Promoting Knowledge of Less-widely Used Languages through Language Qualifications: a Hungarian ECL Examination Study Day

The British Hungarian Educators' Association (MOKKA) is holding an outreach event on 9 November jointly with UCL/SSEES, in particular with support from Lisa Walters, of the Admissions Office, and Eszter Tarsoly, Senior Teaching Fellow in Hungarian.

The aim of the day is twofold: first, it intends to raise awareness among the general public of UCL SSEES’s activities, the broad range of subjects and degree programmes on offer, and the flexibility of course options and combinations which the students can take once at UCL. Secondly, the event aims to enhance recognition of heritage speakers’ Hungarian language skills by raising awareness of the ECL language examination qualification and of Hungarian tuition and area studies at UCL/SSEES.

The event will be the first one of its kind: we are hoping to open new pathways into learning for members of a relatively new but fast growing community in the UK and to draw the attention of members of this community to UCL/SSEES's commitment to teaching and learning languages and culture.

The British Hungarian Educators’ Association, with professional support from UCL SSEES, has applied for the admission of the ECL language examination for UCAS Tariff points. In many less-widely taught community languages, in particular in the less-widely taught languages of Eastern Europe, this is the only type of examination qualification that is widely available internationally. The accreditation of the ECL examination by UCAS would bring many of the languages taught at SSEES to a better position in the UK context, in which heritage speakers (children who acquire the language in their homes rather than in a school setting) of such less-widely taught community languages often do not have any type of official recognition of their language skills. The lack of recognition for knowing a less-widely taught language raises concerns about equal opportunities, as heritage speakers of other less-widely taught community languages (e.g. Hebrew and Modern Greek) can gain a UK-based qualification which officially recognises and rewards their language skills.

It is anticipated that some 40 pupils from age group 16-18 will attend with their parents, mostly from the Greater London area and probably elsewhere in the UK. 

There will be lectures about admission and application to UCL (Lisa Walters), about the history of UCL and SSEES (in Hungarian by Eszter Tarsoly, SSEES), and about the ECL language examination (Marta Knill, of Uxbridge College and of the British Hungarian Educators’ Association).

The programme will start at 9.30 and finish at 5pm. There will be a short refreshment break and a lunch break.