Jelena Mihaljevič Djigunovič, Marianne Nikolov and István Ottó: Croatian and Hungarian Eighth-Graders' Level of Proficiency in English as a Foreign Language

The present study is part of a larger comparative project on Hungarian and Croatian students’ proficiency in English. It was triggered by an observation concerning Croatian 8th-graders’ higher proficiency in English than the level of their Hungarian peers. Participants of the present inquiry were 717 Croatian and Hungarian learners in public schools in two neighboring counties. Data were collected with different instruments: the same English proficiency tests and a battery in learners’ first languages based on the same construct were administered along with background questionnaire in both countries. The paper analyzes the relationships between participants’ performances on the language tests in English, Croatian and Hungarian. It discusses how tests results were related to the length and intensity of English study in the two counties. The main finding of the study is that Croatian learners achieved significantly higher scores despite the fact that they learnt English in less intensive and shorter programs in full classes, whereas Hungarian students studied English in groups.

MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 106. Number 3. 171-186. (2006)

Levelezési cím / Address for correspondence: Jelena Mihaljevič Djigunovič, Zágrábi Egyetem, Angol Tanszék, Ivana Lucica 3, Zagreb, 10 000, Croatia.; Nikolov Marianne, Pécsi Tudományegyetem, BTK, Angol Alkalmazott Nyelvészeti Tanszék, H–7624 Pécs, Ifjúság u. 6.; Ottó István, Dél-Dunántúli Regionális Közigazgatási Hivatal, H–7400 Kaposvár, Csokonai u. 3.

 
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