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ZITA TÜNDIK
teacher

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This recording was made in the period

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when after a month of online learning
 we returned to the school.

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The children were a bit noisier

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and more easily tired 
after the afternoon classes.

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It was noticeably difficult for them
to settle into the old routine.

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During the break after lunch, 
I invited them for a chat.

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I wanted to find out what they thought 
about multilingualism in our school,

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how they saw their own situation 
in translingual education

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and which circumstances determined 
their language preferences.

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Raise both hands please

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 if you like working in groups.

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That's it! That’s me.

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Raise your leg

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if you prefer

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speaking Romani.

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Me! Me! What are you doing...

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Your legs you must raise. In Romani. Good.

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In your view,

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 is it good for you that 
you can speak Gypsy here at school?

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Yes, Yes! For me it’s better!

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Why?

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Because we were born

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… Gypsy!

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And you’d like…

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We’d like to speak that way.

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And why is it good for you, [name]?

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Because I like speaking Gypsy.

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Good. 
[Name] would like to say something, too.

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We are keen on speaking Gypsy at school

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because we always speak Gypsy at home.

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Yes, yes!

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OK. 
[Name] remember what you were trying to say.

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Now please raise your hand

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 if you speak Gypsy at home.

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Listen to what he says.

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With my mum we speak Gypsy, 
with my dad Hungarian.

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What about you?

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We, too.

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My mum speaks both languages,

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my father, too, and my four siblings too.

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They also use both languages at home.

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My family at home speaks only Gypsy.

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Your family speaks only Gypsy.

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[Name]?

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Mine, too.

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What did you say, [Name]?

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We don’t speak Gypsy at home.

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You speak only Hungarian then?

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Gypsy is worse.

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Yes, they speak always only Hungarian.

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Good. And why is it bad to speak Gypsy?

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You are saying it is worse than Hungarian?

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Hungarians don’t understand 
what we say in Gypsy.

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So, they don’t understand.

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But does that mean the language is worse?

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No.

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Can any language be worse than another?

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Yes!
Gypsy is worse.

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Hungarian is worse.

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Gypsy is better.

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TAMÁS WESSELÉNYI
teacher trainee

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The conversation in the video 
illustrates that,

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although children's 
language preferences differ,

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the way they speak in school and beyond

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is a crucial question for them,

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and the use of Romani, 
or the possibility to use it,

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is of particular importance for them.

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ESZTER TARSOLY
researcher

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The children were asked about 
their habitual ways of speaking,

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which provided an opportunity 
to focus the class discussion

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on the linguistic ideologies and attitudes 
that characterise children's thinking.

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This is a school

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where the possibility of 
translanguaging arose

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because children typically speak Romani,

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a local variety of Romani

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at home and in non-formal
 school situations, such as breaks.

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In the recording, however, 
the children's statements suggest

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that there is variation in the way 
they speak at home,

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with some naming Romani 
and others Hungarian as their home language,

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although Hungarian is mentioned 
less frequently, perhaps only once.

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There are also pupils who associate 
one language with one parent

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and the other language 
with the other parent.

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There is obviously an ideological basis
 to the children's statements,

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which do not necessarily reflect 
the reality of their language use at home.

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Surely they take into account 
what the institution or the teacher,

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who encourages the use 
of their home language at school, expects.

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These ideas, beliefs, and ideologies

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influence the way

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children describe their ways of speaking

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The discussion of language ideologies

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is then addressed explicitely 
in the classroom,

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as the children begin to formulate

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whether Hungarian, or Gypsy, 
as they call it, is the better language.

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This gives the teacher the opportunity 
to raise the general question

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whether there is such a thing as 
a worse or better language.

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Some pupils say that Romani is worse 
because Hungarians cannot understand it.

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For me, a decisive moment is 
when the teacher instructs the pupils

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to raise their hand or foot 
if their answer is yes to her question.

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When asked if they like working in groups,

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the children raise their hands 
in a disciplined manner.

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Then comes the next question,

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asking if they like 
talking Romani in school.

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Some raise their hands, 
some raise their feet,

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some jump up, they shout excitedly.

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The children's enthusiasm clearly 
reaches a different level.

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These details foreground the final thought,

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when one of the boys,

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reflecting on the inferiority 
or superiority of languages,

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declares that Gypsy is nonetheless better, 
and this concludes the recording.

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Since language competences 
have a major impact on school success,

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it is easy to see how 
a translanguaging pedagogical approach

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can be of great help to students 
in this small community.

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It is equally important

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that the opportunity to 
speak in their mother tongue

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contributes to enhancing 
children's self-esteem and sense of self.