For the second time the Summer School of Polish Language, Literature and Culture organised by the School of Polish Language and Culture of the University of Silesia will be carried out remotely. For three weeks (1-22 August 2021), students from all around the world will study Polish and Polish culture virtually, yet in an attractive way.
The classes, workshops, lectures, and seminars will be carried out with the use of internet platforms and modern communicators. After three semesters of pandemic-forced online work, the academics of the University of Silesia and the employees of the School of Polish Language and Culture have a great experience in carrying out classes in such a way. The difficult situation has brought excellent results, numerous attractive educational materials and new forms of education have been developed.
Just like every year, the participants of the summer school will study in groups of different language proficiency, to which they will be assigned based on the results of placement exams. Daily studies will be intensive: classes on Polish, cultural programmes, and virtual trips as well as seminars on “Knowledge about Poland” about the Polish literature, culture, art, history, and socio-political situation. The lectures will be conducted by the University of Silesia academics, who are outstanding experts in these fields. Additionally, students will take part in language games, theatre and film meetings, poetic performances, as well as music and cooking workshops.
The organisers of the summer school have to face a big logistic challenge, i.e. to compose a well-adjusted schedule for participants of various time zones. The classes will be conducted in three channels: for time zones in Asia, Europe, and America. There can be as many as 11 hours difference between China and Brazil, therefore some activities will be recorded and available at any time. Polish classes will be conducted from 7 a.m. for six groups from Asia until 7.15 p.m. for both Americas.
The online mode does not exclude trips. There are virtual trips to Cieszyn, Katowice, Pszczyna, Tarnowskie Góry, Kraków, and the Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau planned. The lectors have prepared a series of reports, talks with guides, and exercises, which will be presented during the real-time meetings.
According to our tradition, a few events will take place on 15 August: International Orthography Competition – Polish test, which will prove the Foreign Master of Polish, as well as the Meeting of Cultures and Traditions, during which students will present culture and traditions of their motherland. The events will be shared for the interested on the School of Polish Language and Culture website and fan page. All people who are willing to can write the international dictation. Thanks to new technologies, the traditional programme of the Summer School of Polish Language, Literature and Culture was enriched and shared with a wide group of recipients from all around the world.
At the same time, a remote course for foreign lectors will be organised. The course will be attended by teachers, lectors, and people who intend to work as a teacher/lector in the future, promoting the Polish language and culture abroad. The School of Polish Language and Culture is the only centre in Poland, which received accreditation to conduct such a course. There is a cycle of attractive classes in teaching Polish as a foreign language, workshops, seminars, and conversation classes planned for the participants, i.e. classes on didactics, changes in the modern Polish language, programmes that can be used on various stages of education, cultural texts, tests and exams, Polish cinematography, and the system of certification Polish as a foreign language.
The projects are co-funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, European Union under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, and national budget.