Linguistic discrimination in pedagogical evaluation. A study of teachers of Hungarian language and literature in Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Hungary

Abstract

There is a paucity of research on dialect awareness among teachers, particularly in Hungary. The aim of our research was to demonstrate the existence of linguistic discrimination. The research involved more than 502 Hungarian Language and Literature teachers and teacher trainees from Hungary (N=216), Slovakia (N=128), Romania (N=108) and Ukraine (N=50). Data were collected primarily through a technique similar to matched-guise tests; however, the method of the present research had some additional complexity. The large-scale research (N=502) clearly supported the assumption that linguistic discrimination was widespread in pedagogical evaluation. Oral performances were recorded which varied in content, language variety and code/mode of language use. Oral performances produced in the standard variety or in the elaborated code of language use (or both) were favored. By contrast, oral productions in dialectal and restricted language-despite the fact that their content was correct-received unfavourable evaluation. Linguistic variability in oral productions with the same content resulted in as much as a full grade of difference in the mean of grades. The differences were statistically significant for each sample, hence the prevalence of linguistic discrimination is proved.

The current state and main problems of Hungarian native language education

“…However, in this way, dialect becomes a very distant, archaic concept, especially when children are asked to name the regions or one or two dialects and at the same time they are corrected if they speak in dialect. This is not uncommon, as the school usually favours the standard (also known as colloquial) variety of the language and stigmatises and corrects the varieties that are different from it (Jánk 2016(Jánk , 2021. This is a direct path to cognitive dissonance in the child's mind, i.e.…”

“…meglássuk] do not exist"see more in Kontra 2006, 103). The described process is one of the most typical manifestations of language-based discrimination, which is one of the most prominent and damaging problems in both Hungarian and international educational practice (for more details see Skutnabb-Kangas 2015; Jánk 2021Jánk , 2023.…”

Similarities and Differences in Linguistic Discrimination Between Slovak and Hungarian Teachers of Hungarian Language and Literature

“…53-73;2021a) and the results of research, which was carried out by the previous measuring instrument, were reported on with distinct focus points, highlighting various essential elements (e.g. Jánk 2019;2021b).…”