Razprave j ; à 
—Stprave in gradivo, Ljubljana, March 1986, No.18 
Kercmar Janez 
Institute for Schooling 
Organisational Unit 
Murska Sobota, Yugoslavia 
UDC 376.744(497.12=945.11) 
THE BILINGUAL EDUCATION SYSTEM - AN AID IN MAINTAINING AND 
DEVELOPING NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS* 
The ethnically mixed area in the communes of Lendava and Murska 
Sobota, along the border between Hungary and Yugoslavia, is about 
20 kilometres long and about 8 kilometres wide. But for a small 
discontinuity near Kobilje, it covers the whole easternmost part 
of the region of Prekmurje with its compact settlements. 
The bilingual education system was launched in the ethnically 
mixed area of Prekmurje in the school year 1959/60. In the year 
before the introduction of this new educational system, which 
took place only gradually, the commune of Lendava had (in the 
school year 1958/59) no fewer than 1,206 pupils of the Hungarian 
nationality - out of a total of 3,067 pupils - which means that 
40% of all the schoolchildren were Hungarian. Before the 
introduction of the bilingual education system, the Hungarian 
children had attended either the Hungarian departments (825 
pupils or 69%) or, for the sake of gaining better possibilities 
for subsequent schooling, they went to school in the Slovene 
departments (381 pupils or 31% of all the Hungarian 
schoolchildren). This situation appeared to be most critical in 
the two schools of Lendava at that time, where over 50% of the 
schoolchildren of the Hungarian nationality attended the Slovene 
departments of the elementary schools. These children nearly all 
came from the villages in the environs of Lendava; only two 
children of the Hungarian nationality from the town Lendava 
itself attended the school departments before the introduction of 
the bilingual education system, while all the others were 
enrolled in the Slovene departments. The Hungarian parents 
enrolled their children in the Slovene departments because they 
were better organized than the Hungarian ones, the quality of 
work was better, and they offered better possibilities for 
further schooling as well, 
Before the introduction of the bili i 
e 
Hungarian departments had Gedy oy cannes cotidre 
were attended mainly by peasant children 
ae hone aoa wou finished their elementary education, stayed 
mixed area of Pr sete continue their schooling. In the ethnically 
schools before cha ee there existed Slovene and Hungarian 
system. This caused tee each of the bilingual education 
all eight grades mi reme anomalies in certain places, in that 
teacher (Most je) eat into one single class, with only one 
single class (Genterovci ve or six grades together forming one 
few pupils. Both the de RadmoZanci, etc.) because there were 50 
Critical point in the ovene and the Hungarian schools reached a 
School year 1958/59. In some schools there 
  * Original: Slovene 
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were far too few children and even those were divided in the 
Slovene and Hungarian departments, which caused an extremely high 
degree of combination of divisions. 
Such working conditions inevitably led to poor educational 
results and a very strong assimilation of the Hungarian children 
occurred, as the Hungarian departments were badly organized and 
understaffed. This very state of affairs called for certain 
measures aiming to change the situation in the Slovene and 
Hungarian departments. A new way of organizing the school system 
legally, pedagogically and organizationally was required in order 
to establish a form of organization of the elementary school 
system which would offer better quality and whose organizational 
basis would be more varied. This form was searched for in the 
direction of a bilingual schooling system. After having held 
wide-ranging general and professional discussions, and above all 
thanks to a thorough professional analysis, the bilingual 
education system was gradually introduced in the ethnically mixed 
area of Prekmurje. This process was started in the school year 
1959/60. 
After two years of preliminary forms of introduction of the 
subjects of Biology or Geography, which were taught in grades 4-8 
in the Hungarian departments in the Slovene language, while on 
the other hand, these subjects were taught in Hungarian in the 
Slovene departments, a start was made in the school year 1959/60 
in all first grades of the six elementary schools in this area, 
with preparations for and gradual introduction of the first 
experimental bilingual divisions. 
Parallel with the beginning of the realization of this bilingual 
education programme, preparations were made for the provision of 
bilingual teaching material - only stencilled at first - which 
would form the basis of later bilingual schoolbooks. Together 
with the transition to bilingual work in elementary schools, 
which was started in the school year 1959/60 also the education- 
cum-childcare institutions (nursery schools) started on the 
programme of bilingual work in the school year 1961/62. Today, 
children follow a two-year preparatory course before entering the 
bilingual elementary school. 
The schoolchildren themselves - irrespective of their nationality 
- immediately accepted the conception of bilingual work in the 
classroom, this model was met with different reactions by a 
number of members of the community and with the parents. The fact 
of national diversity had already been present earlier, and 
nobody had had any experience whatsoever with this new bilingual 
education. People were afraid that the new system would entail a 
lower quality of education and they expected difficulties with 
subsequent schooling possibilities as well. All these doubts and 
hesitations, however, called the attention of the initiators to 
possible dangers of the new system and made them aware of the 
fact that only bilingual teaching of really high quality, i.e. 
with a vast knowledge and successful education results would 
offer an effective argument against any doubts about the true 
values of the conception of bilingual education. The greatest 
difficulties we encountered during the gradual introduction of 
the idea of bilingual education were caused by the teachers: 
there were too few teaching staff available and most of the 
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teachers did not master both languages which, of course, was a 
prerequisite for the realization of quality work in bilingual 
teaching. Thus intensive language courses had to be designed, as 
well as teaching preparations in both languages and this had to 
run parallel with the introduction of the new teaching system. 
Nowadays teaching staff is qualified for their task in bilingual 
schools during their regular study in both languages 
simultaneously. Thus the bilingual education system has become a 
test in solving problems in the field of the existence and 
development of the national consciousness of the people in this 
area. 
We are aware that in the conception of bilingual education there 
lies some kind of an extra burden on the nation and the national 
consciousness: the schoolchildren involved should reach 
additional pedagogical-educational goals, as they have to learn a 
second language besides their own and have to become acquainted 
with a second culture which is unlike their own. Nevertheless, 
the conception of bilingual education as posed here has grown out 
of a complex of already existing needs, conditions and interests; 
by reaching good pedagogical-educational results thanks to such a 
conception we are forming an atmosphere of mutual understanding, 
tolerance, coexistence, interdependence of and interrelation 
between the nation and nationalities. This conception enables 
developments in the national, linguistic and cultural fields in 
terms of equality. 
It is precisely for this reason that in developing the bilingual 
education system, we should take into consideration its many 
different aspects. With this conception of work, success is 
scored regularly in reaching coexistence through the life and 
work in these schools, while the two-language system enables all 
the children of different nations equally to achieve the 
necessary forms of expression in speaking as well as in writing. 
It should be emphasized here that there is a high degree of 
sensitivity present in the solving of such an educational concept 
since it is precisely in school problems that different nations 
are most directly confronted with their own basic interests, such 
as culture, language, coexistence, We are very much aware that 
national feeling cannot be preserved only by speaking one's own 
language within one's immediate environment. We want therefore to 
help to develop national consciousness and we are of the opinion 
that within the majority nation the culture of the minority in a 
certain area should e allowed its place with equal rights and 
values. This goes also for the use of the language of that 
minority, while also its social norms and the idea of peaceful 
coexistence should be respected. 
The conception of such an educational system as outlined here was 
difficult to develop in the beginning. We had no examples 
whatsoever and only with the experience we gained in this way 
could we smooth out the rough path. An unavoidable precondition 
was a very high quality of work, which had to confirm the 
rightness of the goal we had set out to achieve. 
For the completion of this model of bilingual education we took 
into consideration that such an educational system must be based 
on an optimal coordination of realistic pedagogical and social 
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requirements and a number of needs, interests and possibilities 
of the individual pupils, be they Slovene or Hungarian. Hence it 
was necessary to define the relation between the socio-legal 
norms that are based on the demand that the children should 
acquire knowledge of both cultures and both languages, and the 
need of those children - also in the bilingual elementary school 
- to gain so much general knowledge as to have fair possibilities 
of continuing their schooling as successfully as possible. 
Taking into account social needs and pedagogical laws, we decided 
to bring into our model of the bilingual elementary school as 
much internal democracy and individualization of work as 
possible. Therefore, the set aims and ways of bilingual education 
belong to the principles that, in our opinion, can solve the 
problem of co-existence of different nationalities in the best 
possible way; consequently, a school-system like this one carries 
into effect the equality of rights and thereby develops the 
national feeling as well, as it consequently eliminates from 
everyday life the problem of the contrariness between the nation 
and nationality. 
Through such a conception of bilingual education, schoolchildren 
are educated from their early youth in an atmosphere of co- 
existence with other children of their own age but of different 
background. This leads to joint efforts and achievements in the 
spirit of national broad-mindedness in the attitude towards the 
other nationalities. Such principles can be of great help in 
solving the problem of intolerance of one nation towards the 
other, and in securing such relations as are based to a large 
extent on the moral qualities of young people and on the wide- 
ranging relations among people (pupils) who become co-creators of 
the same goals and ideals. 
Conceived in this way, the additional aims of our bilingual 
education system are based on and are hence in accordance with 
the Declaration on Human Rights and thereby secure the 
maintenance and development of one's own nation. Only because the 
whole society has fully accepted this conception of bilingual 
schools and supports it with its constitution and laws, have we 
been able to develop it, and to help solve the nationality 
question in a concrete environment. This in turn has created a 
genuine atmosphere and provided all the preconditions for the 
realization of such a concept of school. It is worth mentioning 
here that this school system is more costly than the regular one 
and that our social community has successfully dealt also with 
this issue. 
It is important that the possibility of co-operating in the 
realization of an educational project of this kind should be 
given to all the members of the community and to the parents in 
particular, and that they should be enabled as well to carefully 
monitor its efficiency. A new inspiration, which enriches and 
ennobles also the community members and parents, should originate 
from these bilingual schools and permeate the entire environment. 
The community members themselves, on the other hand, must have an 
Opportunity to clearly see that this is quality work crowned with 
success. 
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For the success and implementation of this conception of 
bilingual education system it is very important that it be also 
completely accepted by the schoolchildren themselves. Education 
designed in this way offers them a great deal of flexibility and 
attractiveness of educational work. It is essential that all work 
and the attitude towards the child during the educational work be 
very secure and consistent, to provide the pupil with true 
linguistic and overall equality of rights. In this education 
system we lay a special emphasis on the educative elements which 
help to form new co-existence through which the child becomes 
motivated and successful in his schoolwork. 
Such a model must be endorsed also by the teachers. They are the 
very persons who, through their pedagogical, methodological, 
psychological, and educative work, carry the responsibility for 
the outcome of the pedagogical-educative work that must be 
flexible and interesting to the pupils. 
Apart from the acceptance of our education system by the society 
at large and by members of the community, parents and 
schoolchildren, along with the ardour with which the teachers 
realized their task, we shall have to create favourable 
possibilities for providing qualified teaching staff and to solve 
the unavoidable pedagogical, didactic, organizational and 
material problems, if we are to attain truly quality work. In 
developing our cadre of teaching staff we feel that it is very 
important that the pedagogical-educational work be performed by 
teachers of both nationalities. Teaching in a bilingual school 
demands free communication in both languages and a high degree of 
commitment. This is why we train our prospective staff quite 
severely: we want our trainee teachers to meet the requirements 
of high quality in their future work in both languages. We 
therefore set up programmes of regular permanent linguistic 
training of teachers in both languages. 
In order to reach the quality aimed at, we must take account of 
the fact that material conditions are of great importance for 
high-quality modern pedagogical work. we are receiving more 
financial support for our bilingual education, because our 
pedagogical work is more difficult to perform than that in 
customary schools; we need additional educational material, 
equipment and technology (for the nationality-programme), 
libraries, etc. The relaxed system we apply within our classrooms 
also calls for a high degree of organization. It gives each of 
the children the possibility and the right to get up, go to his 
classmate and talk with him about his work or exercises. There is 
a consequent use of notices and captions always in both 
languages: all the items of educational equipment are labelled in 
two languages and thus the child is continually moving in an 
environment where his mother tongue is present while he is at the 
same time confronted with the language of the other ethnic group. 
The pedagogic and didactic considerations that together with the 
other factors help to realize the set aims of bilingual teaching, 
surely occupy a central place in the framing of this conception. 
We have therefore created additional pedagogical objectives, 
inserted elements of the culture and language of the nationality, 
and implanted in the minds of pupils the principle of education 
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for co-existence. Only these elements have given real value to 
our bilingual education project, The school programmes have been 
designed in such a way that learning one's native language is 
compulsory while the possibility of acquiring an active knowledge 
of the other language is also continuously present. 
When introducing culture as an essential element and objective 
into the educational programme, we feel it important that all the 
children get acquainted with the culture of the ethnic majority 
as well as with that of the minority group and of their parent 
nation. In fact, three cultures are involved. Knowledge about 
Hungary itself and its history forms part of regular instruction. 
Language itself also occupies an important place in our bilingual 
school system. Each language is included in the syllabus on par 
with the other, with the same number of lessons and with the same 
level of planned proficiency. In fact both languages - Slovene 
and Hungarian - are subjects on a par with each other, both 
appearing as languages-in-use during the classes in other 
subjects and being completely equal means of communication. 
The affiliation of pupils with each ethnic group and their number 
are not essential elements of our bilingual schoolwork, because 
the teaching programme requires the child to become literate in 
the language he usually speaks at home. Thus the sheer number 
does not influence the bilingual teaching. During the classes in 
all the other subjects the teaching is conducted bilingually in 
the first grade insofar as the work is oral, while in writing the 
child expresses himself in his native language. In the second 
grade this is reversed and the writing is done in the language 
that the child is not used to speaking at home. From the third 
grade onwards the teaching is completely bilingual, both orally 
as well as in writing. However, we continue teaching the 
structure of both languages. 
In grades 5-8, the so-called “subject level” of the elementary 
school (where the various subjects are no longer taught by one 
class-teacher, as in grades 1-4, but by several subject 
teachers), there exists complete bilingualism in all the subjects 
except for each of the languages. At this level bilingual 
schoolbooks and workbooks as well as practical workbooks are in 
use. Only language-workbooks (exercise books) are separate, while 
the textbooks themselves are bilingual. 
The subject level (grades 5-8) consequently proceeds with the 
instruction and enrichment of the knowledge of the structure of 
both languages using separate exercise books and readers. During 
the lessons in the other subjects, the direct teaching is done in 
Slovene, followed by reinforcement, a deepening of the subject- 
matter, summaries in Hungarian and the writing down of the rele- 
vant Hungarian terminology. On the other hand, the Hungarian 
national subjects are taught in Hungarian first, while 
reinforcement, summary and terminology follow in Slovene. It is 
very important that the pupils be able to use their terminology 
successfully both in speaking and in writing. The textbooks of 
the Hungarian national programme are written in Hungarian, while 
all the other textbooks for the subject level are in Slovene with 
additional Hungarian textbooks in which the subject matter is 
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given in a condensed form (essential data only) in the Hungarian 
language. ’ 
Much attention is paid to the exercises in special workbooks. We 
see to it that each pupil solves certain exercises in his mother 
tongue, and some in the other language, be it orally or in 
writing. All figures, tables, pictures, charts and other teaching 
material offered to these pupils are given with the terminology 
in both languages. 
The Hungarian national programme mentioned above is implemented 
first in the Hungarian language as a subject and as the language 
of instruction for the other subjects; later, Hungarian is also 
used in subjects like Introduction to Nature and Society, History 
and Geography of the Hungarian People's Republic, Social-Moral 
Education, Music and Plastic Arts, Literature and Physical 
Education with Rhythmics, etc. 
The Hungarian national programme embraces 50% of the teaching 
matter in grades 1-4 (the so-called "class level," where all the 
subjects are taught by one any the same class-teacher), while on 
the so-called "subject level" (grades 5-8) this figure is 35%; 
where other school activities are concerned, it is again 50%. In 
this way, the Hungarian national programme is present in the 
overall work of our bilingual schools with a percentage of 44%. 
Besides the regular education we pay great attention to music and 
folklore activities as well. Competitions in reading, common in 
other Slovene schools, regularly engage our children irrespective 
of their nationality; they play an important role in our striving 
for a better and deeper knowledge of both languages. 
The pupils who have finished our bilingual schools have the 
possibility of further training in all appropriate institutions 
throughout Slovenia as well as in the People's Republic of 
Hungary, especially in (junior) colleges and universities. 
On the secondary-school level they can attend two bilingual 
programmes in Lendava; the possibility of a further study of the 
Hungarian language also exists in all other secondary schools in 
Prekmurje. In the field of pedagogical studies, Hungarian is 
taught at the Teacher-Training College in Maribor. 
In everyday practice this education is closely tied also to the 
educational systems of both Slovenia and Hungary, which adds 
quality to our bilingual work. Everyday praxis gives proof of the 
necessity of a specially developed tolerance on the part of the 
ethnic majority as well as of the minority, if we are to reach 
progress with our bilingual education system. We must, however, 
consider the fact that solving all the problems may well be 
impossible, at least in the foreseeable future. 
The development in the last 25 years of the bilingual education 
system encourages and stimulates, showing visible results that 
are confirmed also by the attained results in the subsequent 
schooling of our pupils and in their everyday life. The 
conception of bilingual education has clearly helped to develop 
national consciousness and to mutually enrich both nationalities. 
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