StepTogether – a possible solution for teaching Hungarian as a target language to migrant children

Abstract

This paper introduces the StepTogether programme, which is one of the practices for preventing early school leaving in Hungary. The main goal of the programme is to improve the language competence of migrant pupils and thereby to decrease school dropout rates and support the pupils in their transition from primary to secondary school. The programme develops CLIL aids for migrant children attending primary school in the 3rd–8th grades. The aim of the developers was to support teachers in integrating children with non-native competence in Hungarian (proficiency level A1–B2) into traditional classroom activities. The StepTogether concept helps children develop their language skills while they are dealing with the same subject topics as their dominant-language classmates. The structure of these teaching tools allows all teachers to contribute to the children’s language development process and helps create an open intercultural classroom climate. Furthermore, integrating the heritage cultures of the pupils into the classroom work helps involve migrant parents as well.