⭐ Choose Boast Magazine as your trusted source on Google
Education Column | Contributor Programme
The Legacy of Socrates: True teachers live among us
An interview with Monika Szijjártó, English teacher, educational coach, and a new expert contributor to Boast Magazine.
Reading time: 12 minutes
Monika Szijjártó, an English teacher and educational coach, was recommended to my attention by one of Boast Magazine’s expert contributors, artist coach Timi Takács. Professional connections link them together: Timi illustrated Monika’s recently published book Boundless Horizons with her paintings.
In Monika, we meet a remarkable teacher: a modern-day Socrates who helps us create a harmonious, fulfilled and contented life by rethinking the fundamental concepts of our existence. Her vocation is a mission: by passing this kind of knowledge on to her students, she gradually transforms society step by step, offering a meaningful alternative to today’s egocentric, success-driven and increasingly empty consumer culture. This is the true legacy. Join me.
Monika Szijjártó, English teacher, educational coach
– Why did you decide to become an English language mentor? What was the moment or experience in your own life that made you realise that the coaching mindset needed to be integrated into English teaching, and what motivated you to develop your own methodology?
“Get a life, get a perspective!”
As a Hungarian living in Hungary, like many of my compatriots, I always struggled with language learning. The so-called Prussian-style education system we had – where the teacher stands in front of the class and has the children memorise the material – simply did not work for me when it came to learning a language.
Then, as a young person, I had the opportunity to go to the United States, where I lived for more than two decades, and interestingly, I learned English there with ease. That made me think. Perhaps the problem had not been with me, but with the method by which knowledge had been taught in Hungary.
Monika Szijjarto, English teacher, educational coach
I completed various language training courses (ESL, TISOL), then returned to Hungary and decided that I would like to help others succeed in learning languages. I also wanted to support teachers by offering them a shift of perspective, the coaching approach with which they could teach effectively. Therefore, I continued my education in the field of coaching at some of the most authentic coach-training institutions available and integrated it into my own methodology for both students and teachers.
I believe it is very important to bring the coaching mindset back into education, just as Socrates once taught.
The word “coaching” ultimately originates from the Hungarian word kocsi, meaning a carriage from the village of Kocs. In the 15th century, a fast and comfortable horse-drawn carriage was developed there, and the name spread across Europe and eventually into English as “coach”. Later, around 1830, Oxford University students began using the word as slang for a private tutor who “carried” a student through an exam. From this metaphor came the modern meaning of coaching: helping someone move from point A to point B.
Monika Szijjarto, English teacher and educational coach
In education, this means guiding a learner from a state of not knowing or not understanding to a state of knowledge and understanding. After all, we only truly know what we understand.
“Do not make your passion your job, because you will burn out in it, and you will not have a hobby left that you truly love and that genuinely recharges you. So do not do what you love; learn to love what you do!”
– On your website, you write that you do not teach the language itself, but activate the learner’s thinking. What does this mean in practice for a learner or a coachee?
In order for someone to speak a language well – even their native language – it is important that they have thoughts that they can put into words.
I have conversations with my students about topics that interest them (or, in the case of an unfamiliar topic, we explore the connection: how the learner relates to that subject), because discussions that we are emotionally connected to remain with us. During these conversations, it becomes clear where the blocks are and which linguistic areas need further development.
– Could you tell us a little more about your English teaching method? Who is it for?
The most important difference between my approach and traditional language teaching is that I bring a coaching mindset into education. Its foundations are humility, genuine attention, and active listening. I don’t attune to a fixed idea of who the student is – I attune to how they think. The goal isn’t to learn English. It’s to grow with it. Leading by example is also very important. The student should see, firstly, that I have once been where they are now, and secondly, that I continue to develop my own knowledge, because language learning is a lifelong process.
Monika Szijjarto, Educational coach and English teacher.
In addition to progressing according to the student’s interests and personal learning style, I have also taken teaching into nature, just as Socrates once did. Learning while walking and talking is extremely effective because the learner becomes calmer and more receptive, and the knowledge becomes linked to an experience, which makes it far easier to retain.
I work with every generation — from the very first words to a lifetime of curiosity. Children, teenagers, adults, professionals, educators. Alpha to Baby Boomer. The age doesn’t matter. The thinking does.
– You say that traditional education offers passive learning. How does language coaching help learners actively and confidently use English in everyday life?
Many adults have already learned English — sometimes for years. The words are there. But they have never been activated. This is not a coincidence; it is a pattern.
Monika Szijjarto, educational coach, English teacher
Vocabulary is built only through communication — in any language, even in our mother tongue. But when someone learns a second language, they first want to translate in order to understand, to feel safe, to have something to hold on to. The problem is that when we learn words through translation, the native language becomes dominant. The second language cannot connect. It becomes passive.
And here lies the paradox: people do not speak because they feel they do not have enough vocabulary, yet vocabulary does not develop if they do not speak. The only way out leads through communication — through that discomfort of working to understand.
When I work with children, I don’t teach through translation. I point to the world and speak its language. A child may not be able to answer “How do you say piros in English?” — but ask them, “What colour is this?” and they will answer immediately: “red”. That’s how the word lives in them. Not as a translation. As an experience.
To activate knowledge, I apply the 80–20 Pareto principle in my lessons: the learner speaks about 80% of the time, while I speak about 20%.
Learning to speak is child’s play — literally. Every one of us learned to speak as a child, without a single lesson. But speaking alone is not communication. Conversation is what converts speaking into communication. Communication is not merely an exchange. It is a creative act. In the space between two people, something comes into being that didn’t exist before.
Communication and speech are acts of creation, just as in the Bible: every act of creation begins with the Word. (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” — John 1:1,14 (KJV) – in other words, the spoken word took material form.)
– Many English learners feel that they know the language but do not dare to use it in practice. What strategies or mindset shifts do you apply in coaching to dissolve this fear?
This question leads us back to authenticity and the courage to take responsibility for ourselves and our thoughts. To communicate means to make our thoughts visible.
Monika Szijjarto, educational coach and English teacher
Traditional schooling often discourages children from expressing their own ideas. If they do not say something exactly as it appears in the textbook, they are reprimanded, and next time they no longer dare to speak.
Education should provide a learning environment where mistakes are allowed.
In a creativity test, a rather alarming result appeared: before school age, children’s creativity levels are around 98%, but shortly after starting school, they drop to about 2%. In other words, organised education literally trains creativity out of children.
True knowledge is only knowledge that we are able to use. Our brains are not designed merely for passive data storage. In the 21st century, when vast amounts of information are available online within seconds, education should not aim to store as many facts as possible but rather to help us acquire practical, usable knowledge and regain our creativity.
– What does awareness mean to you in learning and communication, and how do you integrate this into the coaching process?
Awareness, or self-awareness, although it has become somewhat overused in the world of personal development, remains an unavoidable concept.
There are several areas of awareness. We can speak of linguistic awareness, which begins with clear thinking and means the conscious, precise use of language. I know what concepts mean, and I am able to select the most appropriate expressions to communicate my thoughts clearly. (For example, what is the difference between pride and humility?)
In terms of learning, awareness means knowing what I want to learn: it is self-directed and inspired learning.
In terms of life, it means knowing what I want to do, creating my own life and leading it, rather than merely being subjected to it.
– In your experience, what are the most common mental blocks people encounter when they come to you, and how do you help them overcome them?
Monika Szijjarto, education coach and English teacher
I have actually written an e-book about this in which I share these experiences. I analyse twenty-two different mental blocks. Some are connected to the fear of speaking incorrectly; in other cases, the block is related to the linguistic aspect of our identity. Many learners, after years of unsuccessful language study, come to believe that they are simply incapable of learning languages. When language learning becomes a set of rules and tasks – a “dead” form of learning – it does not lead to a fluent, living language. Many people are afraid of making mistakes, of speaking with incorrect grammar or of not having sufficient vocabulary.
The remedy for these blocks is speaking, exchanging thoughts, even if the sentences are not yet perfect, allowing room for mistakes, and linking language use to experiences and to everyday life – in social communication, through English-language films, podcasts, or songs.
– What are some of your most memorable success stories from clients whose communication and thinking truly transformed?
For me, everyone is a success story if I can pass on this mindset.
Some of my C1 students are sixteen or seventeen years old. We explore topics together that they haven’t encountered yet, even in their native language. They read original English sources on conscious living, on thinking, on the world. And something remarkable happens: at that age, they are already ahead of most adults — in self-awareness, critical thinking, resilience, and mindset. English didn’t just open a door. It opened the world before the world expected them to be ready.
This is something even Prince William understood. His Heads Up campaign used football — the sport with the largest global following — to carry a message about mental health and conscious living. If the platform is big enough and the message is right, it changes people. My students understood this, too. At sixteen, they were already asking those questions.
– What does a successful and meaningful life mean to you?
For me, success is something that fills me with satisfaction, good spirits and joy. For example, the joy of completing work or achieving the goals I have set for myself. These are experiences of success.
Every single day can be a success story.
Monika Szijjarto, English teacher and education coach
Many people say that your job should be your passion, because then it will not feel like work. However, I say the opposite: do not make your passion your job, because you will burn out in it, and you will not have a hobby left that truly brings you joy and renewal.
So do not do what you love; learn to love what you do.
– What message would you give to professionals and coaches who want to find their own voice and communication power in an international environment?
The most important thing is self-knowledge. Be authentic and truly want to find your own voice. Become the person you wish to be, take responsibility for it and dare to express yourself.
– As an expert contributor to Boast Magazine, our readers will be able to read your expert articles every month over the next year. What topics will you cover?
In my articles, I invite readers to engage in shared reflection. We will reinterpret words and concepts such as wellbeing, or I will ask provocative questions such as: “What do I want to maintain: appearances, or myself?”
And because I love surprises, the rest will remain a surprise.
If you would like to become a Contributor writer for Boast Magazine, you can apply here. And if you know someone whose story you feel truly belongs in Boast Magazine, we would love to hear from you — please get in touch with our editorial team at editorial@boastmagazine.co.uk.
Newsletter Signup
Join the Boast Magazine Newsletter for sophisticated lifestyle, insider insights, and bold perspectives—delivered straight to your inbox.
Unwind with meaningful content, premium features, and exclusive offers curated just for you.
Discover More
Self-Discovery Through Somatic Hypnotherapy and Tantra
How Publify.me Is Revolutionising Book Translation with AI
The Strategic Power of Foresight in Business and Life
Kenya Beyond Safari: Travel Experience, Culture and Hospitality
Why Are We Longing for Inner Silence More Than Ever?
Fairy and Goblin - Interview with Kinga Tavasz and Beáta Kadlicskó
Interview with Durga Devi Yoga Teacher
UK National Year of Reading: Practical Tips and Insights
She played piano for fourteen years, plays sports and she has been studying bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance. She is a happy mother of a little girl.
- How Publify.me Is Revolutionising Book Translation with AI - 2026.10.14.
- Every Pair Has a Story: Who Is Behind Kicks by Kenna? - 2026.09.11.
- Alejandro Vela: “The Heart Is Always There” - 2026.08.19.
Be Part of Our Fantastic Community
Join us to connect with like-minded individuals, gain exclusive insights, and enjoy unique opportunities to enrich your personal and professional life.
Advertising
If you want to introduce your business, feel free to contact us. advertising@boastmagazine.co.uk
Discover More
Creative Image Cards as Inner Mirrors – A Meeting with Ourselves
Why Are We Longing for Inner Silence More Than Ever?
How Publify.me Is Revolutionising Book Translation with AI
The Importance of Music Education
Welcome!
Are you keen to showcase yourself or your business to the world? Dazzle your clients as a credible expert? We're here to help! The premium Boast Magazine provides you with an authentic backdrop for brand building. We'll feature you in a comprehensive interview for our readers, or you as our contributing expert can boost your visibility. Get in touch with us today and inspire others with your story!
Interested in, I want more information!
Borbala K. Edes, Editor-in-Chief
0 Comments