Approximately 170 students from abroad have begun an intensive Polish language course at UW. For two weeks, the participants of the course will be learning phrases and expressions useful during their stay in Poland.

The course will provide Erasmus students with knowledge of the Polish language and cultures. They came to Warsaw from several countries in Europe. Most of them are Italians, Spanish, German, French, and Turkish. Participants of the course will be learning the most useful phrases which they can apply in a daily life, e.g. at the University of Warsaw, public transport, shop or at the doctor.

“It is imagined to be a survival course which means not much grammar, not much difficult vocabulary to learn, just some useful expressions that you will be able to use in everyday life situations during your stay in Warsaw and Poland,” said Dr. Justyna Zych from the Polonicum Centre of Polish Language and Culture for Foreigners.

The participants are divided into 16 groups. The majority of them just started learning Polish.

“I came from Italy. I will study international relations here. I cannot speak a word of Polish. It is a difficult language. I decided to take this course just to learn some important useful phrases,” explains Elena Fontana. “I also do not speak any Polish. This is my first time in Warsaw. I thought that it might be a good idea to be able to speak a little bit of the language of a country I am living right now. The Polish language is really interesting,” adds Anouk Kaltenbach from Germany, who will study Psychology at UW.

“I already had a few Polish friends in Hungary and I was always interested in learning their language that is why I took a chance to learn it. The first day of the course was great. New books were prepared especially for us. I think I would like to continue learning Polish afterwards. I would like to use Polish in a scientific life as well,” stresses Mark Trauznitz, a student of International Relations at UW.

The intensive Polish language course is organised by the Polonicum Centre of Polish Language and Culture for Foreigners.