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ABOUT THE POLISH LANGUAGE

The Polish language is an interesting one – you’ll often hear just how ‘hard’ it is to learn, about the strange grammar rules and and the genders. People often learn Polish due to circumstances, and don’t usually think to pick it as a foreign language to study in general. It’s not often available in universities to study towards a foreign language degree. Even though it might be a bit more difficult than other languages to learn, it isn’t impossible, and it’s a beautiful, mysterious and interesting language that makes up a huge part of our fascinating culture! 

First and foremost, Polish is a Slavic language, which is widely known. More specifically, it belongs to the West Slavic group of Indo-European languages. It is originally derived from Old Polish, and came into use in the 10th century, which is when the Polish state was itself developed. Initially, it was only a spoken language, and came into the written form with the Latin alphabet which was brought about by Christianity. Due to its structure, Polish is classified as an inflectional, synthetic language. The oldest record of single words in Polish is from the 12th century. 

In the beginning, the Polish language had strong influences from Czech, German and Latin. Over some centuries, French influence came into play and, now, like many other European languages, a lot of influence comes from English. In dictionaries, there contains over 130,000 Polish words, with around 20,000 being used daily. 

When learning Polish, admittedly the hardest part is the beginning. It takes a higher level of fluency to be able to hold a conversation in comparison with learning English, for example. Once this barrier has been crossed, it becomes easier and easier to speak and use Polish in daily life. That’s why motivation and especially determination is key when learning Polish. Due to the fact that Polish is similar in some aspects to other Slavic languages, being in the same group after all, it is easier for people of Slavic descent, with a Slavic language as their mother tongue, to learn Polish. This is in comparison with someone who is a native English speaker, or someone from an Asian speaking background. It isn’t impossible, though!

Lauren, who is a native British English speaker and reached B2 level in Polish said, “At the beginning, Polish was difficult. Just the numbers and alphabet were an initial challenge, and it’s easy to see how it can put someone off, even though Polish uses the Latin alphabet. However, as I kept learning and going to classes, it all started to join together and actually make sense. I really like languages, and Polish is really specific for me. I like that it’s complicated, I think it’s really charming, and I like the way it sounds. People say it’s a harsh sounding language, compared to Russian for example, but Polish has it’s own unique appeal.” 

The number of Polish language speakers can be estimated at over 45 million people, of whom about 38 million live in Poland. Polish is used by numerous groups of Poles or people of Polish origin living outside of Poland, including in Great Britain, USA, France, Germany, Australia and Canada to name a few. This shows that Polish can be spoken and used outside of Poland, and within Poland it’s worth to know and speak Polish and not always rely on English. 

One of our most experienced teachers, Ania, said the following: “It’s interesting that in Polish we understand a lot of abstract concepts possessively. ‘Mam na imię (my name is)’, ‘mam 30 lat (I’m 30 years old)’, mam nadzieję (I hope)’. In English there is ‘to be’ or a verb – I hope. 

Do you want to learn Polish? At KLUB DIALOGU Polish Language School for Foreigners, there is myriad opportunity to learn Polish in interesting ways and in a one of a kind setting, at our school with other foreigners from all over the world, individual lessons or even at your home, office or in a cafe. Don’t be put off by what you hear! Our teachers make Polish possible! 

ENJOY OUR BLOG

KLUB DIALOGU Polish Language School wants to share the Polish language and culture with you. Therefore we`d like to encourage you to learn by yourself. That is why we have created a BLOG – READ & LEARN AT HOME, with texts / exercises / audio at levels A1/A2/B1/B2. New posts appear systematically. In addition, they contain, at the end, short questions to check your correct understanding of the text. You can leave comments, write to us with correct answers, or call with questions. Using this BLOG is for free!

How to use it? If you do not see all posts, you can search them by the level (‘POZIOM’) you are interested in or click ‘WIĘCEJ POSTÓW’ (‘more posts’) at the end of the Page. Enjoy yourself!

Stay with us – Polish? We made it possible! –

6 WAYS TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION WHILST LEARNING POLISH

Did you talk to someone a moment ago, or maybe you have just read a fragment of a book and you don’t remember much of it?  Do you want to say a word and do you have it at the tip of your tongue, but you’re giving up?  Regardless of age, it’s worth working on it, because good concentration is one of the elements that guarantee effective learning of the Polish language.

Concentration? What is it?

Concentration is the ability to direct and focus attention on a given thought, specific issue, phenomenon, object or situation.  This is a very important element affecting everyday functioning and learning.

How to improve concentration?

1. ‘Mindfulness training’

‘Mindfulness training’ is a technique that aims to force the highest level of focus by changing the way you think.  It consists in the fact that we cannot ponder what has already passed or worry about the future, but rather react to the ‘here and now’.  Thanks to this, we can not only effectively improve concentration, but also achieve emotional balance and the ability to relax.

2. Visualise

Visualisation is a great way to improve concentration by visualising and keeping simple images for a moment.  As you train your mind, it’s a good idea to start lengthening your time and choose more complex images so that visualisation becomes a multi-sensory method over time.  It combines visual sensations with a sense of touch, taste, hearing and even smell.  How to use this method in learning Polish?  Well, it’s worth to visualise entire sentences in a given grammatical structure, and then ‘transfer’ the example to another context.  Sounds complicated?  That’s just the way it appears!

3. Or maybe writing your own abstracts?

This is a very interesting method, because while creating your own mind map or writing notes, it forces focus.  It’s also a great way to remember a large amount of information from a program, book or article.  In addition, it allows us to choose the most important messages that will be useful later.  Another advantage of this method is working on the ability to provide detailed and concise information and your own thoughts.  It is certainly a solution that is worth applying while learning Polish!

4. Take a break

The brain is an organ, not a machine, and it needs rest during intensive work.  This is especially evident when we start to err or run our thoughts from the task at hand. Then give yourself a moment, stand up and do some exercises.  The brain will rest and be oxygenated.  A good solution is also reaching for a glass of water and some food providing the necessary energy.  So remember about the break, and you will surely return to your activities with new strength.

5. Eliminate the “distractions”!

Many of us are looking for beneficial methods that will improve and teach concentration.  We often forget, however, that there are quite simple ways.  To improve concentration, especially when learning Polish, it is worth to turn off the “distractions”, which include, among others, telephone, email, all messengers and devices that generate unpleasant sounds for us.  As you know, not every task can be performed with music, even if it’s quiet!

Focus on one thing only.  Multitasking is a desirable feature, but it can be a hindrance to achieving your goal.  Trying to do several things at once, especially while learning Polish, does not allow you to achieve a good effect, but only extends the time spent on this activity.

6. Try diet, physical activity and sleep

This is a ‘magic three’ affecting the condition of the human body.  Why?  As you know, the diet of each of us should be varied, because food affects the body and mind.  Supplementing the diet should be drinking at least 2 liters of water a day.  An inseparable element of a good or balanced diet is the condition resulting from regular physical activity.  The cyclical nature of this perfectly oxygenates the body and also has a beneficial effect on our figure.  In turn, sleep is a time of regeneration, rest for both the body and the brain.  This is another, very key element undoubtedly affecting the absorption of new information while learning Polish.  Avoid a fast food diet.  Products containing a large amount of sugar or salt, as well as saturated fat negatively affect the work of the brain and nervous system.  Excessive alcohol consumption or drinking too often also weakens your ability to concentrate.

POLISH? YES, IT`S POSSIBLE!

I started learning Polish in the summer of 2017. I heard it was going to be a “challenge”. In fact, that’s all I ever heard, but honestly this was just background noise to me. This fact became important as I delved deeper into learning Polish.

Polish is a “category III” language, meaning it’s grouped with languages such as Albanian, Turkish, Hebrew and Finnish (as well as other Slavic languages) as being a language “with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English.” I’m rather glad I somewhat went into learning Polish with an open mind and didn’t listen to all those “it’ll be hard” comments, because I surely wouldn’t be where I am today if I had.

I started essentially from the beginner level, and once I started I just wanted to continuously improve. The thing is, is that I’ve actually never learned another language before. By chance I found the Polish Language School KLUB DIALOGU in Warsaw. That`s how my adventure with Polish has begun.

It was a slow process for a while but after 1.7 years I got to B2 level and now I can understand and speak confidently in many situations. It gives me such a huge amount of satisfaction to know that in cafes, shops, in work and university I am not recognised as a foreigner.

It’s been said in psychological studies that speaking 2 or more languages is a “great asset to the cognitive process” and that brains of bilingual people “operate differently” than mono linguists, which is something that can have several mental benefits.

In general, it’s said that learning a second language can: boost brain power, improve ones first language, improve performance in other academic areas and provide better career choices.

Are these things true? I’d be really interested in your comments as I do have my own opinions from my own experiences!

I do believe that it’s so easy to just go along speaking English especially in big cities in Poland. But there are a lot of benefits to learning the Polish language and if one is lucky enough to be faced with the opportunity, it’s so worthwhile to do so. Many doors are opened. The point really is to learn the language, though, to at least an upper intermediate or advanced level, in order to feel that confidence and be able to fluently communicate.

Boosts brain power: Learning Polish for me has introduced an entire new way of thinking and an intricate system of quite complex rules, pronunciation and grammar. Having to very often switch between languages has been a skill I’ve had to acquire, which really hasn’t been easy (I don’t want this to seem like it’s been a breeze for me. Believe me, there have been times where I thought I just can’t carry on!) However, learning this skill has been a lot of fun as opposed to a burden. It helps me think ‘on my feet’ and think fast.

Improves first language: With this I somewhat agree, because I have learnt a lot about my native language, which is English, since I really had to research and learn some of the grammar structures in my own language to be able to understand why some things are as they are in Polish. On the other hand, actually, once I became more fluent in Polish and had to speak in this language more, I started to (and still do) get mixed up with words and sentence structures in both English and Polish. Sometimes I don’t even know or remember a word in English but in Polish it comes immediately to my mind.

Improves performance in other academic areas: Learning new languages improves cognitive skills; studies have shown that benefits of learning new languages include higher scores on standardised tests, in mathematics, reading comprehension and vocabulary by multilingual compared to monolingual students.

Learning foreign languages, for a lot of people, is testing, but fortunately, in the process it gives a lot satisfaction. People always appreciate it when you speak in their language even if it’s tough and you struggle a lot. Don’t worry, they are super eager to help you.

Don’t break down if at the beginning Polish seems scary and difficult! Step by step, sooner or later everyone is able to grasp it. Find the right school where you feel comfortable but a bit challenged. I found my place in KLUB DIALOGU Polish Language School in Warsaw, but you can find the right place for yourself, or perhaps it will find you 🙂 I wish you the best of luck!