Universidade em Debate
Article 4
ISSN 2318-700X
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
DOI: 10.7213/univ.debate.02.001.AO04
Academic education of foreigners:
based on the example of Polish studies
Romuald Cudak
Romuald Cudak – dr hab. prof. UŚ, Chair of International Polish Studies of University of Silesia,
Katowice, Poland.
Contact: [email protected]
Jolanta Tambor
Jolanta Tambor – dr hab. prof. UŚ, Rector’s Proxy for Foreign Students, Head of the School of Polish
Language and Culture of University of Silesia, professor in Institute of Polish Language of US, Katowice, Poland.
Contact: [email protected]
Academic education of foreigners
53
Aleksandra Achtelik
Aleksandra Achtelik – dr, Vice-Director of the School of Polish Language and Culture of University of
Silesia, lecturer in Institute of Culture and Interdisciplinary Studies,
Katowice, Poland.
Contact: [email protected]
Abstract
In the article a new type of linguistic and cultural education in contemporary academic education is presented. Today, at the time of continuous migrations of young people, teachers’ attitude towards students should be changed,
as well as the educational programs should be re-evaluated and modernized. This offer is made by the authors
based on the example of international Polish studies, bearing in mind the situation of a student who learns a new
language and discovers the culture of a country he/she is residing in at the moment. Such a situation necessitates
new challenges that both the student and the teacher must face.
Keywords: Linguistic and cultural education. Interculturalism. Academic education.
Learning of foreign languages has become, at
the turn of centuries, a popular form of enriching
one’s education, broadening humanistic competences, or a hobby of the citizens of contemporary
globalized world. People travel more both in their
private and professional lives. Businessmen travel
in order to make new attractive contracts; university teachers visit foreign schools and colleges as a
part of their scholarships, they give guest lectures;
students study abroad with the goal of achieving
better education and experiencing interesting
adventures. The program of European mobility
(such as CEEPUS, Erasmus), but also intercontinental mobility gain with each year new members.
A promising opportunity arose due to the agreement between the Conference of the Rectors of
Polish Academic Schools and the National Council
of Scienti�ic and Technological Development of the
Federative Republic of Brazil, called the “Science
without borders” project (scholarships �inanced
by the Brazilian government). The aim of the program is to enhance the international mobility of
students and academic teachers.
It soon became clear that such massive migration necessitated the learning of more than
just one foreign language, apart from the English
language (so far perceived as the universal language of the world). The world, contrary to what
the supporters of linguistic variety feared, has not
become uniform in terms of a language, it has not
been conquered by modern Esperanto. Nowadays,
people are interested in learning many different
languages, not only the most popular ones (like
French, Spanish, Portuguese), or the exotic ones
(Chinese, Arabic), but also the smaller ones, interesting because of their culture, one’s fascination
with the country’s literature, new friends made on
vacation, or the need to discover one’s identity, or
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
54
Hence, the great
languages (universal,
worldwide), the learning
of which yields many
benefits, are those
studied by many people
in various countries. We
can also expect that we
could communicate in
these languages in different places which do
not share common history, ethnicity, or culture
with the country the
languages come from.
Cudak, R., Tambor, J., & Achtelik, A.
the chance for interesting professional life abroad,
etc. Among such languages we can �ind: Polish,
Serbian, Hungarian, Korean, etc. Various international organizations and institutions encourage
students to learn these smaller languages. The
importance of multilingualism is also emphasized
by different agendas of the European Union. The
International Day of Mother Tongue, introduced
by UNESCO and designed for 21st February, is celebrated with more and more enthusiasm in Poland.
This day commemorates the events from 1952
when �ive students were killed during a demonstration in Bangladesh, as they were trying to force
the government to make the Bengali language the
of�icial language of the country. The protection of
the linguistic variety as the cultural legacy is very
signi�icant, as, according to specialized observations and research, a few or sometimes even a
dozen languages become extinct every month in
the world.
The great languages, the learning of which
yields many bene�its, are those spoken by huge
number of non-native users. In the top 20 languages of the world, considering the number of
their users, we can �ind: English (350 millions),
Spanish (250 millions), Russian (150 millions),
Portuguese (135 millions), German (100 millions), French (70 millions), Italian (60 millions).
As we are Eurocentric people, we tend to consider
European languages as the greatest, even though
in Europe there are only 3,5 % of the world languages, that are only 240 languages from 6500 existing. Therefore, we should extend the notion of
great languages also onto, for example, the Arabic
language (150 million users in many countries).
What is also important are the terms of the
native and the non-native speakers which should
be more precise. We should consider the users in
more than just one country, bearing in mind the
great numbers of migrating people, but also the
users of a language which is spoken as the of�icial
language in more than just one country. To such
languages, then, should belong Arabic, but not
the Bengali language (6th on the list, with 150 mln
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
users in Bangladesh and India), neither Punjabi
(12th on the list, 70 mln users in Pakistan and the
Indian state of Punjab).
Hence, the great languages (universal, worldwide), the learning of which yields many bene�its,
are those studied by many people in various countries. We can also expect that we could communicate in these languages in different places which
do not share common history, ethnicity, or culture with the country the languages come from.
We are aware that it is possible to speak French
in Quebec in Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Monaco, Switzerland, Morocco, but also with
foreigners who learn it as their second, third, or
fourth language and who are in no way connected
with France. The same situation happens in the
case of Portuguese, which is spoken also in Brazil,
Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, as well as in
other parts of the world.
Among the smaller languages we can �ind
Polish. Great numbers of students who come to
Poland to study Polish testify to the fact that it is
becoming increasingly popular in the world. Polish
education of foreigners at Polish universities is an
example of the general tendencies in humanistic
studies in countries hosting foreign students. It
has not been a long time since Polish education
of foreigners included different types of language
and culture courses run by academic centers and
other schools for foreign students. On the margins
of this activity developed the education in form of
Polish studies, dedicated for students on various
scholarships in Poland. At the moment, another
important element became the regular stationary
studies of Polish.
One of the characteristics of the academic education for many years has been the migration of
students. At the turn of centuries it acquired a new
shape, it became more dynamic. Many globalization tendencies and changes in education, connected with the emergence of the European Union,
contributed to this fact. Because of them, the international migration of students involves travels
abroad to study, raising one’s quali�ications during
Academic education of foreigners
the Erasmus or CEEPUS programs, or enrolling
on research scholarships thanks to government
and university contracts. The rise in the number
of students’ migration is accompanied by the increase in their participation in stationary studies.
The popularity of the educational process of
the migration necessitates in Poland the rendering of universities into more international centers
which offer various forms of foreign students’
participation in academic education, but favor
the stationary studies in their international form.
Because of different reasons, also the �inancial
ones, it is becoming quite problematic not only in
the general university sphere, but also in terms
of departments and majors offered by them. This
problem touches also Polish education, Polish
studies for foreigners, and the arrival of a foreign
candidate for Polish studies evokes important issues for Polish academic glottodidactics. The idea
of how to educate a foreign student is followed by
the dilemma of what should we offer him/her and
whether we should treat him/her as “different”
than the native student.
The statistics say that among the most often
chosen studies in Poland are: medicine, management, economy. It depends on the individual
preferences of different universities, and shows
that the students’ choice is motivated by the high
standard of scienti�ic research and studies offered.
Philologies are in the second top ten majors chosen. The most popular among them is Polish philology. They are not extremely fashionable studies,
but unshaken by changing reality, very stable. The
core of the students of Polish (and other Slavic
languages) constitutes candidates of Polish origin
and foreigners from the Eastern Europe. They do
not show any exceptional preferences in terms of
the universities, they usually look for, according to
their own knowledge, respected centers or those
situated nearby their hometowns.
The decision to study Polish is often spurred
by their belief that it is best to study Polish philology in Poland. This belief is soundly grounded
in the high status of foreign Polish studies and the
55
opportunity to study Polish also in other countries
than Poland, if the student is truly interested in
the majors offered. Unfortunately, it is a common
knowledge that many Polish studies abroad are
being closed. Surely, there are some strong centers
with excellent teachers who follow good academic
and didactic programs, but there are only a few of
them. Mainly, the student can enroll to Slavic studies which include a Polish program, or a course,
or only Polish language classes. Great teachers
of Polish abroad are the former students of older
generations. What is more, there are not many
followers. We must also remember that because
of different methodological changes in humanistic studies, Polish philology is often incorporated
into such majors as European studies or cultural
studies. Choosing Polish studies in Poland is also
motivated by the fact that foreign programs copy
Polish ones, which are sometimes described as national philology, instead of shaping the program of
foreign Polish studies – neophilology.
As it has already been mentioned, the need for
Polish studies, understood as traditional philology
studies, has been met. Its condition is as shown
in the rankings cited above and it is doubtful that
more people will be willing to enroll soon. Polish
language and literature belong to the group of
small languages and literatures. There is small demand for Polish philologists abroad, and in most
countries there is no tradition of studying national
philology. At the same time, it seems that more foreign students can be attained if the former educational offer is changed according to the needs and
expectations of the students. Generally speaking,
we should offer foreign candidates Polish studies
alongside Polish philology studies.
As a starting point one can take the following
assumptions. First of all, the average student from
abroad is mostly interested in gaining knowledge
about Poland and not only about its components:
language and culture. Hence, Polish studies should
be interdisciplinary, not only language and literary studies, but, even more so, language and cultural studies. The practical needs of students are
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
The popularity of the
educational process of the
migration necessitates in
Poland the rendering of
universities into more international centers which offer
various forms of foreign
students’ participation in
academic education, but
favor the stationary studies
in their international form.
56
Cudak, R., Tambor, J., & Achtelik, A.
at this point met by the tendencies in contemporary literary studies, where literature is the �ield
to manifest cultural discourses and which wants
to be a discipline without borders. Secondly, the
knowledge about Poland should be complete, that
is taught not only from the national (Polish) point
of view, but also from the universal angle (transcultural and international). The vision of Poland
as the center should be accompanied by the view
on Poland in the world, in Europe, in the European
Union, in relations with other nations and cultures. A student, then, should become an expert on
Poland, who is able to see its place in the world, but
also its relations with his or her country. Thirdly,
such knowledge should be so functional that it
could be used while acquiring new specializations
enabling the student to be employed in the professions connected with the education received.
Of course it is not our intention to create a
sort of academic ghettos. So designed Polish studies are addressed at foreign students, but should
be available also for native ones. It seems they
can be both 1st and 2nd degree studies and it is the
teachers of glottodidactics who should work on
the language competences here.
Polish education of foreign students at the
University of Silesia is conducted in many forms.
This activity is run by the Philology Department,
especially in the Department of International
Polish Studies and the School of Polish Language
and Culture:
a) courses of Polish language and culture (the
summer school of Polish language, literature, and culture);
b) courses within European programs
(Erasmus, CEEPUS, etc.) and government
and university contracts;
c) term studies for foreigners;
d) studies in progress: International Polish
Studies.
Such vision of studying in Poland, which combines subjects similar to traditional Polish classes
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
but also those encompassing the whole neighboring regions, in�luenced the shape of programs and
courses organized during summer schools and
other short intensive courses. It does not apply to
term courses of Polish language as foreign, which
are an element of complete or partial (term, or
one-year) Polish studies.
During one-month summer (autumn or winter) programs of the school of Polish language,
literature and culture students are offered various forms of activity: seminars, lectures, meetings with important �igures from public life, �ilm
shows, language games, concerts, the learning
of songs, students’ theatres, or poetry evenings.
This type of studying and the students’ interests
determine the break-up with the philological
pro�ile traced in the name of the summer school.
It was practiced 10 years ago and met the demands of most students. They expected lectures
on various linguistic phenomena, the history of
Polish language and more or less detailed discussions of tendencies in Polish literature and the interpretation of some writings. Back in the 1990s
most people attending these courses anticipated
they would ful�ill the philological model, bearing in mind their future professions: especially
translators of literature, school and academic
teachers. Today, the students’ expectations shifted towards business, economy, political science,
social science, identity studies. Hence, literary
and cultural-artistic lectures and seminars had
to be reduced in favor of placing the discussed issues within contemporary world and references
to most popular historical facts about Poland,
e.g. the Holocaust. Nowadays, most young people
coming to summer schools choose the career of a
translator, specializing mainly in technology, administration, business, diplomacy. What is more,
modern world and the students’ expectations
changed the way of teaching various phenomena
and tasks to the course participants. Sole analysis
is no longer enough, modern student needs comparison and intercultural interpretation. The shift
in the search for national and ethnic identities at
Academic education of foreigners
the turn of centuries necessitated the presentation of facts as intercultural phenomena.
At this point we should ask the following question: Can a person learn foreign vision of the
world? It is a question about the relations between
linguistic relativity and universality. The cognitive
studies’ teachers ask: “To what degree can a language affect our mode of thinking? How deeply
do language and culture blend and in�luence each
other?” (Tabakowska, 2001, p. 176) What they inquire about is the range of elements different and
similar for human thought and their expression in
language. The easiest to describe, but the hardest
to learn, are the elements absolutely different in
two languages.
Undoubtedly, we would quickly conclude that
there can be no full-range change in the vision of
the world. This is impossible. We should, however,
strive for bigger or lesser modi�ication of our own
vision while speaking a new language. Such efforts
can become more zealous, while learning Polish,
when the language begins to play the function of
mother tongue for the student (emigration in the
�irst and following generations). We propose that
in teaching most attention should not only be devoted to the lexicon and the rules of combining
its elements, but also to becoming familiar with
and accepting the vision of the world as offered
by the new language. This type of teaching is possible through using cultural texts, participation in
cultural events, and the analysis of cultural texts.
The role of the teacher, but also of the programs
of studies, is to increase the number of scripts of
culture, the elements of acceptable and accepted
vision of the world of a language.
If we accepted the cognitive principle in teaching of languages (and cultures), we would have to
assess the role of scripts of culture. The teachers
would decide, basing on their intuition, to what
degree did the student understand the new culture. They would also have to decide how many
percent are needed to approach the position of
the native speaker and become bilingual (80% ?
90% ?). However, before we start discussing such
57
issues, we must consider middle stages, which are
the third value of JOS.
In materials about teaching foreign languages,
it is usually stressed that the students must not
only learn the vocabulary and grammar, but also
gain knowledge about the cultural life, attain socio-cultural competence and use the same cultural
code as the native speaker. Yet, in the process of
teaching (also the academic one) the teachers often disregard these supposedly secondary skills.
They forget that while learning a new language
two various cultures meet. During this clash
emerges the dialogue of identities and a new third
value is created.
A student, in order to achieve communication
success, must gain socio-cultural competence
and acquire the basics of the linguistic vision of
the world, which functions in the culture he/she
learns. In order to move comfortably in a foreign
culture, a student must adopt the values and cultural models as well as the rules of verbal and
non-verbal communication. He or she is given the
choice: to what degree should his/her own values
be modi�ied and adapted to the ones existing in
the culture of the new language. When two identities meet, a third value arises that includes elements from both cultures but also completely new
ones, not found in any of the two cultures.
Every teacher, the one teaching a language
abroad and the one teaching it in the country, is
the carrier of the culture he/she represents and
which he/she co-creates. Unfortunately, only a
few teachers pay much attention to the fact that
they will be read like a “cultural text” and whether
they will be the ideal role model of the culture the
student learns about. It is generally believed that
it is suf�icient that the teacher is Polish and thus
participates in his/her culture, which, in turn, is
falsely taken for granted that he/she has thorough knowledge about it (we must remember that in
order to teach a culture a teacher needs to possess
some taught knowledge about it, which is necessary when explaining different scripts of culture). It happens very often that, in order to make a
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
58
It is interesting to see
how the gained knowledge is later put into cultural practice. How and
in what situations (in the
class or outside it) is the
student capable of using
this knowledge. Does
he/she modify his/her
behaviors consciously
or only when in contact
with native speakers of
the language learned, or
with other students who
also learn this language
(a situation which is very
common in Polish and
European academic centers due to high mobility
of students)?
Cudak, R., Tambor, J., & Achtelik, A.
quick contact with students, a teacher uses some
gestures or verbal ways of expressing emotions
nonexistent in Polish culture but speci�ic for the
culture/language of the students. Such behavior,
regular and without pointing that it is an act of politeness towards the students, is quite misleading.
Instead of learning where the differences in cultures lie, the students are made to believe there are
common points in these areas.
Our contemplation concerns the meeting of at
least two cultures: the one of the teacher and the
one of the student. The sphere where they meet
makes them realize the division into “us” and
“them”, “here” and “there”. Very often the cultural paradigms in which they function are totally
different, other times the differences are slight.
In the process of glottodidactics, this meeting is
a constant negotiation, an attempt at achieving a
compromise. In result, a third value of the identity
sphere is created, the “in-between” sphere.
A teacher must show much knowledge and tact
in order not to offend the student by pointing out
that some of the student’s behaviors, considered
natural in his/her culture, can be viewed as inappropriate or impolite in the culture learnt, and can
lead to con�licts. At other times, such differences
can render the student foolish and prevent the
desired communication effect from happening.
There are numerous examples of such situations,
involving the problem of one’s physiology, acts of
politeness or the semiotics of one’s dress code.
It is interesting to see how the gained knowledge is later put into cultural practice. How
and in what situations (in the class or outside it)
is the student capable of using this knowledge.
Does he/she modify his/her behaviors consciously or only when in contact with native speakers
of the language learned, or with other students
who also learn this language (a situation which
is very common in Polish and European academic centers due to high mobility of students)?
Moreover, does the context of the area (the territory where the contact happens) influence the
modification of these behaviors? What does it
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
look like in the country of the learned language,
in the student’s homeland, in neutral area? Does
the student also change his/her behavior while
speaking his/her mother tongue in the country
of the second language? All of these parameters
can intersect, giving rise to more complicated
configurations.
Discourse about identity necessitates the constant search for differences, whereas glottodidactics gets rid of them in the attempt of their translation. The existence of a difference brings about
the need to communicate, if we want to enter the
area of the other identity, and the act of learning a
foreign language is an expression of such will.
A new (partially temporary) value arises while
the other two, mentioned above, clash. In case of
communities living at the border, this value is similar to all the members of the community (or divides them into some coherent groups). However,
when we consider foreigners, it is very individual
and based on, not always conscious, collecting of
different elements. Very suitable is the metaphor
of open door. A person learning a foreign language opens up him/herself (partially or fully) and
closes to values and cultural norms offered by the
language.
We are very often used to our own cultural paradigm, so that we fail to notice any similarities
but see only differences, or it can be the other way
round. Such vision, both on the part of the teacher
and the student, makes the cultural negotiations
harder. It can also lead to a very strong cultural
shock. Every language class should be the place
of cultural meeting during which a student learns
about culture and culturally motivated behaviors.
The question is: to what extent can we agree
on some cultural interferences and where is the
border between the positive and negative transfer? A student of foreign language performs a form
of individual rede�inition of identity. Every time
he/she comes across a difference, he/she must
answer the question: in what linguistic context
can this difference be located and accepted by my
own thinking?
Academic education of foreigners
Tabakowska recommends the use of the reducing paraphrase, based on elementary notions,
in order to avoid any obscurities and escape “the
danger of ethnocentrism, that is imposing the categories of one’s mother tongue while describing
a foreign language” (Tabakowska,2001, p. 199).
However, as we have tried to prove, in teaching
of foreign language (especially when it becomes a
person’s mother tongue) an attitude of a controlled ethnocentrism is necessary, so that the learned
language is not only a compilation of structures,
but a complex system of visions and values characteristic for the language itself.
The teacher plays the role of a mediator. He
or she must possess broad knowledge about different cultures or at least accept their otherness
and perceive them as equal. Cultures should never be graded. Only then can we hope for good
communication and respect for values and behaviors of foreigners. Of course, a teacher of Polish
as a foreign language cannot know all the cultural nuances of other cultures. However, he or she
should show openness and sensitivity expressed
in constant raising of quali�ications. We �ind pleasure in conversations with foreigners about the
things that surprise them in contacts with Poles or
in Polish reality, because only then we gather new
guidelines for erecting the bridges of intercultural understanding. We never force our students to
obey the rules of our culture, but rather encourage
them to try to understand them and then observe
if they can be adapted to students’ cultures. Above
all, the student must realize:
59
there are no higher and lower cultures, just as
there are no bad and good cultural values. The
tendency for ethnocentrism, de�ined as irrational conviction about the superiority of one’s
culture above other, and its drives for lecturing
and punishing representatives of other nations,
stem from, according to anthropologists, reduced cultural contacts and the lack of education
(Zarzycka, 2000, p. 69).
The attitude towards Polish studies, presented in this essay, is seen by us as modern studies
of languages and cultures, encompassing the assumptions of ethnologists, anthropologists and
sociologists. It is interesting to see how the gained knowledge is later put into cultural practice. How and in what situations (in the class or
outside it) is the student capable of using this
knowledge. Does he/she modify his/her behaviors consciously or only when in contact with
native speakers of the language learned, or with
other students who also learn this language (a
situation which is very common in Polish and
European academic centers due to high mobility
of students)?
References
Tabakowska, E. (Eds.). (2001). Kognitywne podstawy
języka. Kraków: Universitas.
Zarzycka, G. (2000). Etnocentryzm, polonocentryzm,
wielokulturowość, wielogłosowość… – opis orientacji obecnych w nauczaniu języków obcych. In:
Mazur, J. (Eds.). Polonistyka na świecie. Nauczanie
języka i kultury polskiej studentów zaawansowanych. Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS.
Univ. Debate 2014 jan./dez., 2(1), 52-59
It is interesting to see how
the gained knowledge
is later put into cultural
practice. How and in what
situations (in the class or
outside it) is the student
capable of using this
knowledge. Does he/she
modify his/her behaviors
consciously or only when
in contact with native
speakers of the language
learned, or with other
students who also learn
this language (a situation
which is very common in
Polish and European academic centers due to high
mobility of students)?