If you’ve ever been to America you know that people love small talk. Everywhere you go you have to have these little chats about your day and how you are. For Poles, that would be a nightmare. For Americans, it’s actually necessary I would say. So why do we communicate in such different ways? How can you overcome the difference? Read on to find out.
In general, there is a huge demand for native English speakers in Poland. If you’re thinking of teaching English in Poland and you’re a native English speaker, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding work. But you may be wondering what your students will be like, where you can work, whether you need a teaching certificate, and how much you can earn. You’ll find the answers to all those questions here, and also why Poland is a great place to teach English.
You always hear that Polish is one of the hardest languages to learn. There’s are even memes that makes the rounds from time to time about the various version of the word “two” or “play”. And the memes have like 30 versions of the word and this is somehow proof that Polish is “unlearnable”. I have to say, I hate those stupid memes because it makes people think they can’t learn the language. But they can. Here’s my experience.
I realized recently I have a problem with the various forms of the word “friend” in Polish, so “przyjaciel”, and even for a long time I couldn’t remember the word at all. Finally, I know why. Poles seem to avoid using the word almost entirely and I just don’t hear it used often enough to use it properly. Why is that?
So, have you taken the plunge and tried driving in Poland? I know – for me it’s a lot different than in America. It’s scary even. I hate driving in new cities here – it’s stressful! There are many different rules and I never know who goes first. So, if you plan on driving here in Poland, you have to get a Polish driver’s license. Studying for the test will help you learn the rules as well. Overall, it’s a win-win, but it’s def a challenge.
You might have noticed that people in Poland are pretty formal with strangers. There are a lot of “Pans” and “Panis”, so “Sir” and “Ma’am”, being thrown around, which I often find just exhausting. It can be hard to know how this works, but how you address someone in Poland usually depends on how well you know someone, age difference and power distance. So how do you know when to call someone Pan or Pani? I’ll explain it in detail in this post.
Nowadays, parents are really concerned with their children learning English, which is totally understandable. There’s a lot of pressure on parents to speak English themselves, so it makes sense that they want to make it easier on their kids. The question is, when is the best time to get your kid started on their English-learning journey? Read on for my thoughts.
A little while back, I wrote about my experience applying for Polish citizenship, and it turns out I needed to take the Polish B1 exam in order to complete my application. WARNING: it’s not an easy test! So, how did I manage and how can you pass it too? I’ll give you some tips on just how to do that in this post.