MTA-ELTE TÓK research group: Supporting the language instruction of young learners with digital tools

Led by Professor Péter Medgyes, the research group created by the instructors of the Department of Foreign Language and Literature at Eötvös Loránd University’s Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education (ELTE TÓK) takes its relevance from the period of distance teaching that occurred during the COVID pandemic. The aim of this research is to examine what knowledge and practice of methods were applied before, during, and after the 2020/2021 period of distance education by instructors teaching language in primary schools. The group surmises that innovative procedures, knowledge, and experience can be effectively embedded within in-person teaching, in the case that knowledge of subject methodology and technology supports one another. This research and development project focuses on how language teachers were able to adapt the methods and techniques related to in-person instruction to the environment of online teaching. The research mainly explores the experiences gained, beliefs, and attitudes while also examining how these factors expanded the teachers’ methodological repertoire and influenced their professional competencies. The methodological toolkit that will arise as a result of this research and development project will support practicing language educators in their work in public education.