Teaching Polish as a Foreign language: Changes and Challenges
Mariola Bogucka, Poland
Mariola Bogucka is an experienced teacher of English. She currently works as a lecturer at the University of Gdansk - Foreign Language Teacher Training College, Poland. She is the INSETT Project Regional Leader. Polish INSETT Project has been set up to help teachers of English working in all types of schools at different levels to develop professionally. She is co-author of the video-course for English language teachers Observing English Lessons published by British Council Studium UG (1999). Mariola's special interest is teaching English to young learners. She is co-author of the courses for young learners 'Your English ABC'(1999), 'Friends' (2002). E-mail: brcmb@univ.gda.pl
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Introduction
Is Polish a difficult language to learn?
The implications of the Common European Framework
The key to success: autonomous learners & versatile teachers
References
The accession of new countries to the European Union has started significant political, economic, social and cultural changes all over Europe. The new set-up has facilitated citizen mobility; professionals and workers have a chance to look for better jobs or business, young people can take advantage of new educational opportunities, whereas tourists have become more interested in discovering the countries that were once behind the iron curtain. Obviously not everyone shares the same enthusiasm about the changes. The idea of a Europe without borders and a common European policy in many walks of life appeals to its supporters, while adversaries express their concerns mainly about losing national identity. The strong voices of the latter group might be justified by Poland's tragic history. Here is a short account of Polish political misfortunes by Norman Davies:
It was once a great European power, which had the misfortune to be completely wiped off the map for long periods and which has only recently re-emerged as a sovereign republic. For several centuries, it was dominated by ruthless neighbours, which long sought to eradicate its culture, its history and its very identity. For several decades in the twentieth century, it belonged to that tragic zone of Europe which was successfully overrun by Hitler and Stalin.
The long tradition of fighting for independence and preserving national values has made many generations of Poles extremely cautious when accepting new trends and ideas.
Undoubtedly, modern Europe has become a melting pot of languages and cultures. Documents such as The Common European Framework (CEF) and European Language Portfolio (ELP), developed by an international team of experts and researchers under the auspices of the Council of Europe, promote the plurilingual and pluricultural dimension of the new reality. Yet, at the same time, to ensure smooth communication, only English and French are given the status of official languages. Although Poland is one of the biggest countries on the continent and its population exceeds 35 million people, Polish belongs to the category of less-widely spoken languages and less-widely taught languages. In the view of prospective unification and globalization, the fundamental question that we have to ask today is: do we stand a chance of preserving the linguistic and cultural heritage of our country?
Any language is a highly complex medium of verbalizing human mental, cultural and social activities. It reflects the user's knowledge and opinions, as well as the system of values. Thus it is inevitable that learners of foreign languages go beyond studying lexical and syntactic units; they simultaneously discover other cultures and relate the new knowledge to the attitudes and values of their own culture.
The purpose of the paper Teaching Polish as Foreign Language is twofold. First, I would like to outline in brief the changes that have taken place in the perception of Polish not only among foreigners but also native speakers during the two years of Polish membership of the European Union. Second, I highlight the challenges that we have to face in order to meet the requirements of general language learning objectives in the context of current and future developments.
The question of whether Polish is easy or difficult to learn might seem to be absurd, as the final results mainly depend on psychological factors, such as perseverance and the motivation of the learner, rather than the nature of the language itself. Yet, if this frequently repeated opinion make even native speakers believe that Polish is difficult, then perhaps the issue should be addressed. "The Polish language can be challenging for those who first come into contact with it (…) pronunciation and grammar endings of words represent a marked departure for those familiar with Western European languages.", "Polish looks like a complicated and difficult language." As a result of such an attitude, Poles do not really expect foreigners to learn Polish. Above all, Polish is only spoken in Poland, so learning it does not seem to be worth the effort.
It is true that the declension of nouns, pronouns and adjectives and the conjugation of verbs might pose problems. But on the other hand, the word order in a sentence does not play an important role and there are no articles! As far as pronunciation is concerned three or even four consonants in a cluster might sound like a tongue-twister but vowels are simple, as well as a regular word stress which is placed on the second-last syllable. Although the diacritic marks attached to some letters, e.g. ą, ę, ć, ś, ż, ź, might look off-putting, the spelling is closely consistent with pronunciation. So, if there is no evidence that Polish is exceptionally difficult, what is the origin of this common perception? According to Norman Davies, "due to its unfamiliarity, the Polish language has gained the unwarranted reputation of being fiendishly difficult, if not impossible to learn. As someone who has mastered it from scratch, and uses it every day at home, I can categorically deny this slur."
Indeed, the rising popularity of Polish seems to prove this argument. In the last two years the number of foreigners who can communicate in Polish or who have expressed a genuine interest in learning it, has surpassed our expectations. Language schools offering courses in Polish language and culture to foreigners are available in all major towns in Poland. Diplomats, journalists, businesspeople or native teachers of other languages, who even temporarily work and live in Poland, have achieved impressive results. Some foreign speakers are confident enough to give interviews and presentations on television and the radio. A very popular television programme Europa da się lubić! (Europe's nice!) features speakers from different European countries who jokingly talk about their impressions of Poland and the interesting cultural differences. Pascal, a French chef in another TV programme, is probably more convincing thanks to his endearing French accent. In a way, the foreigners speaking Polish set a good example to the Poles who might still believe that achieving near-native-speaker-like perfection is more important than the ability to communicate with others in their professional and personal life.
The Polish translation of The Common European Framework, published in Poland in the year 2002, resulted in a systematic study of communicative Polish. Due to the identification of categories needed for the description of language use, the supremacy of a structural grammar-based approach to the teaching of Polish as a foreign language has been challenged. This change is clearly visible in the different focus of textbooks recently written for foreign learners. Modern textbooks do not only present purely linguistic knowledge but also develop the learners' ability to communicate within the social and cultural context they are interested in. Learners of Polish studying it in Poland benefit from authentic source materials and are encouraged to experiment with the newly learnt language in a real life situation.
What is more, the common reference levels enable learners to assess their proficiency in Polish and after passing the national Polish exam, e.g. (PL-B1), to receive an internationally recognized certificate. The work on the system of assessment has not been completed yet, and for the time being, only the more advanced B1, B2, C1 and C2 levels are available. For further details see www.buwiwm.edu.pl
The student is the key player and the adoption of 'student-centred pedagogy' will result in flexible language programmes adjusted to individual needs. Yet, language programmes should develop linguistic as well as intercultural knowledge and sociocultural competence. Hopefully, the new approach to learning languages will enable learners to communicate more efficiently and understand better the cultural diversity of Europe. There are many different methods and teaching strategies of educating learners who are able to communicate linguistically and to interact culturally, the key to success lies in the hands of modern language teachers who are aware of the new challenges and ready to take on new responsibilities. They must be experts in the language they teach, possess the necessary pedagogic skills and apply stimulating methods but, first of all, have a good understanding of students' needs and expectations. There is a need for well-educated teachers who will promote human values, respect for diversity and tolerance. The European citizen of tomorrow is proud of his/her national identity but at the same time open-minded, tolerant and ready to fight prejudice and judgemental comparisons.
The linguistic and language teaching policies outlined in the Common European Framework and adapted to the programmes of teaching Polish as a foreign language have proved it is possible to preserve national identity and develop European unity. Actually, never before has the Polish language been promoted as successfully as it is now!
Council of Europe. 2001. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment, Polish edition. Warszawa: CODN.
Mazur, B. 2001. Colloquial Polish. New York-London: Routledge.
Please check the What's New in Language Teaching course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Skills of Teacher Training course at Pilgrims website.
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