Language Courses

Hungarian is about as tongue-twisting as you can get without leaving Europe.

Schools teaching Hungarian to foreigners have proliferated (at least in Budapest) over the past five years, but they vary tremendously in quality, approach and success rates. Reliable schools in the capital include:

Hungarian Language School
VI Eotvos utca 25/a (1-312 5899)

Arany Janos Language School
VI Csengery utca 68 (1-311 8870)

The granddaddy of all Hungarian language schools is the Debrecen Summer University in Debrecen, on the Great Plain 226 km east of Budapest, which organises intensive two and four-week courses in July and August and 80-hour advanced courses in winter. The emphasis is not just language but the whole Magyar picture: history, culture, literature and art. The four-week (120-hour) course costs US$840, including board and lodging in a triple room (singles and doubles are available at extra cost). For more information, contact the Debreceni Nyari Egyetem (52-329 117), PO Box 35, Debrecen 4010.