In the 21st century, knowing a foreign language is almost essential requirement, because we need to use it in countless places in our everyday lives. The National Curriculum stipulates that pupils learn a foreign language(s) from the fourth grade of primary school, but many pupils also learn a foreign language earlier (even in a specialised course). Pupils must have a school-leaving certificate in one of the languages, and in higher education a state-accredited language examination is required for graduation (Sominé 2011, Kovács-Czachesz 2021). 

As of 2015, kindergarten education is compulsory for children between the ages of three and six/seven in Hungary (Act CXC of 2011 on National Public Education). All kindergartens must have their own or adapted pedagogical programme, with the main focus on Hungarian culture and traditions, and mother tongue education. (Kovács& Czachesz 2021). 

It has become extremely important for parents to ensure that their children receive the best from pre-school onwards, so there is also a big struggle to get into the best institution. Education plays a crucial role in the acquisition of cultural goods, and parents are well aware of this. Parents have become more aware and more determined to meet children's needs as best as possible. A study by Golnhofer and Szabolcs (2005) shows that children's schooling is taking place earlier and earlier as the years go by (Golnhofer& Szabolcs 2005).

Choosing kindergarten is an important issue for parents, because the proper development of their child is the most essential thing for them. That is why they want to opt for a kindergarten that is suitable to give their child the best, but in smaller settlements parents do not have much choice (Fűrész-Mayernik, 2018, Teszenyi & Hevey, 2015, Kampichler, 2018).In the European Union, the importance of quality pre-primary education has been a priority for years, as it is essential to ensure that children start school well prepared. Not only has more emphasis been placed on quality pre-school education, but also on introducing children to a foreign language at this stage of life (United Nations 2015). In a study by Kovács and Czachesz, researchers show that early foreign language learning has become more important in OECD countries over the years. According to a 2011 survey, 5% of these countries put more emphasis on the 'development' of a foreign language in pre-school, but four years later, in 2015, this figure had risen to 40% (OECD 2017). Early childhood is a crucial period in a child's life, as half of cognitive development is completed by the age of four, another 30% between four and eight and a fifth between eight and 17 (Poyraz& Dere, 2001, Heckman 2011).

The quality and quantity of stimuli in early life is also essential, and it is therefore more likely that early childhood is a critical period (Yilmaz et al. 2022). Views on early language acquisition vary widely, so it is not possible to state unequivocally whether early language learning has a positive or negative effect on the child (Vildomec, 1963, Babinszky 1983, Navracsics 1999, Bialystok & Poarch 2014) 

In our research, we want to explore the factors that help parents decide which kindergarten to choose for their children. Based on our literature review, we formulate the hypotheses we want to test in this research. 

1. Urban parents are more careful in choosing a nursery school for their child, taking into account a number of factors. 

2. Parents with a higher level of education are more likely to choose a foreign language activity/foreign language kindergarten for their child. 

3. Family and friends' opinions are a determining factor in the choice of nursery school.

During our research, data were collected in three different counties of Hungary (Hajdú-Bihar, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg). The Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county is located in the North-Hungarian region, with 675,000 inhabitants, 60% of the population living in cities. It has a high level of income poverty, a high number of disadvantaged children and low social mobility. Hajdú-Bihar county is located in the Northern Great Plain region of Hungary, with a population of about half a million, 80% of them living in cities. It has a lower number of disadvantaged children than Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, also in the Northern Great Plain region, is experiencing a population decline. This county also has a very high proportion of disadvantaged children. Our questionnaire survey was carried out with the participation of kindergarten teachers and parents. The data collection process took place both online and on paper, resulting in a total of 336 pre-school teachers and 1,004 parents' responses. The questionnaire mainly included questions on children's foreign language learning and parents' motivations for choosing kindergarten. Our extensive sample was representative of the types of municipalities, providers and counties. This allows our results to provide a comprehensive picture of the study areas and the kindergarten environment in these areas. We used the statistical software SPSS to analyse the data and used various statistical methods, including ANOVA and cross-tabulation analysis. This allowed us to identify correlations and differences between different variables that contribute to answering the aims and questions of our research. Based on the statistical results, we hope to provide new and valuable information to increase our knowledge about kindergarten choice.

In the analysis, a K-means cluster analysis was performed, where three groups of parents were separated according to the information on the relevance of the factors influencing their choice of kindergarten. This resulted in a cluster of parents who were most interested in the most important factors, such as the educational programme, the possibility of extra activities or the kindergarten facilities. A cluster of parents who also care about most of the factors but have a much more moderate interest (thinkers) emerged, and finally a cluster of parents who do not care about most of the factors (uninterested cluster). In the following, we have examined how people are distributed between the three cluster analysis groups according to their educational attainment and place of residence. The results were obtained by cross tabulation. The analysis concluded that people with a higher level of education are more careful in choosing a kindergarten for their children, thus confirming our second hypothesis. As far as place of residence is concerned, our hypothesis also seems to be confirmed, as the results show that people living in towns or in county seats take more into account when choosing a kindergarten, but it is important to point out that people living in villages may not have as many options as their parents living in towns. We also assumed that the opinion of family and friends may be relevant when choosing a kindergarten. This hypothesis was also confirmed, as the results showed that the highest values were observed for these influencing factors. In conclusion, our hypotheses have been confirmed, but further analysis is needed to get a more comprehensive picture of the motivations that drive parents to choose the right kindergarten for their child.

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