This brief article offers an overview of the results of the English as a Second Language (ESL) final exam in Hungary between 2014 and 2024. With the aid of accurate data, the article aims to highlight how unrealistic adult students' expectations about the efficiency of private sessions can be by comparing the number of classes taken by teenage and adult students.

In the past ten years, 531,000 Hungarians have taken the intermediate-level ESL final exam. This represents only 5.5 percent of Hungary’s current population. However, it is crucial to note that the data might include some adult students, as final exams can be attempted later in life, not only at the end of a teenager's high school years. If the exam were considered a B1 level language test requiring at least 60 percent to pass, almost 40 percent of the exam takers over the past decade would have failed.

On the other hand, the results for the advanced-level final exam are much more promising. Over 84 percent of exam takers achieved 60 percent or higher. However, the number of advanced-level exam takers is only one-third of those who took the intermediate-level exam.

By the time an average high school student attempts the final exam, they will have already completed at least 400 English classes. Some courses, however, offer over 1,200 English classes over a period of either four or five years. This suggests that 40 percent of language learners, despite such extensive background, are unable to pass the B1 level language exam. 

In my experience, most students who work with a private tutor usually attend one or two classes per week for two years and expect to reach CEFR levels B1 or B2 within that time. This brings us to the ultimate question: how can a private tutor help an adult student reach the B1 level in English after two years of studying with an estimated 150-200 classes, when it remains a struggle for hundreds of thousands of teenage students even after taking 400-1,200 classes in traditional schools?

Nonetheless, the number of classes with a tutor is never the only factor that determines success in learning a foreign language. Persistence, consistency, and independent study are always key to triumph.

As mentioned earlier in the article, the dataset shows that over 84 percent of advanced level exam takers achieved 60 percent or higher, compared to 60 percent of intermediate level exam takers who reached the same score. 

While intermediate level exams are compulsory, advanced level final exams are optional. These facts clearly imply that students perform better when they have the opportunity to choose their subject matter, rather than being required to study specific topics. 

This also reveals a major unresolved flaw in the education system. Students are not given the freedom to make decisions about their education, which leads to a decline in their performance. If intermediate exams were optional as well, it’s possible that the number of exam takers would decrease. However, the likelihood of a significant increase in overall exam success is also high.