Learning of foreign language in educational establishments of Hungary: historical and pedagogical aspects

The article describes the essence of linguistic policy of the Council of Europe, whose purpose is to teach at least two foreign languages to all citizens of European countries. It describes the historical changes in education in Hungary, their impact on the process and the level of studying foreign languages, analyzes the reforms of Hungarian education since the 1980s, as well as the general objectives of the national basic curriculum on foreign languages. The article presents the results of the research programs of the Eurobarometer 2006 and 2012, which emphasize that the Council of Europe's linguistic policy has not yet fully achieved its ultimate goal. Since 1976 the Education Council of Europe has aimed to expand the teaching and learning of at least one foreign language, and provide a path to foreign practice for teachers who teach foreign languages. In the official European communication, the key idea is a multilingual European citizen. Based on these recommendations, in Hungary in 1989, the process of transforming and improving education began, which led to the complete transformation of the educational process. The language policy of the Council of Europe is aimed at studying foreign languages because social, environmental, as well as cultural integration of European countries is impossible without the knowledge of foreign languages. Since the 80's of the twentieth century, the European Commission has established a direction called Language Learning Policies, as well as programs in the field of education aimed at better learning foreign languages. In 1983 and 1984, the Council took measures to improve the skills and abilities of teaching foreign languages among participating countries. Among other recommendations, the Council allowed students to study two foreign languages before completing compulsory education and provided an opportunity to continue the study of languages in higher educational institutions. The results of the studies on the level of fluency of Hungarian citizens show that, despite the Hungarian government's intense efforts and targeted language policy, the results achieved can not be considered satisfactory. It is also important to highlight the fact that, based on the Eurobarometer survey results in 2006 and 2012, this area is problematic in other EU countries. European countries insist that everyone should know at least two foreign languages, but this strong desire does not always reach the desired goal.