UK, Ireland / Baby father doesn't know English but wants to go for the British citizenship [76]

Well now, a self-employed builder aka "freelance" or entrepreneur's another kettle of fish entirely, my hat's off to him.
Many an immigrant to the States, learned the language here and then built a business, e.g. "General" David Sarnoff, the founder of RCA (Radio Corporation of America)

Difference is, and a gentle difference, is that Sarnoff, Armand Hammer and scores of others almost one-hundred years ago, began learning English with a vengeance AS SOON AS THEY ARRIVED, because they wanted to do their new country proud, not only themselves. Sarnoff was a semi-literate news boy who worked from dawn till late afternoon every day, trying his darndest and working his tail off to read the newspapers he was selling and studying English as a boy in night school to help support his folks!!

8YEARS!!! By that time, Sarnoff, Hammer etc.. were FLUENT in their new language.

@See, Veles, I was right again! It's a double standard.

Travel / World youth day - Częstochowa, Poland [34]

What hurts even more, MUCH more, is reading attitudes posted such as yours which have forgotten the original meaning of "pc",and, as Francis said, have become like couch potatoes, too concerned with comfort than with righteousness!!

The "truth"??? I beg to differ.

UK, Ireland / Baby father doesn't know English but wants to go for the British citizenship [76]

I can imagine. Wonder though whether if the tables were turned, so to speak, the Polish gov't. would be quite so generous in the reverse in allowing practically some random Brit, illiterate in Polish, to just go take up residence in Poland for years, barely able to speak a complete sentence in the language:-)

Guess cheap labor travels far - ain't nothin' so sweet as the smell of free stuff!

Travel / World youth day - Częstochowa, Poland [34]

Off topic Polonius, but I believe it was we W- ies who started the "season" long before there was a local police force:-)

Back to topic, his Holiness' presence adds spiritual luster and earthy humanity to EVERY celebration! That he should feel more alive speaking to the world's youth is scarcely surprising in that good works and kind deeds keep all of us young.

UK, Ireland / Baby father doesn't know English but wants to go for the British citizenship [76]

And this guy has the bleedin' nerve to want to become a CITIZEN no less???!

You guys ought to follow the German example; give the bloke a language test and see how well they score!
Base citizenship on degrees:-)

What some of us'll do for a free roof over our heads.

No stranger to the type though, Dreamer, after all, I live in America!!

Travel / World youth day - Częstochowa, Poland [34]

Quite correct, Atch, right on the money!

I myself can think of less than handfull of prominent Irish Jews who even identified with both their Erse as well as their Jewish heritage, moreover, were almost completely assimilated into Irish culture, namely, Lord Mayor Robert Briscoe and Fred Rosedale, the latter being the sitting head of Ireland's Jewish community:-) Both were full Jews and to my knowledge, Lord Mayor Briscoe never converted!

I'm sure there're more, but these are the only two I know off the top of my head.

Back on topic please

Travel / World youth day - Częstochowa, Poland [34]

Then you don't know your own history, smurfLOL

Language / Learn Polish or Russian [86]

It's language remains nonetheless one of the two or three most widely spoken on the planet:-) Most native Russian speakers (and not necessarily only ethnic Russians either, but Armenians, Azerbadzhanis etc.) don't really know English. A number know German or French, yet Russian itself remains IMMENSELY practical, make no mistake!

Travel / World youth day - Częstochowa, Poland [34]

Pope Francis took but another major step in trying to heal the deep wounds between Catholics and Jews by making that difficult pilgrimage to Oświęcim aka Auschwitz-Birkenau in order to stop and meet with both Christian and Jewish survivors:-)

Hats off to you, your Holiness!

Language / Learn Polish or Russian [86]

Both are practical, only Russian has a greater speaker percentage:-)

Poles are more numerous in the Western European service sector, however, e.g. in Britain still, as well as Germany since forever and a day!

Work / Is finding an engineering job in Poland difficult? Do I have to be fluent in Polish? [17]

It would sure help to know Polish if you are looking for an engineering job in Poland, that's all:-)

Work / Is finding an engineering job in Poland difficult? Do I have to be fluent in Polish? [17]

It sure would help.

Study / Is there an elementary school with English as a main language in Poland? [14]

...because then it becomes "GLOBLISH" aka "GOBBLEDYGOOKENGLISH" no longer English, nor German, nor Polish, nor French, but some mutant mishmash, unrecognzable as either language:-)

To make a long story short, if the instructor in question is a bonafide, one-hundred percent native bilingual in both the language they are teaching (in this case English) ALONG with, as opposed to in place of, their mother tongue, I'd have no qualms whatsoever regarding their qualifications, as already stated once prior.

However, my dismaying experience up to the present has been that all too frequently, the English 'teacher' is a state-sponsored hack, with bare minimum credentials required in order to convey the nuance of the language other than merely knowing the right words to fit into the correct grammar slot, a task easily accomplished through rote memorization vs. truly competent native speaker UNDERSTANDING of what is being taught! Challenge their usually non-native pronunciation for even a moment as I once did in Berlin while asked to observe and evaluate an instructor, and I though WWIII would break out, such vituperative bile as I've never experienced here in the States when doing same for an American-born German instructor:-)

Competence definitely does NOT cut both ways, and the double standard for teaching ESL here in the US for example is appalling!

Study / Is there an elementary school with English as a main language in Poland? [14]

If there are (and there most probably are by this late date!), let's hope that the teachers are at least NATIVE English speakers, either from the UK, the States, Canada, or even Australia! It's not merely enough that they are "teacher certified" from some European university of unknown quantity, they ideally ought to be first-language speakers of the language which they are teaching:-)

No, I'm not some cabbage-patch kid either and I realize that grade school teachers' salaries are often a bleedin' jokeLOL Nonetheless, the joke will continue to be on those Polish pupils, who might never truly learn to speak English correctly, only learning to dutifully mimic the usually questionable pronunciation of their native Polish teachers.

While it's not their teacher's fault per se, ingrained errors, year after year, generation after generation, are nearly as impossible to get rid of as a bad computer virus!! Poor language quality in the long run affects EVERYONE, including those who don't even realize they've become contaminated.

How can teaching, for that matter any profession, exist without rock-solid standards?. Here is where the Polish government will play a vital role.

News / Poland directly threatened by ISIS. Do Islamists planning terrorist attacks in Poland? [390]

King Jan Sobieski drove the Turks out of Eastern Europe, if I recall:-) Now, they've returned.

Politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows:-)

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

That's because Russian business has been hell-bent on Americanizing, Poland retains a heavy dose of socialism (to her credit, I might add - no pun intendedLOL).

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

Precisely, the "Kuendigungsschutzgesetz" goes strictly according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic concerning the period aka "Frist" during which time an employee may be both hired as well as terminated:-)

Much of Eastern Europe since the collapse of the Wall in and around '89-'90 has turned into a nightmare of out-of-control greed as an overcompensation for generations of Soviet-regulated government control. The most egregious example of this problem of course is Russia!!

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

......and I him, that HE'S fired!!!

Couldn't agree with you more, Alltimegreat1:-) It's capitalism on steroids and the only thing that can stop it before it continues to infect Poland and other countries like the cancer it is, is for there to be some mega political trainwreck so that people finally wake up:-)

Germany still has rules and regulations regarding hire/fire, "Kuendigungsfrist", they call it, if memory serves me correctly.

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

Majkel_temp, your approach to the employment situation of simply hire/fire at will, without giving prior warning, without concern for the employee let go, without standard, along with the philosophy "Don't suck..!" (which I presume in plain English means "Always be certain to do a good job!") makes you a prime candidate for business life in the US!!!:-) What are ya hangin' around ol' socialist Poland for, come over to the States, where anything goes...and anyoneLOL

Screw the other guy, that's the ticket!! (Donald Trump, I hope you're listening)

Lots of luck, dude:-)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Kind of have to agree with Chemikiem on this point, Alltimegreat1:-) Sorry, but generalizations cut both ways. While as I say, I lived in Germany for a bit myself, accomodations are mostly uniform throughout much of Northern Europe, I found!

Cultural stereotypes are a tough nut to crack.

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

About the latter, I honestly couldn't say:-)

Life / Working life in Poland [18]

Alltimegreat1, first and foremost is obviously to learn the language! As in Germany, Poles CAN be arrogant and self-important-sounding if they perceive, rightly or wrongly, that you don't respect their culture enough to bother to learn their mother tongue:-) Unlike in Frankfurt, even in Warszawa or other larger urban centers in Poland, people are usually hard-pressed to speak fluent English, try and try as they may.

Secondly, obtain a work permit and/or working visa throughout your stay. There's been talk about abolishing visas for visitors aka tourists from certain countries, but I'd advise you just to err on the side of caution.

Third, get hold of a fluent English speaker (either an expat Brit or even a Pole living abroad for a while!) to walk you through the ropes regarding daily business. It's likely to get a little sticky otherwise (if you know what I meanLOL)

Powodzenia!

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

A pleasure, sir! Hope to continue the exchange:-)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Impressive, sir! My hat's off:-) A mighty interesting take on the subject of self-expression being uninhibited by the empowerment of being able to say what one thinks in their native tongue:-)

Aller Achtung!

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Alltimegreat1, reading your post, I'm curious (as your profile says you speak no Polish) whether you don't speak German either:-) Although I've stayed away from Frankfurt for I'd assume the same reasons many others have too, I found most Germans I met when living outside Hannover years back to be charming, hospitable and lovely across the board!

Then again, I speak the language and they never needed to feel put out or the like.

Poles whom I met in Szczecin are much like Europeans elsewhere on the Continent; you meet 'em halfway, you're home free. You get unduly sarky or willful, WATCH OUT!!!

Love / Baby naming in Poland - name chosen by the father? [48]

Perhaps a compromise, say, "Justyna Rachel_________"?

Love / Baby naming in Poland - name chosen by the father? [48]

I suppose I meant according to the Church:-) Alternative family arrangements never entered into the equation.

Love / Baby naming in Poland - name chosen by the father? [48]

My wife and I have Polish friends from where we used to reside in Queens, and Krysia told us that traditionally the mother is the only one who may "officially" name the baby for its imienie or "naming day" (NOT "birthday") at the time of the christening. Perhaps this is only in small towns, but curious nonethless and as always would appreciate anyone's input:-)

UK, Ireland / Polish in Britain - will I get decked if I speak Polish to these people? [63]

The same for every nation: the outsider's an enemy until he shows himself to be a friend (hence the custom we inherited from the ancient Romans, namely handshaking - does the stranger to whom you extend your hand bear a weapon with which to do you harm?).

:-)

UK, Ireland / Polish in Britain - will I get decked if I speak Polish to these people? [63]

...and of course, there was always my idol, Joseph Conrad nee Kozlowski (??) going back over one hundred years and having learned English in his twenties as a young seaman, who became even as great a stylist as pure Beefeater Brits like Hardy, Waugh or Graham Greene (despite the fact that apparently from contemporary reports back then, his SPOKEN English was mired in a thick Polish accent and he made many mistakes!)