In July last year I started to attend classes at the Polish Linguistic Institute in the center of Warsaw (PIJ: 'Polski Instytut Językowy'). Now, 7 months later I passed a couple of exams and am now following the A1.2 course.
A fellow Dutch expat living in Warsaw recommended this school and I did not regret one second of my time there. I did not have to compare prices with other language schools, as the advice came from another Dutchman. The stereotype says that we are tight, on the money. I would prefer to call it that we always want value for money. Like you.
A fellow Dutch expat living in Warsaw recommended this school and I did not regret one second of my time there. I did not have to compare prices with other language schools, as the advice came from another Dutchman. The stereotype says that we are tight, on the money. I would prefer to call it that we always want value for money. Like you.
Radio show
The Polish equivalent of my name Vincent would be 'Wincenty'. It is a pretty rare name nowadays, but I noticed a few in Polish media. Like last week on the radio, where they had this game where people could call and win a prize. A woman was asked to conjugate my name in all cases.
The Polish language has 7 cases. 7 singular plus 7 plural. Oh lord. In Dutch it's just Vincent, in any grammatical form.
Hang tight. Concentrate. Focus.
 |
| Singular and plural forms of my name in the 7 Polish cases. |
Right. Let that sink in. And breathe on.
The woman won the prize but was really struggling when the radio host started firing cases at her like he was holding an Ak47:
'Biernik!'
'Errr errr...Wincentego.'
'Plural form!,'
'Oh shit oh shit, errr errr Wincentych?'
'Dopełniacz!'
And this went on and on, this woman was struggling. Big time. In fact it felt good and confirmed that us students are not the only ones who struggle with the language sometimes :-)
Learning methods
The methods used at my school are not unique, but to me these were new. I can remember the first lesson, my teacher did not use one word in English, just Polish. That raised a few eyebrows I can tell you, but it went surprisingly good. The following lessons you really need to prepare good, as you will need to answer questions in Polish.
I knew around a hundred words before starting the course, but I really had to work hard in between lessons to not make myself look like a fool during classes. You can know thousands of words but making sentences is a whole different ball game.
The method is proven to be successful, you get thrown into the deep but are not drowning. You are forced to speak Polish,
in a nice way.
Melting pot
Students come and go, my current class is totally different than my first. Classes are always small groups, which is a good thing because it does not give you a chance to dream away. Nationalities of my classmates so far: Chinese, Brazilian, Kenyan, Australian, Lithuanian, US American, Peruvian, Italian and Japanese.
I always arrive early as I do not like to rush. I like to prepare myself with a coffee and talk a little bit with students from other classes. It's funny to see how football connects people. People who know me good know that I am very passionate about it, which resulted in nice chats with guys from Spain, Dominican Republic and Colombia.
A true melting pot.
Location
The school is located in Warsaw city center.
First I take the bus, as the train tracks are being replaced, a big project which will probably finish later this year.
After hopping off the bus I always choose to walk to Mazowiecka street, where my school is located. Coming from a village, the walk along Marszałkowska street gives me a buzz. That will never change, I cannot explain it. The impressing Palace of Culture and Science, the huge skyscrapers, tons of buses and trams passing, love it. It is a 15 minute walk to school, but I tend to take more time for it. I can remember good that this really old 'babcia' (grandma) overtook me. Only later I found out that Polish babcias have super powers.
Area
Śródmieście (downtown) is such an amazing district, so much contrast. I had the luxury to spend time for myself after the lessons. I have found, and still find, many hidden gems of Warsaw there. Even places which locals did not even know. There are so many stories that I started to maintain a blog and photo account, where I regularly post content.
Blog: facebook.com/mywarsawdream
Photos: instagram.com/twentewarszawa
The woman won the prize but was really struggling when the radio host started firing cases at her like he was holding an Ak47:
'Biernik!'
'Errr errr...Wincentego.'
'Plural form!,'
'Oh shit oh shit, errr errr Wincentych?'
'Dopełniacz!'
And this went on and on, this woman was struggling. Big time. In fact it felt good and confirmed that us students are not the only ones who struggle with the language sometimes :-)
Learning methods
The methods used at my school are not unique, but to me these were new. I can remember the first lesson, my teacher did not use one word in English, just Polish. That raised a few eyebrows I can tell you, but it went surprisingly good. The following lessons you really need to prepare good, as you will need to answer questions in Polish.
I knew around a hundred words before starting the course, but I really had to work hard in between lessons to not make myself look like a fool during classes. You can know thousands of words but making sentences is a whole different ball game.
After the first trimester I was ready to introduce myself, on camera:
The method is proven to be successful, you get thrown into the deep but are not drowning. You are forced to speak Polish,
in a nice way.
Melting pot
Students come and go, my current class is totally different than my first. Classes are always small groups, which is a good thing because it does not give you a chance to dream away. Nationalities of my classmates so far: Chinese, Brazilian, Kenyan, Australian, Lithuanian, US American, Peruvian, Italian and Japanese.
I always arrive early as I do not like to rush. I like to prepare myself with a coffee and talk a little bit with students from other classes. It's funny to see how football connects people. People who know me good know that I am very passionate about it, which resulted in nice chats with guys from Spain, Dominican Republic and Colombia.
A true melting pot.
Location
The school is located in Warsaw city center.
First I take the bus, as the train tracks are being replaced, a big project which will probably finish later this year.
After hopping off the bus I always choose to walk to Mazowiecka street, where my school is located. Coming from a village, the walk along Marszałkowska street gives me a buzz. That will never change, I cannot explain it. The impressing Palace of Culture and Science, the huge skyscrapers, tons of buses and trams passing, love it. It is a 15 minute walk to school, but I tend to take more time for it. I can remember good that this really old 'babcia' (grandma) overtook me. Only later I found out that Polish babcias have super powers.
Area
Śródmieście (downtown) is such an amazing district, so much contrast. I had the luxury to spend time for myself after the lessons. I have found, and still find, many hidden gems of Warsaw there. Even places which locals did not even know. There are so many stories that I started to maintain a blog and photo account, where I regularly post content.
Blog: facebook.com/mywarsawdream
Photos: instagram.com/twentewarszawa
You are very welcome!
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