Hundreds of Hungarian Soldiers could Learn English in the ELF program

Besides the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, István Szabó, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence for Military Matters was also present at the Academy, who in his speech highlighted that the language program provides a great opportunity for the Hungarian soldiers to meet the requirements set in NATO. The knowledge of the English language is the bottleneck of the allied co-operation, because without it is impossible to communicate. State Secretary said thanks to the American partner for supporting the establishment of an English language laboratory.

During his visit David Kostelancik noted that language learning is important not just for communication, but also for getting to know each other’s culture, and the latter can make the two nations better allies . Chargé d’Affaires ad interim toured the museum of the Academy, then attended an English language lesson given for the soldiers, and he even joined in the teaching material: he put questions to the students, and the students too could ask him questions; and thus it became apparent for example that the United States appreciates Hungary’s contribution to the different missions, and the co-operation means a lot to them!

Brig.-Gen. Zoltán Apáti, Chief of the General Staff Training and Education Directorate pointed out that the primary goal of the ELF program, which started a few years ago, to prepare the soldiers for the STANAG, i.e. the military English language examination. To achieve this in addition to Hungarian teachers, also native English language teachers assist the students. Brigadier General expressed his thanks for the support of the United States due to which the program can continue this year in September.

After that the new English Language Laboratory was inaugurated in the Academy, and the work of the language teacher Colin Vandergraaf was acknowledged. He has been participating in the ELF program for two years. Brig.-Gen. Tibor Bozó, the Commander of the HDF NCO Academy presented a gift to the language teacher.