Cultural Polish for Beginners

Is a museum a good place to learn a language? Of course! There is no language without culture and no culture without language.

In mid-September we are starting classes for learning Polish language through heritage. Museum exhibits will become an inspiration to develop communicative competences. We focus on exchange of ideas, learning from each other, openness to other cultures. Above all, we practice the ability to listen and speak in Polish in authentic, real-life situations. You are welcome!

Schedule of meetings:

12.09.2024 – Archipelago of resources

Museum objects will become a motive for conversation on universal, important tasks like family, worldview, cultural topics. We will visit museum “islands” that will direct the conversation. We will also practice describing objects and giving tchem the meanings.

26.09.2024 – Make your own museum fairy tale.

We will know some popular Warsaw legends and the vocabulary associated with them. Later we will create our own museum stories. Finally we will present them to other participants.

10.10.2024 – Curator for tomorrow

What would you like to tell the people of the XXII century about our daily life? During the meeting we will learn about museum cabinets and select artefacts. With their help we will tell about things that are important to us . Then we will create an exhibition having in mind visitors from the future.

24.10.2024 – Blind smelling. What spices did old-Polish gingerbread contain?

We will stimulate the senses with scents and at the same time we will whip up an aromatic gingerbread mixture. We will talk about old pharmacy medicines and herbs in the kitchen. We will practice vocabulary related to food and pharmacy shopping.

7.11.2024 – Colourful hats to make a decision

Six de Bono hats will help us enrich our vocabulary and discuss a topic from different perspectives. A hat of facts will help establish data, and a hat of emotions will help us think about what feelings they evoke. Add a hat of pros and a hat of cons to put things into perspective.

21.11.2024 – Heritage and emotions – meeting at the temporary exhibition about Warsaw cuisine

Eating, tasting, experiencing food evoke emotions. Some products or dishes can be really controversial. We will look at Warsaw cuisine through the prism of feelings. We will combine vocabulary related to food and emotions.

5.12.2024 – Intercultural game Sabir at the temporary exhibition about Warsaw cuisine

During this meeting we will visit the exhibition about Warsaw Cuisine and talk about cultural differences that manifest themselves through food preparation, customs and traditions around the table. We will check what unites us and what makes us different. Maybe we will learn new things about each other?

Practical information:

Applications are accepted via form: forms.gle

The program is dedicated to all those who want to learn Polish as a foreign language.

The classes are free of charge.

We meet on Thursdays every two weeks from: 17:00 – 18:30.

Meetings are held at the headquarters of the Warsaw Museum – at the “Things of Warsaw” exhibition and educational room, and at the Pharmacy Museum on Piwna Street.

The classes are held as part of the Pillot project and are subsidized by the European Union. The project is co-created by the Museum of Warsaw, Centrum demokratického vzdělávání www.muzeul-etnografic.ro, z. ú., Lux Langues SA www.inlingua.lu, Muzeul Etnografic al. Transilvaniei www.demokraticke-vzdelavani.cz, Stazione Utopia www.stazioneutopia.com.

The project is being evaluated, the participants are asked to fill out a questionnaire after each meeting.

For more information: Monika Michalek, monika.michalek@muzeumwarszawy.pl

The classes are conducted by:

Katarzyna Žák-Caplot – language and museum educator, librarian. Author of projects and books for teaching Polish as a foreign language in museums. Winner of the European Language Label.

Monika Michałek – museum educator and city guide. Graduate of a certified course in heritage interpretation – Interpret Europe. Studied Spanish philology and worked as a Spanish language teacher.

Marek Łuszczyk – employee of the Warsaw Museum, historian and varsavianist, museum educator. He is particularly interested in 19th century medical advertising and fin de siecle culture. In his free time, he checks the etymology of words and searches for books he could read if the day were longer.

Co-financed by EU funds. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme in Poland. Neither the European Union nor the grantor is responsible for them.