Two years ago, students at the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Löbau discovered for the first time just how much fun learning Polish can be. At that time, students in our Business and Language degree programme, acting on an initiative from the school, organized a project day focused on Poland and the Polish language with such impressive dedication that the school once again knocked on our degree programme’s door—already familiar to them—with the request to once again satisfy the students’ interest and curiosity about Polish.
Our WSPb17 students Dominika Bartecka and Justyna Gola, as well as Erasmus students Aleksandra Drąg, Natalia Frydrych (from Rzeszów), Justyna Ślężak, and Maja Kiedrowska (from Gdańsk), under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Małgorzata Maćkowiak, introduced the students to the secrets and unique features of the Polish language and culture on November 22, 2019, with great creativity and a sense of humor.
A great deal of hard work and dedication went into this. Preparing worksheets and colorful materials, designing role-playing games, and holding fun, humorous evening rehearsals proved that today’s young people are eager to get involved in new projects and can identify with the region and the university through their spontaneous efforts.
With overwhelming acting talent, they conveyed their own enthusiasm for the interpreting profession to the children through skits and recitations, which were met with applause from the children.
For our students, especially our ERASMUS guests from Poland, this was also an unforgettable experience:
“Today’s workshop with the children made it clear to us,” said Dominika Bartecka and Justyna Gola, “that it doesn’t matter which country we come from or what level of language proficiency we have. Openness and having fun together are ways to win the children’s attention and affection. We’re very happy that we had the chance to share a bit of our culture and spark the young people’s curiosity about our native language. We believe it’s very important in our region to get to know our neighbors. And with children, the best way to do that is through play. Many of them found the lesson extremely good. Their hugs and smiling faces at the end were the best proof of that for us—and at the same time, the best reward.”
