Summer courses in Kraków 5596PLN - your thoughts?

Hi

This is my first post and I hope one of many :-)

I've just started learning Polish and was thinking of taking a language holiday in Poland this summer. Many of my Polish students (in the UK) have advised that Kraków is the place to be!

I've done some research and I've found that the Jagiellionan University offers a four week course at 'Survival' level (in July only) - it's not intensive - 2 hours a day and it also offers lots of cultural and tourist events. Room and board (shared room in a dormitory) are included and there are some interesting lectures on Polish history, literature and culture in the afternoon that you can attend. I got quite excited about a lecture on the morphology and syntax of the Polish language....yes, actually, there are some of us who think grammar is fab!

Unfortunately, some of these lectures overlap the language part of the course - after it has finished :-( and the site isn't clear whether I could attend these lectures without paying for another language course.

Ideally, I'd like to stay for a longer period, say, 2 months but for 5596 PLN (just over £1,100) for four weeks it would be a bit expensive for me.

Could anyone let me know their thoughts, please? Is this a good deal?

Many thanks to all x

sounds like a rip of, ive just started a polish course for 6 month in krakow for 200quid, a dorm in krakow (shared) should cost 300pln during the summer as there are no students. You would be better coming over and renting an room from someone for 2months, and paying for private lessons for that amount of money:)

Is that £200 because you're there already? Is that price for a month or 6 months?

I imagine I could find a tutor on my own but it's the accommodation that's the problem. I thought an organized course would be a better bet. Saying that I don't know how much a hotel would be for a month in high season (July/August) but it is nicer when you know it's taken care of as part of a course.

If you do the maths here: polishsummer.com you'll see that you can get 4 weeks of an intensive course (5 hours a day), and accommodation included, for around £850, depending on your options and discounts.

Obviously it wouldn't have the theoretical discussion of morphology/syntax that you'd be hoping for, though, or as much discourse on Polish history/culture. Depends what you're after really, but it does sound a bit steep.

To be honest I was quite surprised when I saw the price :-( I think I was swayed by the reputation of the university.

Thanks for your opinions though x

Uni's steal ur money. There are online methods and a host of other ways to learn. This forum being one. Get a penpal. Prioritise ur learning. I've learned Polish and Japanese reasonably so I hope I can advise u on how best to maximise ur learning processes

Finefily,

Or.. you may easily find a polish folks who could teach you polish.. you could hang out with them, having fun and learning Polish in the same time without spending so much money for.. what you can have for free :)

200 pounds for the 6 month, lessons twice a week:)

Definitely the best way of learning a spoken language... and the cheapest :)

I googled also this:
angielski.co.uk/polish_poland.htm
A little bit cheaper then in Kraków.

Well, well done you! I'm not jealous at all (spit). I'll talk to you again in 6 months.....

Let us know how you get on with the course

Cześć!

Update on the course at Jagiellionan University - I won't be doing it.

I've just had my hours cut at work so I can't afford it now :-( However, I've looked into a few others (thanks Sajmon and Hiro). I've found places on other posts too.

I now have a fab Polish teacher with a similar sense of humour and I've reached 5 star level with my BYKI flash cards (beams).

Thanks for all your comments and ideas - much appreciated :-)

For fun, I attended a language course in Kraków in the summer of 1986 also at Jagiellonski University. I can not remember how much a paid but it was about £400 then and it was for six weeks. It seemed a lot of money and I suppose remembering inflation, £400 was a lot of money twenty years ago. We had a full programme of lessons every morning and the afternoons were free. It was a nice experience because I met so many people, especially from the United States of America. The food was excellent and we had a lovely breakfast and evening meal each day. It was more a 'cultural holiday' than a serious study course. You should do better by buying from amazon or e-bay a course in Polish with accompanying cassettes. The only thing is, of course, that student life is great fun and you meet so many people from all around the World with whom otherwise you would never come into contact with. I suppose that this is true of student life in general. I would not pay over £1000 for a four week course though.

You are welcome!

So.... powodzenia w nauce!

Maybe try this:
best.eu.org/student/courses/event.jsp?activity=gcr0y6d
Its much more cheaper than 5596PLN. But you have to be a student of one of european technical universities

Thanks Alf,

I had a look at the site and there is an interesting course on Geology. Otherwise it's not too good for me as I'm doing a PGCE at the moment and I don't think my University would be classed as technical.

It's a good link though and I'll pass it on. Thank you.

PS. Thanks to Michal too :-)

I just did a two week intensive course in Krakow and it was brilliant. I payed about £800 for two weeks (1 sunday off) one to one tuition for about 7 (lesson hours 50 mins ish) hours a day. It was spot on and definately improved my Polish. Plus I did a couple of excursions as part of the course.