The University

Italian and Portuguese
students (Erasmus Program)
and a student from Taiwan,
who participated in classes
at the School in the summer
semester 2005/2006; fourth
from the left:
Magdalena Kobus
18
EVENTS
Photo: Archives
J.I.-S.: First of all, the school offers two types of
courses. One is aimed at academic students and PhD
candidates, many of whom come to Szczecin within
the LLP Erasmus framework or to complete studies
or via internships mainly at Szczecin University. Our
educational offer also proved useful for students at
Szczecin Polytechnic University and the of Szczecin
University of Agriculture, which are now combined
and known as the West Pomeranian University of
Technology. Other students come from the School
of Higher Education in Humanities and the Higher
School of Applied Arts.
The other type of course is commercial language
training. This is addressed to the so-called
“city students”. Their reasons for learning the Polish
language vary, but the most important ones are
professional work, plans to begin studies in Poland
and/or a relationship with a Polish person.
Less common, though still significant, is an interest
in Polish culture and literature and the eagerness
to know it better. People with such passions
generally combine learning Polish with leisure time
in our city. Thus, they attend intensive courses. Usually,
they also have clearly specified expectations
toward the syllabus as not only do they wish to acquire
basic communicative skills but rather a knowledge
of Polish customs, traditions, cultural heritage,
history and geography. It is worth mentioning that
there is great interest in Poland’s literary Nobel Prize
winners Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska.
Even basic-level students ask us to familiarize them
with their poetry.
L.W.: Where do the students come from?
J.I.-S.: There is a diverse range of nationalities
among our students. Most of them come from
Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Italians and Turks
comprise the majority of students that arrive from
the LLP Erasmus Framework. In the current academic
year, we also taught a considerable group of
Chechen citizens. Representatives of other countries,
such as Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Great
Britain, France, Norway, Switzerland, Pakistan and
China, use our services to a lesser degree.
It must be mentioned that the role of the Polish
Language and Culture School is not merely a didactic
one. We also make efforts to support foreigners
in organizing their everyday life, especially those
who come to Poland for the first time. We help our
students to cope in real-life situations and to overcome
the shock that is often experienced when
coming into contact with an unfamiliar culture.
A substantial group of our students feel a bit lost
upon arriving and often lack the support of friends
and family. This was the case with a group of Chinese,
who were our students last year. Hence, the
school is a place where foreigners meet new people
and make friends.
L.W.: What other possibilities does the school
offer its students?
J.I.-S.: The School enables the students to participate
in the scientific life of the University. The
intermediate-level students who manage written
and spoken Polish well participate in scientific sessions
arranged by the SU Students’ Slavicist Club.
Lesya Chayjka, for instance, presented a paper on
Phraseological expressions with the component “language”
that was published in the second volume of
The World of Slavs in Language and Culture. And Anja
Peist presented a text on Polish-German language
and culture connections that was published in volume
four. An article devoted to Polish-Russian phraseology
by Helena Juchniewicz is awaiting publication.
L.W.: What sort of courses does the school
offer foreigners and the Polish community at
present?
J.I.-S.: We offer courses of various levels, which
can be completed in the form of group classes
– consisting of a minimum of two people – or individually.
Standard courses comprise 60 hours of
didactic classes and can be conducted in a semester
system or intensively during summer or winter holidays.
Apart from this, there are courses custom-tailored
to the needs of a student with respect to the
number of hours, level of learning and duration.
L.W.: What are the plans for the anniversary
and in the years ahead?
J.I.-S.: In connection with the 10th jubilee of our
activity, we prepared a scholarly conference themed
on the teaching Polish as a foreign language in the
phenomena of modern culture. The conference
took place in Szczecin on November 27. The papers
presented during the conference concerned
both theoretical and practical issues of teaching
Polish as a foreign language. All the papers will be
published in a post-conference volume. We intend
to continue the formula of such one-day meetings
to assist in developing our instructional methodology.
Common discussion and the sharing didactic
problems and achievements significantly raise the
qualifications of our lecturers. We also intend to
launch a post-graduate program in Polish as a Foreign
Language, whose offer is still being prepared
and should be available on the website of the Institute
of Polish Philology and Culture early in 2010.
I’d like to mention some of the female lecturers are
students of doctoral studies at Szczecin University.
Dissertations are being prepared by Magdalena Kobus,
Ksenia Olkowska and Anna Szyntor-Bykowska.
In the next academic year, the school are going to
enter a competition for summer intensive Polish
language courses for LLP Erasmus students.