The István Kótyuk language accessibility courses have been successfully completed

Organised by the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University, the István Kótyuk language accessibility courses in Hungarian and Ukrainian took place between September 2025 and May 2026, with the support of the State Secretariat for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office and Bethlen Gábor Fund Management Ltd.

Between 12 August and 6 September 2026, 1,900 people registered for the language courses; of these, a total of 1,885 began the sessions for various reasons.

In the first half of the year, 60 teachers taught 1,173 people in 106 groups across 42 venues in 32 towns and villages on the Hungarian language course. On the Ukrainian language course, 26 teachers taught a total of 712 people in 65 groups across 14 venues in 8 towns and villages.

Language	Number of participants	Number of instructors	Number of settlements	Number of locations	Number of groups
Hungarian	1173	60	32	42	106
Ukrainian	712	26	8	14	65
Total	1885	(86) 83	(40) 35	(56) 52	171

Of the 83 teachers, 3 taught on both the Ukrainian and Hungarian courses. The project was implemented at a total of 52 locations, as Hungarian and Ukrainian groups studied at 4 locations, and in 35 settlements, as both languages were taught in 5 of them.

The initiative’s primary mission is to facilitate effective communication between the Hungarian- and Ukrainian-speaking populations in Transcarpathia, where the two languages and cultures have been closely intertwined for centuries and where linguistic diversity represents both an asset and a challenge. Smooth dialogue can reduce misunderstandings and tensions, whilst strengthening mutual respect, trust and a sense of community.

The 100-hour, practice-oriented curriculum developed by the methodologists (covering expressions and vocabulary necessary for everyday communication, as well as practical exercises) prepared the learners for the linguistic challenges of everyday situations. The teaching materials used during the training were prepared by Anikó Csurman-Puskás, Dr Adél Gál, Dr Katalin Hnatik and Dr habil. Natália Váradi, whilst those for the Ukrainian language training were prepared by Dr Andrea Molnár-Csatlós and Éva Panykó-Lénárt in the summer of 2025, ensuring a consistent standard and effectiveness of teaching.

The sessions were led by native-speaking and bilingual teachers. Their expertise was further enhanced by a training course held on 12–13 August 2025, led by Dr Katalin Pelcz, Head of the Hungarian Language Programme at the International Education Centre of the University of Pécs and co-author of the MagyarOK course books.

The official opening of the courses took place on 24 September 2025 at the Sándor Fodó Cultural Centre of the University of Rakoczi.

By 31 December 2025, 50 hours of teaching had been completed per group. During on-site visits, the language learners expressed their satisfaction with the teaching process, the learning environment and the instructors’ preparedness. Feedback from both the teachers and the participants was positive: the students actively participated in the lessons, the groups were well organised, and the teaching materials, worksheets and test papers prepared by the methodologists effectively supported the learning and teaching process.

From January 2026, the sessions took place according to the pre-determined and submitted timetable. The number of participants rose to 1,943. In 2026, nine children joined the Hungarian language course and seven the Ukrainian language course; these were players from the Rakoczi-GENIUS Handball Team. In addition to them, a further 42 people joined the Ukrainian language courses, thanks to the positive feedback received.

In the second term, 81 teachers continued their work. Following the end of the first term, after the death of Katalin Tanczár, her two groups were taken over by Irén Rádik as a combined group, whilst Erzsébet Orosz’s group in Nagybocskó was disbanded due to the war situation. Consequently, teaching took place in 169 groups during the second term. The number of venues fell from 52 to 51, and the number of localities from 35 to 34.

Description	1st term	2nd term
Number of instructors	83	81
Number of groups	171	169 (104 Hungarian, 65 Ukrainian)
Number of participants	1885	1943
Number of locations	52	51
Number of settlements	35	34

Consequently, the data changed as follows:

No.	Settlement	No. of groups 1st sem.	No. of groups 2nd sem.	Language	Number of applicants	No. of students 1st sem.	No. of students 2nd sem.	Number of graduates
1.	Solotvyno	2	2	Hungarian	16	16	17	17
2.	Nyzhnii Koropets	1	1	Hungarian	9	9	9	7
3.	Rakoshyno	1	1	Hungarian	13	13	13	9
4.	Berehove	12	11	Hungarian	117	117	126	81
		30	30	Ukrainian	384	374	361	341
5.	Bushtyno	3	3	Hungarian	32	32	32	26
6.	Chop	1	1	Hungarian	7	7	7	2
7.	Chepa	2	2	Hungarian	23	23	23	17
8.	Fanchykovo	3	3	Hungarian	47	47	55	55
9.	Kholmok	1	1	Hungarian	13	13	13	7
10.	Khust	2	2	Hungarian	26	26	26	14
11.	Korolevo	1	1	Hungarian	11	11	11	8
12.	Mali Heivtsi	1	1	Hungarian	8	8	8	7
		4	4	Ukrainian	42	42	42	42
13.	Kontsovo	1	1	Hungarian	5	5	5	3
14.	Yasinia	5	5	Hungarian	35	35	37	37
15.	Matiiovo	2	2	Hungarian	5	5	5	4
16.	Mynai	2	2	Hungarian	26	26	26	17
17.	Mukachevo	5	5	Hungarian	63	63	68	51
18.	Velykyy Bychkiv	1	0	Hungarian	5	5	0	0
19.	Velyka Dobron	9	9	Ukrainian	71	71	77	77
20.	Vynohradiv	15	15	Hungarian	181	181	181	131
		7	7	Ukrainian	65	65	68	65
21.	Radvanka	2	2	Hungarian	47	47	47	9
22.	Rakhiv	5	5	Hungarian	46	46	46	25
23.	Serednie	2	2	Hungarian	19	19	20	20
24.	Svaliava	2	2	Hungarian	21	21	21	11
25.	Teresva	1	1	Hungarian	5	5	5	4
26.	Tiachiv	12	12	Hungarian	158	158	158	133
27.	Tekovo	4	4	Hungarian	42	42	43	43
28.	Dilove	2	2	Hungarian	14	14	14	9
29.	Bobove	3	3	Ukrainian	47	47	55	55
30.	Petrove	6	6	Ukrainian	48	43	72	58
31.	Sasovo	2	2	Hungarian	20	20	20	20
32.	Nove Selo	1	1	Hungarian	12	12	12	8
33.	Vylok	2	2	Hungarian	9	9	9	4
		2	2	Ukrainian	41	41	44	34
34.	Uzhhorod	11	11	Hungarian	107	107	107	85
35.	Vyshkovo	1	1	Hungarian	25	25	25	13
		2	2	Ukrainian	35	35	35	30
Total		169			1900	1885	1943	1579

In the first and second semesters, the Ukrainian language courses took place in 8 settlements, at 14 locations, in 65 groups with a total of 26 instructors; with 712 participants in the first semester and 761 in the second semester.

No.	Settlement	Instructors per settlement	Location	Instructors per location	Instructor name
1.	Berehove	13	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	9	Tetyána Csonka, Natália Libák, Katalin Margitics, Andzselika Juricskó, Éva Molnár, Sándor Osztrovszkij, Éva Panykó-Lénárt, Okszána Pavlovics, Andrea Pősze
			Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University’s Vocational High School	2	Szvetlána Beca, Ágnes Margitics
			Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum (Berehove unit)	3	Szvetlána Beca, Irén Nemes, Irén Rádik
2.	Mali Heivtsi	1	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum (Mali Heivtsi unit)	1	Valéria Kiss
3.	Velyka Dobron	3	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum (Velyka Dobron unit)	2	Tetyána Komonyi, Viktória Kovács
			Reformed Lyceum in Velyka Dobron	1	Andrea Molnár-Csatlós
4.	Vynohradiv	3	Secondary School No. 3 in Vynohradiv (named after Zsigmond Perényi)	3	Ildikó Kampó, Viktória Kurta, Beatrix Vince
5.	Bobove	1	Gymnasium in Bobove	1	Anikó Bábincu
6.	Petrove	1	Egán Ede Vocational Training Center (Petrovo)	1	Edit Kiss
7.	Vylok	3	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum (Vylok unit)	1	Marianna Fenics
			Secondary School No. 2 in Vylok	3	Álla Konrád, Marianna Fenics, Márta Kulcsár
8.	Vyshkovo	1	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum (Vyshkovo unit)	1	Miroszláva Roskó
Total		26		26

Three colleagues also taught at two locations each: Szvetlána Beca, Marianna Fenics, and Miroszláva Roskó. In the second semester of the Hungarian language courses, 58 instructors developed the language skills of a total of 1,182 participants in 104 groups across 31 settlements and 41 locations. This is two instructors, two groups, one settlement, and one location fewer than in the first semester; however, the headcount increased by 9 people.

No.	Settlement	Instructors per settlement	Venue	Instructor name
1.	Solotvyno	2	János Bolyai Lyceum in Solotvyno	Andrea Kacsmár, Adrienn Vajnági
2.	Nyzhnii Koropets	1	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Kindergarten in Nyzhnii Koropets	Krisztina Popovics
3.	Rakoshyno	1	Gymnasium in Rakoshyno	Valéria Tar
4.	Berehove	4	Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University	Anikó Csurmán-Puskás, Ilona Pápai, Irén Rádik, Vitalina Szabó
5.	Bushtyno	1	St. Elizabeth Kindergarten in Bushtyno	Mária Takács
6.	Chop	1	István Széchenyi Lyceum in Chop	Katalin Béres
7.	Chepa	2	Tulipán Tanoda in Chepa	Natália Duda, Szabina Kocsis
8.	Fanchykovo	1	Tulipán Tanoda in Fanchykovo	Zita Nagy
9.	Kholmok	1	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Kindergarten in Kholmok	Csilla Lesko
10.	Khust	1	Secondary School No. 4 of Khust	Margaréta Körtvélyessy-Tehza
11.	Korolevo	1	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Kindergarten in Korolevo	Anikó Radvánszky
12.	Mali Heivtsi	1	Greek Catholic Catechetical Classroom in Mali Heivtsi	Eleonóra Györke
13.	Kontsovo	1	Lyceum of Kontsovo	Enikő Palkó
14.	Yasinia	4	Secondary School No. 1 in Yasinia	Szilvia Darnyi, Mária Keszler, Mária Kolesznyikova, Ildikó Reparuk
15.	Matiiovo	1	Tulipán Tanoda in Matiiovo	Gizella Zán
16.	Mynai	2	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Kindergarten in Mynai	Ádám Adrienn, Csilla Lesko
17.	Mukachevo	2	Saint Stephen Lyceum in Mukachevo	Andrea Kozák, Alexandra Lengyel
18.	Vynohradiv	8	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum – Vynohradiv Educational Site	Ildikó Kampó, Rita Kosán, Beatrix Vince
			Secondary School No. 3 named after Zsigmond Perényi in Vynohradiv	Gabriella Illés, Andzselika Kádár, Erika Kravcova, Jolán Palazsnik, Marianna Sztászjuk
19.	Radvanka (part of Uzhhorod)	1	Saint Gerard Roman Catholic Parish, College for Advanced Studies	Mária Veresné Dikun
20.	Rakhiv	2	Hungarian House in Rakhiv Rakhiv Secondary Comprehensive School No. 1 (I-III degrees) Roman Catholic Community House in Tsiptseray Roman Catholic Parish in Rakhiv	Veronika Melnyicsuk, Ildikó Reparuk
21.	Serednie	1	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Kindergarten in Serednie	Mónika Mészár
22.	Svaliava	2	Roman Catholic Church in Svaliava Secondary School No. 1 in Svaliava	Marianna Kozár, Éva Popovics
23.	Teresva	1	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s Elementary School and Kindergarten in Teresva	Julianna Cerkunik-Kvitka
24.	Tiachiv	9	Hungarian-Language Lyceum named after Simon Hollósy in Tiachiv	Natália Csopik-Roskova, Gyöngyi Fényes, Gyöngyi Kristofóri, Erika Perebijnosz, Gabriella Sitka, Diana Taruszin
			Hungarian-Language Reformed Lyceum in Tiachiv	Hajnalka Bodák, Gabriella Imszticsei, Mónika Kiss
25.	Tekovo	3	Tulipán Tanoda in Tekovo Reformed Parsonage in Tekovo	Oszkár Kócsi, Éva Evelin Czébely, Diána Lidka
26.	Dilove	2	P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School’s School and Kindergarten in Dilove Roman Catholic Parish	Mihaela Dáncs, Mária Vadas
27.	Sasovo	1	Kindergarten in Sasovo	Natália Duda
28.	Nove Selo	1	Tulipán Tanoda in Nove Selo	Erzsébet Popovics
29.	Vylok	1	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum – Vylok Site	Gizella Zán
30.	Uzhhorod	5	Office Building (Hojda Street) Greek Catholic Caritas Reformed Parsonage in Uzhhorod	Dzsulietta Bem, Csilla Lesko, Enikő Palkó, Katalin Dikun, Mária Veresné Dikun
31.	Vyshkovo	1	Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum – Vyshkovo Site	Judit Pál
Total		65

Some teachers taught at multiple locations: Natália Duda (Csepei Tulipán School, Tiszaszászfalu Nursery), Csilla Lesko (Katalin Frangepán Grammar School, Minaj Nursery; Katalin Frangepán Grammar School, Homok Nursery; Office Building on Hojda Street, Uzhhorod), Enikő Palkó (Greek Catholic Caritas, Koncházai Lyceum),  Ildikó Reparuk (Rahó Roman Catholic Parish, Cipszeráj Roman Catholic Community Centre), Mária Veresné Dikun (Uzhhorod Reformed Parish, St Gellért Roman Catholic Parish), and Gizella Zán (Transcarpathian Hungarian Lyceum – Tiszaújlak branch, Mátyfalva Tulipán School).

In Beregszász, Kisgejőc, Nagyszőlős, Tiszaújlak and Visken, lessons were held in both Hungarian and Ukrainian.

Where possible, children and adults were taught in separate groups.

Breakdown of groups by type

No.	Language	Group type	1st semester number of groups	2nd semester number of groups	Total in 2nd semester
1.	Ukrainian	Child	48	48	101
	Hungarian		54	53
2.	Ukrainian	Adult	14	14	58
	Hungarian		45	44
3.	Ukrainian	Mixed (adult, child)	3	3	10
	Hungarian		7	7
Total			171	169	169

The proportion of children’s groups was exceptionally high, which clearly demonstrates the importance of starting language accessibility at an early age. In the case of the Hungarian language courses, 14 of the 53 children’s groups consisted of pre-schoolers.

The oldest participant in the Hungarian language course was 79, the youngest 6, whilst in the Ukrainian language courses the oldest participant was 59 and the youngest 7.

Based on the breakdown by group level, the vast majority of participants joined the training at beginner level, which supports the programme’s fundamental aim: to reduce communication barriers by ensuring the widespread acquisition of basic language skills. The presence of advanced-level participants, however, indicates that the training also offered opportunities for progression. In both the children’s and adult groups, there were opportunities to learn the language at A1, A2 and B1 levels.

Breakdown of groups by levels

No.	Language	Group level	1st semester	2nd semester	Total in 2nd semester
1.	Ukrainian	A1	32	32	101
	Hungarian		71	69
2.	Ukrainian	A2	16	16	38
	Hungarian		22	22
3.	Ukrainian	B1	17	17	30
	Hungarian		13	13
Total			171	169	169

Breakdown of children-adult groups by levels

No.	Language	Group	A1	A2	B1	Total
1.	Ukrainian	Child	29	11	8
	Hungarian	Child	42	8	3
2.	Ukrainian	Adult	0	5	9
	Hungarian	Adult	23	13	8
3.	Ukrainian	Mixed	3	0	0
	Hungarian	Mixed	4	1	2
Total			101	38	30	169

In the Hungarian language course, there were two groups (one for adults and one for children) at A1 level in the first semester.

The documentation checks and accounting for the 50–50 hours per group were successfully completed in the second week of December 2025 and the second half of May 2026.

The requirements for the 100-hour course – module-end assignments, thematic tests, and oral and written exams – were met by 1,579 participants.

Language	Beginner	Advanced	Total
Hungarian	637	240	877
Ukrainian	398	304	702
Total	1035	544	1579

As the language accessibility course drew to a close, participants were given the opportunity to sit a Hungarian language placement test on 11 April 2026. The exam was not compulsory, but it was made available to any student who wished to assess their level of proficiency and receive feedback on the knowledge they had acquired at the university’s international ECL Language Examination Centre.

The placement test consisted of a written and an oral section and was based on the comprehensive system of the international ECL language examination.

Online pre-registration for the placement test took place from 13 January to 28 February 2026. A total of 56 people registered, from 11 different locations, having been prepared by 19 tutors.

No.	Settlements	Number of exam applicants	Number of successful examinees	Preparing teacher
1.	Berehove	2	0	Ilona Pápai
		6	3	Irén Rádik
		1	0	Vitalina Szabó
2.	Chepa	3	2	Natália Duda
3.	Fanchykovo	2	0	Zita Nagy
4.	Korolevo	1	1	Anikó Radvánszky
5.	Mynai	1	0	Csilla Lesko
6.	Mukachevo	8	8	Andrea Kozák
		3	2	Alexandra Lengyel
7.	Vynohradiv	7	3	Ildikó Kampó
		1	0	Jolán Palazsnik
		1	1	Beatrix Vince
8.	Svaliava	1	0	Éva Popovics
9.	Tiachiv	5	2	Gabriella Imszticsei
		1	0	Mónika Kiss
		3	0	Gyöngyi Kristofóri
10.	Uzhhorod	4	2	Dzsulietta Bem
		1	0	Csilla Lesko
		1	0	Enikő Palkó
11.	Vyshkovo	4	4	Judit Pál
Total		56	28

The assessment test material – both the written and oral sections – was prepared by the project’s methodologists. Candidates had 120 minutes to complete the tasks in the written test. Following this, the oral test took place simultaneously in four rooms. In each room, two candidates took the exam at the same time, or three in the case of an odd number of candidates. Before the exam began, candidates were required to present valid photo ID. The placement test proved to be an important milestone in the training process: it provided an opportunity for participants to gain an objective picture of their language development and to confirm their knowledge applicable to everyday communication.

Twenty-eight people successfully passed the placement test. The breakdown by language level was as follows: Level A1 – 4 people, Level A2 – 14 people, Level B1 – 10 people. The participants received their certificates at the certificate award ceremony on 5 June 2026.

On the same day, the course instructors also received Hungarian–Ukrainian certificates confirming completion of the training, which will be handed over to participants in the groups operating across the 34 localities in the coming days.

The István Kótyuk language accessibility courses were successfully implemented and fully achieved the set professional and community objectives.

Natália Váradi, programme coordinator,

Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University