4.2.1.1 The Characteristics of Teaching First-Year Language Development Classes. As a warm-up for the interview, the participants were asked to briefly discuss what they like about teaching first-year students and what topics they usually deal with in class. The reason for this was to get a glimpse of their general attitude towards the course and the types of topics they like to incorporate in their lessons. All the participants claimed that they really like these first-year language practice lessons. One of the common reasons for loving the course was the fact that this is an introductory course, which can be regarded as a transition between secondary school and university life (as it is a similar course to secondary school language lessons, in the sense that the focus is on language development). As Kristóf put it, “it’s like a bridge between secondary school and university. […] it’s quite charming that the whole situation is new for them. They are looking for their place in it and I can help them in this” (T-SK/1). Iván pointed out the same idea: “it makes me so glad to contribute to that transformation they go through from being a high-schooler to being a university student” (T/SI-2). Ulrich called it a “gratifying experience” for the same reason:

 

All the tutors said that they are free to select the topics they would like to deal with in class, as the point of all language development-related courses is to develop the students’ overall language skills and to prepare them for the end-of-the-year proficiency exam. As a result, Iván, Kristóf and Ulrich mentioned that they include topics that are likely to appear in the exam, and in order to cover them, they follow a coursebook. Other criteria they mentioned for selecting a given topic in the course were the complexity of the topic (SI), the relevance of the topic (SU), whether it allows the group to go deep and personal (SU), or whether the students would like to deal with an issue (SK, SR).

 

4.2.1.2 Global, Local, and Intercultural Issues in the Tutors’ Classes. Most of the participants (n = 4) mentioned a large variety of global topics they usually cover in their lessons, such as migration, gender equality, climate change, poverty, financial inequality, world politics, world conflicts, globalisation, bullying, mental health issues, recycling, and global health issues (SI, SM, SR, SU). As Ulrich pointed out, even if he does not bring in a particular global issue, he tries “to find ways to the global part of any issue” (T/SU-5) that comes up in his lessons. The reason he gave was that he considers himself “as an educationalist as much as a language teacher”, and by discussing these issues many “teachable moments” might arise (T/SU-4). Unlike Ulrich, Kristóf does not emphasise the global perspective in his lessons; these issues mostly crop up if the students select them as presentation topics. Ráhel does not select global topics deliberately either, but they often appear in her lessons in the videos she shows her students and as essay or presentation topics.

4.2.1.3 Global, Local, and Intercultural Issues Tutors Do Not Deal with in their Classes The tutors were asked what global, local, and intercultural issues they would not bring into their classes and whether there are any taboos in their lessons they would not discuss under any circumstances. In most cases, the answers overlapped, hence the results are to be presented here together. Even though at first, Magda, Ráhel, and Ulrich said that there are no taboos for them, after delving more deeply, they admitted that there are some issues they would prefer not to discuss with their students. Two of the most mentioned topics were politics and religion (SK, SM, SU). As Kristóf put it,

 

Ulrich also elaborated and he said that he “wouldn’t push issues to do with feminism and sexuality, identity politics, many of the PARSNIPS taboo things, but it doesn’t mean [he] wouldn’t go there if [he] pick[ed] it up” (T/SU-3). So, even though he would not pursue these issues, he is certain that these issues come up unintentionally when one deals with other topics, and if he sees an opening, he will deal with such issues, even if it is uncomfortable. Kristóf, however, went even further and he said that he would not include anything that could be “potentially upsetting” (T/SK-3) for the students, so he would avoid talking about, e.g., racism or war. The reason he gave was that it is important for the students to feel good in class, and he would not like to shock them with anything. Ráhel, however, still insisted on having no taboos in her class if the discussion is in English; although, she stated that she would not like to hear about anything that would make her liable and that she should report to the authorities (e.g., students’ substance abuse).

4.2.1.4 Tutors’ Feelings about Dealing with Global, Local and Intercultural Issues in their Classes. As far as their feelings were concerned, four of the tutors admitted to having generally positive feelings towards dealing with such complex topics (SI, SM, SR, SU). More specifically, Iván said that he is usually excited when it comes to such issues and quite curious how the students will react to them. Magda claimed that she especially loves dealing with intercultural topics in her lessons, as there are many activities up her sleeve that she knows will work wonders in her classes. Kristóf did not report on any specific feelings, he believes that these topics are normal in the classroom, and “it is possible to talk about any topic somehow” (T/SK-4). Apart from positive feelings, two participants also mentioned a bit of anxiety, mostly in connection with certain local issues coming up in their lessons, the students’ response to them and not being able to handle a politically heated discussion (SI, SM).

 

4.2.1.5 The Frequency of the Inclusion of Global, Local and Intercultural Issues in Language Development Classes. When asked how frequently they deal with global, local, and intercultural issues in their lessons, Ráhel, Ulrich and Iván claimed that they do so regularly. As Ráhel put it, she deals with such topics every day,

 

Ulrich also tries to cover such topics in every class and does so by “push[ing] gently” and “choosing homework that has a bit of an angle” (T/U-5). Iván also stated that global issues are “basically always present” in his classes and he even tries to create materials with this in mind – e.g., whenever he encounters passages in his readings that could fit this theme, he brings them into the classroom. According to Magda though, the frequency depends on the type of issue at hand, and she deals with global and intercultural issues in 70% of her lessons, and hardly ever with local ones. For Kristóf, the frequency of the appearance of such topics is completely random – it depends on what the students would like to deal with and bring into class through presentations.

 

4.2.1.6 The Importance of Dealing with Global, Local and Intercultural Issues in Language Development Courses. As regards the importance of dealing with global content in the language classroom, all participants consider it either important or extremely important. Magda thought that it is even more important to include these topics in class with future language professionals, because as future mediators between two cultures, “they need to understand how any culture works, and that people don’t think the same way” (T/M-11). As Ráhel sees it, these topics are unavoidable if one would like to develop students’ 21st-century skills, so she asked the question: “without these topics, what would we be focusing on to develop our 4Cs” (T/SR-6)? Iván joined her in saying that these topics are essential, and as he is teaching future teachers, he feels that it is even more important to include the global perspective in the lessons: “we need to open their eyes and shed light on the fact that these issues – local and global ones too – are present, and we don’t need to go far to encounter them” (T/SI-9). While admitting that “it is not everyone’s cup of tea”, Ulrich also emphasised the importance of bringing in such topics. However, he believes that it all boils down to what one thinks about their teacher role, whether they identify as language teachers or educators (see Section 4.1.1.4). Although Kristóf also believes that talking about global topics is important, he also drew attention to the fact that it is very difficult to engage some students with these topics. He thinks that this generation has a sensory overload, “they encounter these issues everywhere… billboards, online ads, articles, have you heard about this or that, what’s your opinion about this, or that… it’s quite understandable that some of them say they’ve had enough” (T/K-7). All in all, according to him, it is essential to find some balance and not to be overbearing, which Ulrich also emphasised in his interview.

 

4.2.1.7 Aspects Influencing the Inclusion of Global Content in Language Development Classes. The participants were asked about what influences their decisions about including certain topics in their classes, what they take into consideration when deciding on an issue and whether there is anything that might prevent them from bringing these issues into the classroom. From the results, it seems that the tutors consider many different factors, but the two most common elements are the topicality of the issue (SI, SK, SM, SU) and whether they can link the topic to the core material in the course (which is usually a coursebook) (SI, SM, SU). Magda combines the two in the following way:

 

The students and their interests also appear as important deciding elements (SK, SM, SU). During the whole interview, Kristóf emphasised the fact that mostly topics that students would like to deal with appear in his classes, so for him, the students’ choice is of utmost importance. In Ulrich’s case, if he feels that something is relevant for his students at a given moment, he is ready to even change his plans: “Being open to the moment and to pick up… atmospherically in the group or from individual students… and if I feel that it’s relevant, then to change my plans in terms of content and process” (T/SU-6).

All in all, what tutors seem to take into consideration when choosing what global, local, and intercultural issues to deal with include the topicality of the issue, its relation to the core course content, students’ interest, and the language value of the given materials they could use to discuss the issue.