Miercurea Ciuc Research Articles

Teacher Trainees’ Vision of Their Future English Classes

Abstract In recent years, there has been a growing body of literature focusing on teacher identity and teacher beliefs, which are key aspects in understanding classroom processes. While there is an increasing number of studies regarding the identity and beliefs of practising teachers, studies on trainees are rare, and studies aiming to compare and contrast different learning environments are even less frequent. The aim of the present study is to investigate the ways in which different socio-cultural contexts influence student teachers’ vision of their future professional identity and that of their future ideal lessons. Our participants are English-language teacher trainees from Szeged (Hungary) and Miercurea Ciuc (Romania). At the time of the data collection, they had not yet started their methodology courses or their teaching practice. As the first step of a longitudinal study, they were asked to create a visual image of their ideal future lesson by drawing or making a collage. Also, they were asked to supplement their images with a written explanation. The results indicate that pre-service teachers have very specific ideas about their ideal lessons, and their images reflect plenty of details and a great variety of different aspects.

A vidéki térségek gazdasági élete

The article presents a thematic compilation based on research conducted by the WAC - Centre for Regional and Anthropological Research in Miercurea Ciuc. This research deals with the question of how formal and informal frameworks and modalities ensure the livelihood of the rural population.

English language learning motivation of students at the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Miercurea Ciuc

Aim. The present research aims to explore the English language learning motivation of students at the Sapientia University, Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering, Miercurea-Ciuc (Csíkszereda). Method. 103 students took part in the exploratory research where an online questionnaire containing 50 statements was used to find out students’ motivations to learn English, focusing on seven different motivational factors (instrumentality, desire to become a global citizen, ideal foreign language self, desire for self-satisfaction, attitudes towards learning English, cultural integration and ought-to foreign language self). Results and conclusion. Results show that instrumental motivation has a strong effect on the surveyed students as they are highly motivated by the idea of getting a well-paying job with the help of their English language knowledge. Moreover, we also found out that participant students do not want to integrate within a native English-speaking community; they do not want to speak the language as native speakers, they rather aim to become global citizens with English. Cognitive value. The results of this exploratory research might offer valuable insight into students’ language learning motivation. Therefore, the study might be helpful for university teachers to have detailed information and a clearer picture of their students’ language learning motivations.

Words That Go Together: Teaching Collocations in the EFL Classroom

Abstract Using the right collocations in a foreign language is often a challenge for language learners who may not be familiar with their use and characteristics. After presenting the types of collocations and the importance they have in the acquisition of a foreign language, the paper draws attention to the necessity of raising students’ awareness of collocations, and at the same time it reflects on possible ways of teaching them. Focusing especially on verb-noun collocations, the paper examines the learning materials used in the EFL classes at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, with special regard to the exercises on these constructions. In line with construction grammar theories (Goldberg 1995, 1997, 2006), it is assumed that collocations are to be treated as constructions, pairings of form and meaning, including patterns with different degrees of predictability. Collocations, consisting of both predictable (e. g. read a book, blue sky) and non-predictable forms (e. g. run a program, safe and sound) can be more easily remembered if regarded as constructions where all the constituent elements contribute to the meaning of the construction as a whole (but whose meaning is more than the sum of the constituent elements). In order to gain a better understanding of collocations, the use of electronic corpora and electronic databases as well as additional materials on collocations that would complement the language materials used in class is highly encouraged. By making use of these resources, students can see examples of everyday language use and become more aware of the use of collocations as well as the similarities and differences between them in different languages.

The Analysis of the Chemical Composition of Precipitation During the Driest Year from the Last Decade

Abstract In order to investigate the precipitation chemistry, studies were carried out from January 2013 to December 2013 in Odorheiu Secuiesc and Miercurea Ciuc, Eastern Carpathians, Romania. During a period of eleven years (2006 – 2016), 2013 was the driest year. The rainwater samples were analyzed for pH, major anions and cations. HCO3− concentrations were calculated based on the empirical relationship between pH and HCO3−. NH4+, Ca2+, SO42− were the dominant ions in precipitation at both sites. The pH values varied from 6.75 to 7.46 Miercurea Ciuc, and from 6.69 to 7.67 in Odorheiu Secuiesc. The neutralization was mainly brought by Ca2+ and NH4+. Estimated ratios of sea-salt fraction (SSF), non-sea-salt fraction (NSSF), and results from Spearman’s rank correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), showed that the acidic ions (SO42−, NO3−) were derived from anthropogenic activities, NH4+ from soil fertilization, while Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ originated from terrestrial source. These influence the precipitations ionic content, especially during droughts. Spatial variations and the rim effect of the Eastern Carpathians on precipitation chemistry is also shown.

Der ungarische Lebensbezirk im literarischen Schaffen von Emil Witting Ausgehend von einer neueren Veröffentlichung

Abstract The writer Emil Witting (1880-1952), known by German readers through the descriptions of the forests and pastures of the Carpathian Mountains, author of extensive relations dedicated to the bear (Frate Nicolae) and to deer (Scrimerul), conceives a novel dedicated to a painter connected to the Szekler’s world. Imre Nagy (1893-1976) served as a model for the main character. From this unfinished writing, three fragments were published. These have recently been translated into Hungarian, printed in Miercurea Ciuc in an illustrated edition containing Imre Nagy’s paintings and graphic works.

Pătrunderea slavilor în bazinul intracarpatic. Așezarea de la Miercurea Ciuc (Şumuleu) – Grădina Fodor-kert / The penetration of the Slavs in the intra-Carpathian basin. The settlement at Miercurea Ciuc (Şumuleu) – Grădina Fodor-kert

Articolul prezintă câteva complexe arheologice atribuite slavilor timpurii descoperite în regiunea Carpaţilor Răsăriteni la Miercurea Ciuc – situl Fodor-kert, Şumuleu (jud. Harghita). Locuinţele documentate prezintă soluţii diferite de plan, evidente în structura clădirilor, însă toate au cuptoare din piatră. În privinţa materialului ceramic lucrat exclusiv cu mâna se remarcă numărul mare al tăviţelor de lut. Datarea aşezării se bazează nu doar pe analogii, ci mai ales pe analize 14C. Pe baza acestor date, apariţia slavilor în valea Oltului Superior poate fi presupusă deja de la mijlocul secolului al V-lea, iar abandonarea acestei aşezări poate fi datată cel mai târziu la mijlocul secolului al VII-lea.

International Volunteers as Strangers in Szeklerland

Abstract This paper focuses on volunteer tourism, which is approached as a new phenomenon in a Romanian minority region, i.e. Szeklerland. Volunteer tourism has developed very fast in last decades at international level and mostly in the developed societies. As an alternative tourism form, it is very popular among the youth and gap-year students. Volunteer tourism is a kind of international volunteering which offers opportunity for someone to volunteer and travel at the same time in a foreign country. Volunteer tourism makes possible the meeting and collaboration between local community and international volunteers. As a new phenomenon in the case of Szeklerland, volunteer tourism was started here by a foreign person, originated from England, who has established himself in Miercurea Ciuc, Harghita County, Romania. In this region, this event was regarded as a strange action; here, local volunteering is also a new phenomenon. The communist rule had a negative effect on the developing of volunteer culture in Eastern Europe. Therefore, in the 21st century in Romania, volunteering is still a rare phenomenon. On the other hand, the presence of foreign volunteers in Szeklerland is an unusual phenomenon. Volunteer tourists are those who meet with locals and thereby are more close to the local people to whom these people speak in foreign languages, have foreign looks and cultures. Due to their lack of English language skills, local people and organizations do not know how to connect with them. So, international volunteering or volunteer tourism is that phenomenon which allows to meet different foreign cultures, where the common ground could be a commonly spoken language, i.e. the English.

Ammonium Neutralization Effect on Rainwater Chemistry in the Basins of the Eastern Carpathians - Romania

A study of precipitation chemistry was conducted from 2006 January to 2016 November in the Ciuc and Giurgeu basin, Eastern Carpathians, Romania. The results show that the natural precipitation in these areas is alkaline, with a volume weighted mean (VWM) of 6.49 and 6.88 in Ciuc and Giurgeu basin, respectively. NH4+ is the most potential species to completely neutralize the rainwater over the Miercurea Ciuc (Ciuc basin) and Toplita (Giurgeu basin) area. However, in the case of Miercurea Ciuc, Ca2+ is also a potential neutralizer. Annual mean percentage concentration of NH4+ within the total principal cations is also proof that ammonium dominates the rainwater chemistry in the atmosphere of the studied basins. A comparison between the annual mean deposition fluxes showed that in the Giurgeu basin concentrations of NH4+ are higher than in the Ciuc basin. Calculations of the neutralization factors (NFs) show that at both sampling sites NH4+ contributed the most to the neutralization process. Ammonium availability index (AAI) has a value of 156.44% and 179.11% for Miercurea Ciuc and Toplia, respectively, indicating excess ammonium over the neutralization value. Fractional acidity (FA) was calculated, indicating that in Miercurea Ciuc 98.74% and in Toplita 99.28% of the rainwater acidity was neutralized. Calculation of the original and measured acidity also showed the neutralization capability of NH4+. Contributions of the marine and non-marine salts and enrichment factors were estimated, helping to identify the possible sources of the major ions in the atmosphere.

Az ismerőstől az igaz barátig: barátságkép egyetemisták körében

The idea of writing my essay comes from the book ‘Embert barátjáról – A barátság szociológiája’written by Fruzsina Albert and Beáta Dávid. I am especially interested in the appearance andsignificance of the typical social capital, i.e. friendship, among the students of the SapientiaUniversity of Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) and that of the ELTE (Budapest). In order toinvestigate the phenomenon of friendship, I chose a qualitative strategy, namely focus groupresearch.Although I have expected greater contrasts by comparing the students of these two distinctlocations, I have found that friendship among the interviewed young people constitutes universal value with more common than different patterns.

Passive Constructions – Strangers among L1 Speakers of Hungarian?

Abstract Does knowledge of Romanian, more exactly of Romanian passive voice, help learning the English passive construction? Or is it the other way round: knowledge of English helps students learning Romanian? Perhaps L2 and L3 mutually influence each other in the case of Hungarian students from Miercurea Ciuc? In previous studies addressing the problems encountered by L1 speakers of Hungarian in the acquisition of the English passive voice (Tankó 2011, 2014), I presumed that possessing Romanian to various degrees represented a facilitating factor in the acquisition of the passive given that Romanian, like English, has a well-developed, explicitly-taught passive construction. Of course, speakers of Hungarian living in Romania might be influenced to some extent by their knowledge of Romanian when learning the English passive voice - yet, the question is to what extent. Thus, an important element of this study represents identifying students’ level of Romanian and their production of Romanian BE-passive and SE-passive.

A Logical Approach to Modal Verbs 1 Can and Could

Abstract The article aims at a logical approach to discussing can, could, and be able to, organized around core meanings such as possibility, ability, and permission. We argue that the concept of “remoteness” proposed by Lewis in 1986 may simplify enough the explanation regarding the relationship between can and could, and their presentation relies on authoritative sources published for international (English), Hungarian, and Romanian students. The conclusion discusses both the importance and relativity of a number of occurrences (depending on different text types), trying to offer a possible teaching option for modals stemming from practice. The article is connected to the international conference in Miercurea Ciuc, entitled Idegen - Străinul - Stranger, focusing on English as a foreign language through the eyes of non-native speakers.

The Image of Transylvania in the Works of Two Contemporary Romanian Historians. Translation and Related Views on History

Abstract “As every inhabited area, culturally Transylvania can also be conceived of mainly as a symbolic space. Starting from its physical, material reality, our perceptions are made up into a subjective image of the area in question. This is the real Transylvania, or rather, the place in connection with which we formulate our ideas and to which we adjust our deeds. This image may seem so real also because it is equally shared by many, occasionally several millions. If many see things in the same way, we could say, this means that they are so in reality, though most of the time we only share prejudices, clichés and misunderstandings” - Sorin Mitu writes. Comparative imagology examines the formation of these collective ideas as well as the issues of identity and attitude to the Other. As a member of the imagology research group at the Department of Humanities of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, I translated one chapter of Sorin Mitu’s volume entitled Transilvania mea [My Transylvania]. During the translation process it became obvious to me that if translation is not only linguistic but also cultural transmission, it is especially true for the translation of historical works and that it would be worth examining whether some kind of rapprochement could be detected between the Romanian and Hungarian historical research of the past decades; if yes, whether this is reflected in the mutual translation of the respective works

IMPACT OF HYDRAULIC SCHEMES ON OLT RIVER AND ON ITS FLOODPLAIN ENVIRONMENT IN CIUC DEPRESSION, HARGHITA COUNTY, ROMANIA

This paper presents the effects of regularization and embankment of the Olt River and drainage of its floodplain on the groundwater table from meadows and on the erosion base levels of tributaries within Ciuc Depression. The hydraulic works reduced the wetlands and had important impact on the aquatic flora and fauna of the river and its floodplain. Measurements and observations (before 1985 and after implementation of hydraulic works in 2008) undertaken upon the river, upon the drainage systems from the flooding area and their functionality underline the negative effects of these works on the environment and remedies were proposed. Upstream section of the regularized river (between Miercurea Ciuc and Sancraieni) presents erosions, dropping of the groundwater level, and inutility of drainage. On downstream section (Sancraieni-Tusnad) the silting processes of the river worsen discharge conditions of the drained water. The river section erosion, the lowering of water level in channel, overlaid with excessive drainage led to declining of groundwater table, which dries up peat layers, lead to an increasing frequency of the smoldering self-ignition in large peat areas. Due to peat burning the environment is affected by air pollution and total sterilization of soil by living organisms. Proposed remedies refer to the river bed bottom stabilization at the designed levels using thresholds, water level controllers within drainage systems and a new operating regulation.

Visual Communication on the Hungarian Social Networking Site IWIW

The aim of this paper is to analyze the visual communication means of self presentation on the Hungarian social networking site IWIW. On the one hand, it aims at mapping young IWIW users’ habits of a small town from Romania, Miercurea Ciuc; on the other hand it examines to what extent the visual self presentation of young people is marked by self-idealization practices and by the tendency of revealing one’s privacy, as described by social networking literature. Our hypothesis is that young people under study have a considerable tendency to self-idealisation and exhibitionism.

Investigation of mineral water springs of Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) region (Romania) with cultivation-dependent microbiological methods

Water samples of ten mineral water springs at Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) region (Romania) were examined during 2005-2006 using cultivation-dependent microbiological methods. The results of standard hygienic bacteriological tests showed that the Hargita Spring had perfect and five other springs had microbiologically acceptable water quality (Zsögöd-, Nagy-borvíz-, Taploca-, Szentegyháza- and Lobogó springs). The water of Borsáros Spring was exceptionable (high germ count, presence of Enterococcus spp.).Both standard bacteriological and molecular microbiological methods indicated that the microbiological water quality of the Szeltersz-, Nádasszék- and Délo springs was not acceptable. Bad water quality resulted from inadequate spring catchment and hygiene (low yield, lack of runoff, negligent usage of the springs, horse manure around the spring).The 16S rRNA gene-based identification of strains isolated on standard meat-peptone medium resulted in the detection of typical aquatic organisms such as Shewanella baltica, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas veronii, Psychrobacter sp,. Acinetobacter spp. and allochthonous microbes, like Nocardia, Streptomyces, Bacillus, Microbacterium , and Arthrobacter strains indicating the impact of soil. Other allochthonous microbes, such as Staphylococcus spp., Micrococcus sp., Lactococcus sp., Clostridium butyricum, Yersinia spp., Aerococcus sp., may have originated from animal/human sources.

Sztálin a székelyeknél: A Magyar Autonóm Tartomány története (1952–1960)

150 Reviews / East Central Europe 37 (2010) 140–155 Bottoni, Stefano. Sztálin a székelyeknél: A Magyar Autonóm Tartomány története (1952–1960) [Stalin among the Szeklers: A history of the Hungarian Autonomous Region (1952–1960)]. Csíkszereda / Miercurea Ciuc: Pro-Print, 2008. 448 pp. ISBN: 9789738468801. Approaches to the history of the Hungarian community in Transylvania display a certain ambiguity today. On the one hand, research in certain archival institutions, especially those of the communist political police, is strictly restricted by the post-communist state, and discus- sions of the recent past often turn out to be little more than a continuation of current political

Religious individualization among the catholics from Miercurea Ciuc.

The study focuses on the 21st century practices of religion of a traditionally religious community. The study was carried out in a small town in Székely Land, Miercurea Ciuc or Csíkszereda, where the social changes are rather slow compared to the centres, however the religious changes are marked by the territory’s homogenous and outstanding religious character. The study offers a brief theoretical review of the causes of the social changes in the religious practices, after that presents the town’s external-premodern and internal-modern religious practitioners

A Martyr of the Romanian Orthodox Church during the Communists: the Nun Mihaela Iordache

Mihaela Iordache, a nun of the Vladimiresti Monastery in Gala i County, is a well-known personality in the ecclesiastical milieu of Romania. Her biogra-phy contains a number of tragic attempts to oppose the values of Eastern-Euro-pean Orthodoxy to the Communist system. Her life ended in the prison of Miercurea Ciuc. This essay aims to throw into relief the unknown details of her biography: the way she was arrested and condemned by the Communist autho-rities, as well as the circumstances which led to her death asa martyr.