WHY DO POLISH PEOPLE THAT COME TO ENGLAND CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH?

Almost a truism there. Not the most linguistically-inclined nations on Earth.

the biggest problem the polish people had from their 'english' lessons previously was it was learned from books the teachers themselves could not actually speak it and from what i have been told they were also told that if they couldnt speak it properly then theyd be laughed at, this certainly did not help them also they never encountered a true english speaking person,

where i lived the 2nd language was german because of tourism, when ever i went into a shop (and sometimes still happens) somebody would be dragged forward to try and speak to me in german, my german is worse than my polish and that is no mean feat!

my wife used to teach kids english i went a couple of times to speak and answer questions the next generation will have the ability to speak both languages something their parents never had the chance to

further west from me Sczcien had loads of english speakers, gdansk the same it depends on the area.

as has been mentioned a lot of 'tradesmen' have travelled to britain and where ever in the world these people are less likely to be bilingual now before shooting me down, that is my trade also (electrician).

when ever there is a large influx of people they generally stick together the brits do it, so on and so on. i have heard some polish say that in uk they do not have to learn english as everything is in polish (or a great deal), certainly the polish government could learn a thing or 2 about that.

english is the universal language it does make some people lazy i for one hold my hands up for that, its all relative many of the poles probably wont speak proper english i have a few mates from my home town who could have the same said about them!!

I suspect I will get struck down by lighting if I cross the threshhold of a church nowadays and I suppose loitering about outside would look a bit suspicious too.

I did try posting on a local Inverness Polish community but nic so far.

I have managed to shop in Pawel i Piotr Polskie Sklep and be understood enough to come away with sausage (kiełbasa) etc. and make a superb bigos which my Highland friends devoured with joy.

It might be useful for there to be a thread where similar minded individuals could contact through the forum and get some cultural exchange in their local area.

Sozzz, I just saw the Penpal thread ...ooops przeproszenie

Keep at it, you will have some joy in the end

Na pewno

Aj in Anglia. Aj no spika Inglisz.

Why you no speak the Engleesh? (sic).

bicose dis is wery not needed i work with my polisz obszczymurki and we say kurwa a lot. its inaf.

Poland was isolated from the West/capitalism for many years, and only really smart and passionate people were learning English, often in their own time, using any possible resources. I think mastering a language is a matter of personal dedication rather than money spent on the process. We have a long history of fascination with USA, including myself, because forbidden fruit is the best. If there was censorship regarding letters and parcels from English speaking countries, it meant for me that, most probably, those countries must have been attractive to be living in. So I kept digging into English grammar and vocabulary...Also, the focus in Polish schools is not put on English, because our authorities are scared that you will learn English fast, go abroad and have more money than them...And one more thing, Polish people take criticism very badly when studying...Always putting on a brave face, but shivering inside...I would love if only English speaking Poles came to Ireland and UK, but it is the survival of the fittest, not the most intelligent...Welcome to the jungle...

To improove it

And that's where the problem lies.

Budgets are too tight for councils etc to be publishing leaflets in several other languages - they had a total of nine options on the last council form I saw. All that happens as a result is people don't bother learning, they don't see the point, and several years and a few kids later, they're passing the phone over to their children and getting them to translate for them.

Apart from the obvious limitations, not learning English just leaves people wide open to being ripped off. In my day job, I've spoken to so many Polish (and other nationalities) people that have ended up with credit cards and loans etc and they didn't really understand crucial points, like the repayment terms, as they didn't understand the what they were getting into.

Britain is a country totally without any logical or commonsense at the moment.

I used to think this way but since I'm in England I have met Polish people from various backgrounds and I have realised a lot of them had no opportunity to learn English (they weren't able to afford it because what they teach us at school is nothing and private lessons are very expensive in Poland/they are not very smart/they had to help parents and early start work so couldn't have studied). A lot of them came to England to work for shyt money because that's the only way for them to make their families in Poland survive. No one expects them to speak English, they only work and trust me, they don't do this for fun or pleasure but simply because they have no other choice.

I think i've touched on this before, i think it has a lot to do with what happens when you arrive in the uk, i am going to talk specificaly about Polish people as this is a Polish forum, so its not just a problem i find with Poles.

OK here goes, there are two groups of people in a KFC (no i'm not making this up) a group of Polish (I know and understand a bit of Polish when i hear it) and some Koreans (I know because i went over to speak to them) 3 Polish girls and one guy, all Korean girls.

I didn't realise until i sat down with my friends that the Koreans were all speaking English even though they were not with anybody who didn't speak the Korean language. One of them happened to ask my friend for some ketchup as they could not be bothered to que up and wait 20 mins to get a few from the counter. So i took the oppertunity to ask where they were from etc etc. We got onto talking about language and i asked why three Koreans would be speaking English when none of the people round the table did not speak Korean. She simply said 'When we are in England we practice our English whenever possible so that our vocabulary improves'. To be honest i was impressed and told her that in my opinion it was an unusual but welcomed approach.

All through our conversation the group of Poles were just speaking Polish, not one word of ENglish was spoken. Not only the KFC incident, i have also had a few more experiences with different groups of friends where the Polish at their house parties etc speak just Polish, even when there is a population of English or other nationalities present. I do not find this with Austrians, Germans or even the French.

I have come to the conclusion that it is about effort and a willingness to join in and be part of the society around you and willing to mix with those in the local community. I have no problem with four or five foreign nationals living in a house together as long as they have the basic English language skills to work and communicate outside of that house.

I know through experience that people (British) feel that the Polish do not make an effort to blend in, well this isn't the case at all, its just they tend not to speak English with each other when in a group of Poles. I've said enough for now and there is plenty more to say, thought i would just throw it out there and see what you thought

Thnx

T

And what happens if they don't ?

That's the problem as no one is doing anything "wrong" if they stare blankly at you and not have a damn clue what you're trying to say. You could be saying "Dial 999, I'm dieing!!" and they still wouldn't budge.

To me, this is real danger as what we've got now (through years and years of the problem escalating. This hasn't dropped out of a clear blue sky) is whole communities of people that have pretty much closed the door on the rest of society and just plod along as best they can.

There is an under-class of people that can't even ring their bank to get a balance without an interpreter, so what would they do if they were trapped in a burning building ? Ring 999 and ask for someone that speaks their language ?

I don't know what the answer is as such, but it isn't printing leaflets in several languages and pretending that will make everything ok.

We in Britain have been brought up with the touchy-feely, lets all be ourselves, respect other cultures whether right or wrong, mentality. Its called multiculturalism and it hasnt worked as we now have 'communities' that have become more like enclaves. Separation creates division and division creates conflict.

The American way is the best way I think as at least they've emphasised an overriding identity that can be shared by all. In Britain we think its bad manners to tell someone whos lived in this country for 40 years and cant speak English that maybe they should learn enough words to be able to fill out their invalidity benefit form without a £50 an hour interpreter.

Of course not, Why would they? It is completely artifical and odd.
But If there are Polish and English as a group and Polish people speak between themselves in polish it is rude and doesn't show good manner. I never do it.

all this writing tornado ,,,what for :( why dont you say that the polish people are rude and that it !!!

Hello folks,

This entire thread reminds me about one thing which I saw some time ago and found quite amusing, indeed. So, I took the liberty of digging it up in Google: uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gmOTpIVxji8 Anyway, enjoy!

P.S. Just remember about taking this with a grain of salt please, we do not want yet another flame war to happen, don't we? :)

Sincerely,
KW

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the tail is negative and vice-versa.

Don't, do we?

Hang on a second love i wasn't trying to point out the Polish and just the Polish, it was an example. I was mearly asking the question why it seems some people are willing to try and fit in where others are not so willing. Surely speaking English amongst yourselves, be it a group of Poles, Koreans, Spanish or whatever means your English vocab will improve, am i wrong??

The point is, i go into Subway for a sandwich, i hear people gobbing off in Polish and then when they turn to speak English to you, you can't understand a word they say and they can't understand you. If they were working with English people, the language skills would be better, the more you speak the lingo the better at it you will become.


no mate i don't think they are all rude, of course there are a few, i'm just asking why some feel the need to slag the country off yet don't make any attempt to 'fit in' and what bugs me more is when they work in jobs that include communication with the customer and cannot speak understandable English.

That bugs me too, as well as the fact that people with such a poor command of the language end up with jobs in the first place.

There aren't any jobs where being able to speak the language of the country that you are working in is optional.

Yet isn't that exactly what British and American people do on this site about Poland ?

Look at some of the threads on here where the complaints about Poland are numerous and how many British and American people can speak Polish.

It's the same the world over and is not unique to Polish people in the UK. It's fairly obvious that people will use their native language first if they are with family or friends , whichever Country they happen to be in.

If a Company recruits foreign workers and puts them into a job where they have to speak to people then it's the Company's fault for recruiting the wrong people don't you think ? You can't blame foreigners if they apply for a job and they are put into the wrong job function can you ?

I never cease to be amazed at how it appears to be one rule for the British and another rule for foreigners......

:)


How do you know they aren't trying to 'fit in' as you put it ? You just said yourself that when they turn round to you they attempt to speak in English. Surely that is trying to 'fit in' ? It's hard to learn a foreign language and assimilate oneself into another Country, it isn't as easy as you think it may be. Go and live in Poland for a while <or any other foreign country > and feel the experience first hand for yourself.

why do english people that come to poland cant speak polish?
why do english people that come to spain cant speak spanish?

i have been in so many bars in spain where i have to speak english because the fuc*ing waiter cant speak spanish , so fuc* this thread

ps : and not only that , you do the force to speak english with the waiter and look like you are from other planet in your own country

Despite your horrendous language you do have a point. Large amounts of Brits do head off to live abroad in countries where English is not the first language but they have no clue of the native language of that country. It's entirely up to the individual to improve their language skills in that country.

sorry for my horrendous language my lovely moderator (is that better?)
is true that is up to the individual , but what is not normal is go to a country expecting that everybody speak english.sadly the english people have this wrong attitude :(

i would like to know how many english people living in poland from this forum can speak polish , (only seanus and the others teacher probably )

Hmm, I think I'll let that one slide then... ;)


It may or may not be that the English have the wrong attitude. I sincerely doubt there are many who moved to Poland and expected English to be widely spoken there though. Especially those who moved to Poland say ten years or more ago.


I think the number of ex-pats in PL who speak Polish is reasonably high. I sincerely doubt they would get by in Poland with English only so probably picked up Polish along the way.

it is not really the fault of the person employed, it is the fault of the employer, however at the same time. If you are not fit for the job and you probably would consider when dealing with the English public that a grasp of the language maybe helpful but yet still apply for such jobs!!!!.


we are not talking about British people abroad, we are talking about THIS country and the people in THIS country, not those outside of it. So could we please keep this on 'topic' your a teacher so you can read the topic i assume :). It really annoys me when you get all high and mighty, don't do it!!!


as i said above, i was not picking on the Polish but this is a Polish forum, is it not??

I don't care when the Polish speak Polish, i just care about them being able to have a conversation when providing me with a service, is that to much to ask??


i've covered that above, there is blame with both parties, i don't apply for jobs that ask me to speak Dutch because i cannot speak it. Surely its the same for Poles who cannot speak English, work in a factory, not at the front of a shop directly involved with customers.


I don't mind people attempting to speak English, in fact at university/college etc etc i used to help Polish/French etc etc with a bit of English language here and there. The problem arises when you put people who cannot speak english, in a position where they need to speak it.


lol, as i said above, read the topic :)

Well, I guess those Poles (or other foreigners) had no way to verify their language skills earlier, they trusted their English was good enough when applied for the jobs. For a native speaker it's really easy to decide after a few words or sentences whether someone is communicative enough or not, so I guess the employers must be crooks, because they give work to cheap labour force knowing this "labour force" won't be able to satisfy the customer.

That's an interesting outlook. Whether or not anyone is interested or cares, if you desire to work within the care sector now you must possess or be working towards an SVQ level 2 (at least in Scotland). My company (which is a centre of training and excellence apparently) took on a method which ultimately meant that the candidate (student) actually had to write almost nothing. Perhaps 6 lines per unit. When I queried why I was told that the certificate was now geared towards people who do not speak English. My reply was this "if you want people to gain a certificate in this field of work within this company then you will assess their progess using the English language. This is due to the fact that they wish to practice their skills in settings which use the English language. You will not assess their progress in this field of work in any other language other than English. If they fail to pass this qualification then they will not be able to attend to vulnerable adults in this setting without the supervision of an qualified member of staff." Speaking English becomes more a priority.

This pretty much describes the call centers located somewhere in India that most US customers have to deal with nowadays... :)