Online English lessons for children in Hungary: a new language family, step by step

When does a child in Hungary start a foreign language at school?

A foreign language becomes compulsory in Hungary from the middle years of primary school, and many schools begin earlier. The two most common choices are English and German. So depending on the school, your child may start English early, start it a little later, or learn German as their first foreign language instead. Your child's school is the best source for which language their class learns and from which year.

If English is not on your child's timetable yet, or you want them to have more chances to speak it, lessons at home are a gentle way to begin. If it is, lessons outside school can add the one thing a busy class finds hardest to give: time for your child to talk.

Why does English feel so new to Hungarian-speaking children?

Hungarian is not related to English, nor to the Slavic and Germanic languages spoken around Hungary. So a Hungarian child recognises few English words at the start, and much of the language feels new. That is not a disadvantage in the long run, but it means the early months lean heavily on listening, repetition and pictures.

Some things do carry over. Hungarian has articles, so the idea behind English a and the is less strange than for speakers of languages without them. Other points need more care:

• He and she. Hungarian uses one word, ő, for both, so children often say he about a girl or she about a boy for a while. Picture stories with clear characters help.
• Word stress. Hungarian always stresses the first syllable. English moves the stress around: to-MA-to, ba-NA-na, e-LE-phant. Tapping out the beat of a word helps it stick.
• Spelling. Hungarian spelling is regular, so a child can read most words once they know the letters. English needs its sound and spelling patterns taught one by one.

Which Hungarian letters stand for different sounds in English?

This is why a young Hungarian reader may say sun as shun, or read jam as yam. They are doing exactly what they have been taught, just with the wrong set of rules. Phonics separates the two systems by teaching English letter sounds directly, and phonics games at home turns that practice into play.

Can my child learn English and German at the same time?

Yes. Children can learn two or more languages side by side, and a child in Hungary may well have Hungarian at home, German at school and English on top. They may mix words or borrow a sound from one language into another for a while. That is normal and passes with practice.

It helps to keep each language linked to a person, a place or a time: English with the online teacher on a set day, for example. Our guide to a bilingual child mixing languages explains what is normal and when it is worth asking for advice.

How does the CEFR help parents in Hungary follow progress?

The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is used across Europe to describe language levels, so it gives you a common scale whether your child learns English at school, online or both. The first levels for young learners are Pre-A1, A1 and A2. A level tells you what your child can do, such as understanding simple questions or describing a picture, rather than a mark out of ten.

CEFR levels for children explains each level in plain words, and our levels page shows how we describe progress.

What should I expect after a few months of lessons?

Progress in a new language is rarely a straight line, and it looks different for children aged 4 to 12. With a regular 25-minute lesson and a little English at home, this is a common pattern:

• First weeks. Your child gets used to the teacher and the screen, follows simple instructions and joins in with songs and games.
• After a couple of months. Understanding grows faster than speaking. Your child answers with single words and short phrases, and starts to use greetings on their own.
• After a few more months. Short sentences appear, and older children begin reading simple words and sentences. Mistakes are still frequent, and that is fine.

Keep an eye on confidence as much as on vocabulary. A child who is happy to have a go is learning, even when the words come slowly.

How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Hungary?

CurioKids gives children aged 4 to 12 live, 1-to-1 online English lessons with a real teacher, 25 minutes each, in the CurioKids online classroom with video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Most children start with Phonics Starter; a child who already reads can be placed straight into a CEFR-based level after the free first lesson. Phonics Starter is our 52-lesson reading course, from letter sounds to reading sentences. Teachers can't teach until our team has confirmed a background check and they have signed our teaching agreement. Lessons happen only inside the CurioKids classroom, and your child's teacher gives feedback after lessons. See our levels and safety pages for more.

For a Hungarian-speaking child, Phonics Starter takes English letter sounds one at a time, which helps with letters such as s and j that are read differently in Hungarian.

Visit our Hungary page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Hungary haven't opened yet, the page has a waitlist: leave your details and we'll let you know when you can book your child's free first lesson. Plans for families in Hungary are priced in Hungarian forints: see the prices for Hungary.