Sussex Centre for Language Studies
Open courses in modern languages
Polish Language and Culture – Stage 1
20 weekly meetings, 1.5 hours each
An introduction for complete beginners to the language of everyday situations.
There is emphasis on understanding and communicating, with particular attention
paid to grammar as this is usually the most difficult aspect of the language.
The course aims to give you sufficient language to be able to deal with simple
everyday situations, to include: Personal information - family,/social arrangements •
Directions - time, numbers • Travel/transport • Food and drink - buying and selling •
Accommodation - hotel, lodgings, business • Holidays and leisure.
Grammar and functions which may be included: gender • case • articles • present
tense of common verbs • negatives • questions • descriptions • adjectives • personal
pronouns • polite/familiar forms • prepositions • possessives • one future tense • one
main past tense • time phrases/quantities.
The amount of material covered will depend on the pace of the course.
You will be given an insight into the culture of the country within the framework of
your language studies. You will be encouraged to work out your own strategy for
study in line with the syllabus and your own perceived needs. There will be an
opportunity to study personal cultural interests linked to the language.
Course learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will have improved your language skills and be able to
get a message across in a variety of everyday situations. There will be errors and
problems of pronunciation but basic communication will be possible. You will be
able to comprehend and act on both simple written and spoken stimuli. Simple
grammatical structures will have been taught. You will have gained a better
appreciation of the relationships between the language, history and culture of the
country. You will have developed greater confidence and enhanced autonomy in
your language learning.
Teaching and learning methods
Communicative language teaching, particularly tutor-led group work, will guide you
through the basic structures and functions of the beginners' syllabus. There will be
practice in the four skills, listening, speaking, reading and basic writing. You will be
encouraged to develop basic communicative skills, to learn grammatical structures
and to interpret simple written and spoken stimuli. There will be preparation work
set which will be taken from a course book.
Built into the course will be a number of assignments to allow you and your tutor to
gauge progress made. These assignments naturally form part of the course and will
usually be multi-skilled, involving some reading, writing, speaking and listening. It
will be important to complete a learning/study plan and take an active part in the
classes by completing the assignments set. You will be given an opportunity to
pursue your own personal research into a topic of cultural interest which contains
some analysis or debate.
Certificate of Completion
At the end of the course you will receive an individual Record of Learning, giving
details of the course and your achievement of the aims and objectives. If the tutor
considers that you have gained as much as possible from the course, have
achieved the learning outcomes and have participated in the assessed activities, a
Certificate of Completion of the course will subsequently be issued.
Bibliography
The tutor may recommend a course book or provide additional learning materials
and recommended texts.
Other useful resources include:
"Ach, ten jezyk polski!”
-
Danute Galyga
Colloquial Polish
B.W. Mazur (Routledge) Latest edition
Colloquial Polisy Pack (Book and CDs)
Polish for Travellers (Berlitz)
Dictionary:
Collins Pocket Polish or any other depending on your
needs