Polish for Beginners

The course „Polish for Beginners” is intended to equip participants with the basic linguistic and communication skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, writing, assuming basic roles and communicating in simple and typical situations requiring communication.

The course is intended for foreigners studying in Poland in the English language, course participants preparing to undertake studies in Polish as well as all those who demonstrate interest in acquiring the basic knowledge of the Polish language, and is available for everyone who wishes to enrol. The basic knowledge of English permitting to understand instructions and comments included in the course is required.

STRUCTURE, CONTENT, OBJECTIVES AND DURATION OF THE COURSE

• The course consists of 10 learning modules realized during the period of at least 10 weeks. Each module assumes 5 hours of work per participant, which gives the total of 50 hours of work for the whole course. The final test constitutes the last part of the course
• Each module contains elements illustrating particular communication situations in the form of films, animations, presentations, illustrations as well as educational forms permitting to memorise and apply the acquired skills: quizzes, exercises, creative tasks and others, as well as the final test which is intended to verify how well the given module contents have been learned.

Module 1. Welcome to the Polish language lesson

The objective of the module is to familiarise the participant with basic forms of greetings and goodbyes, salutations, numbers 0-20 and the verb "to be".

Module 2. Let’s get to know each other

The objective of the module is to practise the skills of introducing oneself and giving basic personal information, as well as to get to know numbers 20-100.

Module 3. Polish letters and speech sounds

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with the pronunciation of Polish speech sounds, so that the participant learns how to pronounce them correctly and learns about phonetic phenomena present in the Polish language.

Module 4. Hi vs. Good morning. Formal and informal dialogues

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with basic phrases and words typical in greetings and goodbyes communication situations, both in formal and informal contexts, used to express good and bad health conditions or to describe personal qualities, bearing in mind masculine/feminine forms.

Module 5. What are you doing on Wednesday at eight?

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with vocabulary related to the days of the week and the times of the day, so that the participant learns how to describe the time as well as routine daily activities.

Module 6. We are having guests!

The objective of the module is to enable the participant to communicate in Polish in situations related to doing shopping as well as inviting and having visitors.

Module 7. Where am I?

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with basic words and phrases related to naming various city places and determining their location, as well as practising asking for and giving directions.

Module 8. My hobby

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with basic words and phrases used to describe different ways of spending leisure time, preferences and habits in this respect.

Module 9. Let’s go for coffee

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with basic words and phrases permitting to realize the following communication functions: inviting to a meeting, arranging and negotiating the time and place of a meeting, ordering in a cafe, as well as paying compliments and inviting to dance.

Module 10. All the best!

The objective of the module is to familiarise the course participant with vocabulary used to express wishes and congratulations, as well as celebrating holidays in Poland.

EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

• Using a foreign language in very simple, typical communication situations related to basic daily life needs, taking into account formal and informal character of the communication.
• Creating simple sentences and short speeches about oneself and the nearest environment.
• Understanding short recorded dialogues and thematic speeches related to daily life situations.
• Ability to write Polish letters, words and short messages within the minimum vocabulary range for the level A1.
• Understanding read sentences, text fragments and short dialogues including the minimum vocabulary range for the level A1

REQUIREMENTS FOR PASSING THE COURSE

The course consists of ten modules ended with tests (10 tests, 15 points each) and a final test (40 points). In order to pass the course and get a certificate, the participant must obtain at least 50 % out of total points (95 points out of total 190).

AUTHORS OF THE COURSE

Edyta Gałat

Lecturer of Polish as a foreign language, academic teacher. She has been working as a language teacher since 1997, and has been related with the International Centre of Education of the Cracow University of Technology since 2004 as a teacher of general Polish language and specialised courses. She is the author of general Polish language course books (Język polski - Chcę i mogę!, Ćwiczenia i gry doskonalące proces mówienia, level B and C. Podręcznik nauczyciela), specialist language course books (Architektura. Język specjalistyczny. Skrypt dla obcokrajowców na poziomie A2+/B1, as well as Anatomia. Język specjalistyczny. Skrypt dla obcokrajowców na poziomie A2+/B1) and a few games for teaching vocabulary. She is an author of e-learning courses for foreigners available on the CUT Moodle platform.

Agnieszka Kamińska

Teacher of Polish as a foreign language, academic teacher. Graduate of the Jagiellonian University (Polish philology, 2004) and Silesian University (postgraduate studies, Teaching Polish Language and Polish Culture, 2009). Since 2005 she has been working for the International Centre of Education of the Cracow University of Technology as a teacher of general Polish language and specialised courses.

Izabela Kugiel - Abuhasna

Lecturer of Polish as a foreign language, academic teacher. Since 1989 she has been professionally related with the International Centre of Education of the Cracow University of Technology as a teacher of general Polish language and specialised courses. She is the author of specialist language course books for foreigners studying: economy (Wybraliśmy ekonomię. Podręcznik języka ekonomicznego dla obcokrajowców na poziomie A2+/B1) and science (Studiologia. Podręcznik polskiego języka naukowego dla cudzoziemców na poziomie B1), as well as articles in this field. She is an author of e-learning courses available on the CUT Moodle Platform to foreign students preparing for studies in Poland.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Participants of the course can use a standard computer set, a smartphone or a tablet with the internet connection. In order to type Polish characters, you must press the Alt button on your keyboard and the letter (e.g. to type "ą" Alt+a, to type "ę" Alt+e).

OTHER INFORMATION

If you need any help, you are most welcome to contact the teachers via email at any time when the course is in progress (polishmooc@gmail.com). You may also check the F.A.Qs. Note, that some of the pictures used in the course have only decorative function and some recordings have no transcript or subtitles. The video presentations introduce the material both in written and spoken form (text and sound). Some exercises have just self-checking function and do not require any typing or filling in.