Polish Language and Polish Culture in South America

Lecturers from the Centre for Polish Language and Culture POLISH LAB teach Polish and promote our culture in Argentina and Ecuador as a part of the project funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.

The lecturers from the Centre for Polish Language and Culture POLISH LAB at the Foreign Languages Centre have created a series of Polish language classes and creative English-language workshops on various aspects of Polish culture. Alina Jabłońska Domurat, MA, is the project coordinator. The project team consists of other academic teachers, i.a. Małgorzata Komarewska, MA, a lecturer of the English and Polish language and Dorota Szuper-Jakubiuk, MA, a lecturer of the Russian and Polish language. They are also examiners of the state certification examination in Polish as a foreign language held at Bialystok University of Technology — the only place of this kind in north-eastern Poland.

“We prove that learning Polish, with a conscious approach and proper motivation, may be accessible, enjoyable and can constitute an element of personal development of adults,” emphasises Alina Jabłońska Domurat, the project coordinator.

Under the program funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, lecturers from Bialystok University of Technology have established cooperation with the Polish Teachers’ Organization in Argentina and Universidad de las Americas in Ecuador. As a result, since September, their classes have reached generations of post-war Polish immigrants, who often no longer speak the language of their ancestors. Promoting Polish language learning goes in line with the needs of the constantly growing group of students, including those from South American countries. The students’ interest in elements of the Polish culture during the Polish language classes has made the lecturers aware of the need to popularise various aspects of culture. About 180 people benefited from the classes on the basics of the Polish language and the cultural workshops.

“We talk about facts and myths about Poland, we discuss cultural differences, we present excellent didactic abilities, and we provide teachers with textbooks for learning Polish,” says Dorota Szuper-Jakubiuk from the Centre for Polish Language and Culture POLISH LAB. The organisers emphasise that participation in the project motivates students to continue learning the language and improving their abilities, which may translate into strengthening the image of our country. “We encourage foreign audiences to visit Poland; we inspire them to seek contacts in professional, business and scientific fields. We show foreign audiences a country with over a thousand years of history, diverse traditions and customs, rich art and culture,” adds Małgorzata Komarewska from the Polish Language and Culture Centre POLISH LAB.

In December, an international online discussion panel will be held, during which teachers from the three countries will exchange their glottodidactic experiences in teaching their native languages as foreign. The authors of the project hope that learning about working conditions and methodology applied in other countries will lead, among other things, to the improvement of methods of teaching Polish as a foreign language. A link to an audio-video coverage of the event will be made available on the website of Bialystok University of Technology and the websites of the Project Partners. 

The “It’s time for Polonaise… – the promotion of the Polish language and culture” project worth about PLN 54 thousand is financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.