About the company
What is the Bilingual Program?
We are a private, non-profit, tuition-based educational enterprise operating in Hungarian state and private educational institutions. As such, we are a public-private partnership that has been providing unique educational opportunities to hundreds of families in Hungary since 2001.
What does Bilingual teach?
We operate our nationally accredited program in four primary schools, one high school and two kindergartens in Budapest and its environs. Our primary school program encompasses 1st through 8th grade and involves nearly every subject in the curriculum, making it possible for teachers of diverse backgrounds to draw on their training and experience and deliver quality teaching to students aged 6 to 14. Our high school program, which begins in Grade 5 and currently runs up through Grade 9, mirrors our primary school program in method and content. In our kindergarten program, children aged 3 to 6 are immersed in a bilingual environment using the ‘one person, one language model’. Within this context, we provide high-quality early childhood education in English through play and everyday situations as well as set activities, resulting in successful language acquisition from a very young age.
Benefits, Support and Signature Differences
What does Bilingual offer that makes this program different?
(1) We provide professional development training opportunities at multiple points throughout each school year, starting with in-depth orientation and training in August prior to the start of school. We work with top teacher trainers, from within Hungary, the UK and further afield.
(2) We offer an innovative approach to teaching, including the interactive and communicative approach favored in EFL environments as well as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in our subject lessons at all grade levels and in the kindergarten. As such, we co-teach: teachers hold lessons jointly and alternate in the leading role, switching languages throughout the course of the lesson. Students thus study simultaneously in both English and Hungarian. We are also innovating in terms of technology in teaching, integrating various online learning platforms into our program and making extensive use of tablets in our primary and high school classrooms.
(3) Our program also offers the chance to work alongside highly experienced Hungarian teaching professionals, whose knowledge and expertise are part of our program’s offerings to our staff members. We work very closely with our co-teachers, so we can learn a tremendous amount from them as we go along.
(4) For all these reasons we believe Bilingual offers unrivaled opportunities for development. We hope – and believe – that working in our program will allow for both rapid and broad professional development as well as the personal growth that comes out of taking on a challenge and becoming part of a tightly-knit teaching team and a truly unique learning environment.
Is there enough support for new teachers?
In addition to the intensive run of August orientation and training and the additional annual visits from our external trainers, teachers can count on their school-based Team Leaders for a range of support. We also gather and share teaching material in our shared Materials Drive and hold regular sharing sessions so staff can learn from each other in the best tradition of the teaching community.
What about outside the classroom? How much support is there?
Our staff support system includes: (1) an in-school coordinator, who handles all administrative matters related to the teacher’s assigned school; (2) a central office staff who support teaching staff on a range of more general administrative details; (3) an HR manager, also in the central office, who guides staff through immigration procedures and also handles all housing-related matters, medical visits and work-related papers and procedures; (4) for first-year teachers a mentor from among the more experienced staff to help with getting used to life in Hungary; and, last but not least, (5) supporting material designed to help with life in Hungary, including documentation on culture shock and on medical care in Hungary.
Selection & Onboarding Process
More info
Housing
- The Bilingual.hu Program provides housing to its staff. Most employee housing is shared; In the case of couples (when both persons are employed by Bilingual), either a studio or a one-bedroom layout will be provided.
- The Bilingual Program covers the cost of the apartment up to a monthly housing allowance figure specified during the interview process. This amount is set annually to allow for full coverage of the costs of living within an acceptable range.
- For company apartments, our HR Department will assist with repairs and any other required communication with the landlord.
- Of course, employees may make separate arrangements for housing, and must do so if they come with their families or pets. In such cases the company will not be able to conduct the apartment search; however, we can help to inspect the eventual lease provided by the landlord (which may be in Hungarian only), and we will endeavor to refer teachers to local real estate agents who can aid in the process (please be aware that estate agents may charge fees). Housing allowance compensation figures are affected in cases where employees choose to arrange their own housing.
Compensation
- The exact compensation figures for new staff members will be given as part of the interview process. Please ask any and all questions you may have about this matter during your interviews to help ensure that all money matters are fully clarified.
- Compensation is paid monthly (as per Hungarian practice) and consists of the housing allowance and your salary (the latter transferred via direct deposit to your local bank account, which we help newcomers open as part of orientation). Overall compensation also includes a monthly all-Budapest public transport pass and a tax-free meals allowance which can be used at a wide range of eateries with a bank card.
Orientation and Training
- The Bilingual Program believes strongly in the necessity and value of training and self-reflection at all stages of one’s career. In keeping with that belief, all incoming staff members participate in program orientation and training in August prior to the start of school in early September.
- Orientation begins with an emphasis on getting settled in, so we visit Immigration, help newcomers open local bank accounts and focus on other practical matters such as any remaining paperwork as well as internet access and mobile phone set-up.
- We then begin workshops and training sessions that focus on helping newcomers learn how the Bilingual Program works. We look at everything from the history of the program to cultural adjustment in Hungary. We also include a wide range of workshops on classroom practice: we look at teaching videos, digital tools and learning platforms, Cambridge exams and teaching literature, to name a few.
- Finally, we join forces with Cumbria CLIL trainers to provide hands-on workshops focusing on Content and Language Intergrated Learning (CLIL) and on the overall concept of the Active Classroom, of which CLIL and the communicative method prevalent in EFL are an integral part.
- The month of August ends with other bespoke workshops as well as lesson planning with our co-teachers. While it’s a busy month, our hope is that it prepares all of us to start the year with a full tool-kit, ready to meet the kids, teach and have fun in the classroom!
Immigration and paperwork
- Employees from abroad need the following documents to be able to reside and work in Hungary: a residence permit, an address card, a health insurance card (called a TAJ card) and a tax card.
- We accompany new staff members to Immigration during the first few days of orientation to apply for the residence permit and address card. We provide most of the necessary items that need to be submitted (regarding employment and housing); teachers only need to provide passport photos, a photocopy of their passport and a bank transaction history for the previous three months. This in-person visit is necessary because Immigration needs to take a photo and a fingerprint, but any missing items can be submitted later electronically. When the residence permit and the address card are ready, Immigration mails them to the address given on the application form. It usually takes 2-3 months for these two documents to arrive.
- For US and Canadian citizens, it is also possible to apply for the residence permit while still at home. The ease of doing so will depend on where you live, and this is not a requirement. That said, the advantage is that the residence permit will likely be available shortly after your arrival in Hungary, meaning you would also receive the Hungarian health insurance card faster (more on this below). Our HR department will advise new staff members about the best option for them.
- For EU citizens, the same documents are required, but the process is much quicker. UK and Irish nationals do need to visit the Immigration Office in order to receive a registration card and an address card. The Registration card is issued on the spot, while the address card is mailed within a few weeks. Both cards are required in order to apply for the Hungarian health insurance card. The registration card does not have an expiration date, so it does not need to be renewed annually.
- Please note that UK nationals are eligible to receive the registration card until December 31, 2020. Cards issued through the last day of 2020 will still be valid even after that date. However, starting on January 1, 2021, UK nationals will be required to apply for a residence permit, as are other non-EU nationals. Please see the US and Canada section above for more information, but also please be aware that regulations are in the process of being drafted and may, once finalized, differ in some particulars from those that apply to citizens of other countries. As with all other immigration matters, our HR team will provide the required information and work with you in the process of entering Hungary.
- Citizens of South Africa need to submit their application for the residence permit and the address card – ideally 3 months before your required arrival in Hungary – at a Hungarian Embassy, though this need not be in South Africa if you are living elsewhere. Although this means teachers will need to visit a Hungarian Embassy without us, we still provide all the required documents from our side and are also available by phone, e-mail and Skype to assist the process. If you believe you should or will have to submit your application outside of South Africa, our HR team will consult with you on further details in this matter.
- Regarding the other two required documents – the health insurance card and the tax card – we usually apply for and pick these up with an authorization form from teachers, so you won’t need to go to those two offices at all.
- Getting the tax number is easy: it is issued on the spot, so you will have a tax number a couple of days after the start of your employment contract and the card itself will be mailed a few weeks later.
- Getting the health insurance card (the TAJ card) takes a little longer because you need to have the residence permit and the address card in order to submit the application. That said, once you have those, the health insurance card will be ready in 1-2 weeks. However, for this reason, it is highly advisable to have a basic traveller’s health insurance policy effective until about the end of October (or about 3 months after your arrival).
- The residence permit is usually valid until the end of the employment contract. Therefore, for teachers choosing to remain with the program for an additional year, the process is repeated about 3 months prior to the end of the permit’s validity. Again, Bilingual lends support and provides guidance during this process, even if it’s not your first year with the program.
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