingua program is allocated a minimum number of study hours. These study hours mainly involve:

• direct contact with trainers or mentors in workshop sessions, planning meetings, lesson preparation or review meetings;
• direct contact with students during teaching practice sessions;
• private study and preparation;
• record keeping and personal reflection linked to the maintenance of a professional portfolio.

The content of each of the five components can be described as follows:

Pedagogy Theory

• Teaching and learning a foreign language
• Language teaching methodologies
• The syllabus
• The effective teacher
• Classroom management skills
• Language teaching materials
• Lesson planning
• Teaching receptive skills
• Teaching productive skills (speaking)
• Teaching vocabulary
• Teaching pronunciation
• Teaching grammar
• Responding to mistakes and errors
• Language games
• The assessment of language learners

Language Awareness

• The purpose and nature of communication
• Word classes
• Verb types and verb forms
• The tense system
• The present simple tense and the present continuous tense
• The past simple tense, the past continuous tense, the past perfect tense (simple and continuous)
• The present perfect tense (simple and continuous)
• Expressing the future
• Conditional sentences
• The passive voice
• Gerunds and infinitives
• Modal auxiliary verbs
• Multi-word verbs
• Phonology

Teaching Skills

• Six hours of observing experienced teachers
• Eight hours of assessed teaching practice (*groups and or individual students)
• Sixteen hours of supported lesson preparation time
• Eight hours of post-lesson discussions

Cultural Awareness

• The cross-cultural dimension of language teaching
• The Group Project

Life Skills

• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Decision-making skills
• Organizational skills
• Financial awareness skills
• Employment awareness skills
• Legal awareness skills
• Personal welfare skills

Food and clothing

In Hungary people usually have a large breakfast. Hungarian breakfast generally is an open sandwich with fresh bread or a toast, butter, cheese or different cream cheeses. Lunch is the major meal of the day, usually with several courses. Dinner is a far less significant meal than lunch. It may be similar to breakfast, usually an open sandwich, yogurt or virsli (hot dog sausage) with a bun, more seldom a cake, pancakes (palacsinta), and it consists of only one course.
Dress codes in Budapest balance between Western-European-casual and Eastern-European-dapper. When teaching, be sure to adhere to the local working culture and basic ideas of professionalism. Business Casual is a safe bet. Outside of the classroom, Smart Casual will get you far; neatness and style can trump tradition.

Climate

With the Alps to the west and the flat, open Great Plain to the east, Budapest has warm summers and bitterly cold winters, with plenty of rain all year round. Winters are fairly short, the very cold weather arriving in mid-December, usually cloudy and damp with odd bright sunny days and frequent, but light, snow. In summer, from April to September, Budapest has a high proportion of sunny, warm days with relatively high humidity, the sun shining for about 10 hours a day.

Excursions and cultural highlights

Take an excursion into Hungary's history on this popular Danube Bend full day trip. You'll visit the gorgeous old towns of Visegrad, Esztergom and Szentendre, includes a three-course lunch and a cruise on the River Danube - a highlight of any trip to Hungary! The day trip takes you to Visegrad, with its medieval citadel and romantic ruins of the former royal residence. Then it's on to Esztergom for an interior visit of the town's famous cathedral. You will continue on to the Baroque artists' village of Szentendre.

Accommodation

Via Lingua Budapest can provide many types of accommodation for teacher trainees. Please contact the school for more information.