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11. Polish factsheet

български език Üdvözlöm

11. Polish factsheet

Polish-speakers learning English

Witan

Some differences

Common difficulties

Suggestions

The Polish alphabet consists of 32 letters. There are 9 vowels and 23 consonants. 1-1 correspondence between most sounds and letters. Script runs from left to right. Polish is not a tonal language.

Letter formation is similar to English. Letters look similar to English but some are written with diacritic marks. Difficulties pronouncing some sounds or with spelling if sounds differ in Polish.

Teach the letter sound. Teach the letter name. Provide an alphabet strip with upper case and lower case letters for personal use. Show pupils how to articulate new sounds. Play age appropriate alphabet games and dictionary games.

Difficulty with final -g sound. Pupil may say ‘k instead of ‘g’ of ‘-ing’ e.g. ‘He is runnick’ rather than ‘running’.

Place emphasis on pronunciation when using present continuous -ing form in class. Say sound and run finger under end letter if written form is available. Provide opportunities for pupils to hear sentences correctly modelled.

Pronouncing present continuous

Difficulty with negatives. Speaker will add ‘no’ in front of verb to make it negative e.g. I no go.

Use of negatives

Difficulties forming some questions. There are no ‘do you’ questions and these are implied through intonation. Speakers will say ‘You want?’ in a questioning voice with raised intonation rather than ‘Do you want?’

Asking questions

No definite or indefinite articles

Mixing up adjectives and adverb

Mathematics The decimal comma is used instead of the decimal point e.g. 0,5 instead of 0.5 , 35,8 for 35.8 .

Difficulty knowing when to use articles. No use of ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ in sentences.

Might say ‘They travelled slow’ rather than saying ‘They travelled slowly.’

Pupil may misread the value of decimal numbers. Pupil may ignore the value of the decimal point and misread the value of the digits. Place value: Pupil may confuse 1,00 (decimal number) for 1,000 (=1 000).

Correct speakers use of negatives e.g. If pupil says ‘I no homework’ –say ‘I do not have any homework’. Practise sentence ordering activities. Ask questions in correct, full manner and rather than ‘Homework please’ say ‘Do you have your homework?’ Correct mistakes by repeating the correct structure, sometimes asking the pupil to repeat.

Model correct use of article. Provide spoken or written examples. Do not overcorrect in written work. Provide opportunities for paired writing. Correct mistakes by repeating the correct structure, sometimes asking pupil to repeat. Demonstrate links between verb and -ly adverbs. Provide opportunities for paired writing. Provide adverb-verb matching games. Say numbers aloud. 1,00 = 1.00 = 1 unit Explain concept using practical equipment and games, if appropriate e.g. decimal bingo. Display headings over decimal digits with their fractional values. Write full date on board.

http://www.education-support.org.uk/ids

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11. Polish factsheet

Other information about Poland Education is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16. School starting age lowered to age 5 in 2011. Pre-school education: for children age 3-4 years is voluntary schooling Some pre-school institutions (especially in city areas) provide English language classes for children aged 5-6. Primary education: for ages 6 (5 from 2011)-13. Stage 1: age 7-10; (for Grades 1-3, primary school). Stage 2: ages 10-13 (for Grades 4-6, primary school).

Education system in Poland

Secondary education: (post primary) Gimnazjum: 3 year lower secondary school for ages 13-16 year olds. Stage 3: teaching is based on separate subjects. Stage 3 covers Grades 1-3 of the gimnazjum. Upper secondary education: not compulsory (for ages 16-19/20). Third level education is available. The main foreign language at primary is English (then German and Russian). The main foreign language at secondary school is English (other languages provided are German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian). Polish is the main language of instruction in schools. The school year runs from September to June. Classes take place 5 days a week: 8.00am - 2.30pm. Corporal punishment is prohibited in Poland.

Types of schools

Main faiths

Public (state) schools and non-public (church schools, private schools) are provided.  Kindergartens  Pre-primary class attached to a primary school  Primary  Lower secondary: gimnazjum for 3 years  Upper secondary schools: age 16-19/20 years - Liceum: 3 years at upper secondary school for vocational training - Technikum (upper secondary school).  Special schools: for moderate, severe mental disabilities, multiple disabilities.  International/bilingual schools  Art schools; School for Sports Main religions: Catholicism; Orthodox religion. Other religions: Islam; Hinduism; Buddhism; Judaism. Main festivals celebrated: Easter; Christmas; Carnaval; Jewish Cultural festival; Andrzejki th (on 30 November is the start of Advent). For information on these faiths visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

Main language

Polish

http://www.education-support.org.uk/ids

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11. Polish factsheet

References: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/index_en.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Poland Europlus. Come and visit the countries wishing to join the European Union!, European Communities 2003. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2002. IES Language Centre CCC 2011 http://www.omniglot.com/writing/polish.htm Swan, Michael and Smith, Bernard. Learner English, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

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