Work / Advice for a worried English stranger / Native speaker who wants to move to Poland [23]


You'll need to try and remember these terms because a lot of students know them and will ask you questions using them. I recall the terror of first being asked by a student, "Can you tell me about modal auxiliary verbs, please?"

We're the same generation and I know we never got taught grammar (at least terminology) at school.

Don't worry, it's not that hard to remember these things. Find a book like Heinnemann Grammar, which has simple explanations which you can use (without using te grammar you are trying to explain) and devour that.

Good Luck.

BTW: "Continuous" means a verb using the 'ing' form.
It usually suggests something is/was/will be in process at that moment (past, present and future)

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]


That's how it came about in the first place!


Grendel's mother... and she looked like Angelina Jolie (I wouldn't mind having that on a shield... or a breast plate)


More like Hard Candy club in Krakow.

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]


Nick Clegg?

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]


Didn't he do that in palestine, or somewhere. We had worms, like The Lambton Worm in Durham.

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]


wild boar

margaret thatcher


Funny, there's a tradition of hunting the wren on boxing day. there's a song, the cutty wren, about hunting it and cutting it up.

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]

At least they have eagles... (OK, after Czernobyl, I imagine Russia also has 2 headed ones), but there aren't too many lions prowling around the British Isles.

UK, Ireland / What's the rule on 'the UK' but just 'GB'? [60]


I believe it was from Russian diplomats writing in French and writing Le Ukraine

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Ukraine#.22Ukraine.22_versus_.22The_Ukraine.22


Perhaps not that much of a joke. In 1997 I was studying in Belfast and an English student who had brought his car over was offered NI registration plates for the duration of his studies.


And seas (but not lakes, funnily enough)


Isn't it a biblical thing, like the Lion of Judea?

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]

Also, places like Wolverhampton put a strong emphasis on education for those in the local community and those who might not normally go to uni. I think they and North Staffs Poly were some of the pioneers of access courses for mature students... it was a local college which was running an access in association with NSP which got me on the ladder (and for which I'm very grateful)

News / Today's holiday ("Three Kings") - Is everything closed in Poland? [25]


well, isn't it also orthodox Christmas Eve? maybe a nod in their direction. Otherwise, I agree.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]


If YOU don't consider them to be good, then why consider studying at them?

Chester has a decent rep and Notts Trent has a high rate of graduate employment. For all my joking about Wolves, it too has a decent rep for what it does.


If money isn't a problem, then a UK uni would probably be your best bet. The sandwich year allows you to make contacts and, as you say, make use of your Polish, as well as your English, in a German speaking country.

News / Today's holiday ("Three Kings") - Is everything closed in Poland? [25]

It's more significant than that...

As the three wise men came in the first said, "I bring gold!" The second said, "I bring Frankincense" and the third trod in a big cow poo. He said, "Oh, jesus christ!" and mary said, "Hey, Joseph, that's a nice name for the baby!"

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]


No idea, I'm afraid. I did all my stuff in Scotland and Belfast.


Yes, I know this. What I meant was how important do you personally feel this is to your studies (I think it's very useful but it does mean an extra year of study fees).


Weird... mind you, I notice they offer English... I didn't know anyone in Wolverhampton spoke it!

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]


Have you been to Wolverhampton? It would answer your question!

In Poland you'd have more chance to use german in the street, and maybe get some work as a tourist guide etc. As for a sandwich year, can't you take a break in your studies and just go and work for a year (or study) in Germany/Austria?

Another question to ask is what you are going to do afterwards. if you are thinking of staying in Poland when you finsh, all well and good.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]

It's a new BH for Epiphany (3 Kings).

You could try a couple of places tomorrow and if there's no luck, try monday.

Other things to consider about your studies; how much easier, financially, will it be for you to live in Poland/UK?

Poland is pretty expensive these days (obviously, not as bad as UK). Can you earn anything while you're studying?

Also, how long is the length of studies? This might be an advantage with working etc.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]

Ah, sorry. I see what you mean. I know very little about Polish unis, but there is still an idea that british unis do entry exams (which I don't know that many of them do). Polish ones might.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]

Oh well, good luck anyway ;-)


If you have qualifications (A-levels) they wouldn't need to test them. As far as I know, most UK unis don't insist on a compulsory list of subjects (so you don't have to pass a language course if you're not doing languages etc)

My friend did German and Swedish at Sheffield. The sandwich year, as you probably know, means living a year in a country of the language you are studying. Most of the guys I know who have done language degrees have said it was a great thing to do.

Concerning the questions of ratings, I wonder how much of it is to do with standards of publications from Polish unis.

As I understand it, doctoral students and above must have a track record of publishing papers. Due to the old dinosaurs in Polish academia hogging the road to the main publishing outlets many get their work published abroad, and damn the quality of the publication. My own experience of proofreading some of these things, and the experience of a colleague who teaches scientific English to academics, is that many do not care about their style of writing and don't care about getting a good translation done (it's just important to publish).

The upshot seems to be that the research is often misrepresented by bad English and perhaps deemed questionable. One student asked me why British academics rarely recognised Polish research and I stunned the class by saying openly it was probably because of bad writing and translation.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]


The thing is that a few years ago there were a number of good polytechnics. The polytechs all got changed into universities and some of them went from being acclaimed polies to lower-class unis (unfair, but it's how some people's minds work). Many of these 'lower level' unis provide very good courses (sometimes perhaps better than the high-level ones). A friend of mine studied at Sheffield and had a great time. She's now a head teacher somewhere in Scotland (she's English).


Try an ancient Scottish uni, like Glasgow, Edinburgh etc because the first degree is called a Masters. You can do a 3 year 'ordinary' degree and still be MA or 4 year honours degree and get an MA honours.

News / Pole-basher Gross up to old tricks [284]


I don't see what's at the side of the picture.


Of course, that's the only way skeletons come to be lying around, didn't you know?

of course, they may be what they are claimed to be, but they might also be from a pile of bodies from another source. There were a number of them around at the time, I believe.


Can you give another example, please? "Rising '44" came out a couple of years ago but the accusation of 'scientific flaws' dates from around '86. Were they specific at that time?

News / Pole-basher Gross up to old tricks [284]


quite possibly. Shell fire can uproot buried things.

Also, are those definitely the remaains of camp victims. They might just be unburied dead people.


Were the scientific flaws not mentioning Jews enough? (assuming we're on about Davies)

News / Pole-basher Gross up to old tricks [284]


And why was that?

News / Pole-basher Gross up to old tricks [284]

Not having read the book, I wonder if he makes the scavenging out to be something anti-semitic or whether he shows it as an act of survival.

The problem is that reviews and hearsay can distort whatever he writes into some kind of banal over-exaggeration.

Has anyone read it yet?

Life / Mental health problem or one of the grieving stages? Death and denial in Poland. [93]

Thanks, mate. It was 10 years ago and I'm in another country these days;-)

I believe she's happily 'partnered' (not sure if she's married) and doing well. Funnily enough, when I was home in England this summer, I saw her in the sudience on BBC Question Time!

Re: the marathon... we train for marathons and know what to expect. We're rarely trained for this kind of thing.

Best,

TREV:-)

Life / Mental health problem or one of the grieving stages? Death and denial in Poland. [93]


Thanks. It was a while ago.

Basically an ex-GF with a history of mental health problems (ironically she was also a MH care assistant) began to have a break-down (possibly cos we'd split up but I think that was just a catalyst) and began leaning on me big style, hanging around my work-place, calling at the house.

Eventually i rang one of her work colleagues and asked if she knew that her friend was cracking up and how a MH organisation could not notice one of it's members was in trouble. She was surprised and then asked... "And what about you, are you OK?" and it was like a cork popping to be asked. By that time it became clear I was pretty stressed out myself and the doc wanted to start feeding me happy tablets.

I really wish you both all the best and hope for a speedy and happy resolution to your own situation.

UK, Ireland / Do Poles in the UK pretend to be uppity because they have an inferiority complex? [60]

Maybe it's me but I sometimes find that because i don't speak Polish particularly well it is assumed I can't do anything else either.

Example: The woman in the post office kindly told me how to stick the stamps on the envelopes (bless her!).

People have shown me how to dig a hole (even though they knew I'd been in the army and had experience of such things).

People tried to teach me how to cut wood, even tho' I'd been living alone in a cottage, cutting my own wood, before they met me.

Life / Mental health problem or one of the grieving stages? Death and denial in Poland. [93]


Can I suggest that you also look after yourself. Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to chat with a professional to a) get some advice (mentioning no names etc about your GF) and b) because the stress and worry of watching over someone who may have mental issues can be very wearing on the partner. You might be affecting yourself with your worrying (I speak from bitter personal experience)

Good Luck.

News / Composer Henryk Gorecki has died. [28]

I don't know, I imagine there are many geniuses who are forgotten...

many we don't even know about in the general public.

I'd name a few but I can't remember their names.

UK, Ireland / I worry about the Poles working in the UK [77]


If they've made the commitment and started a family etc it would probably be better to stay (unless they are guaranteed a good job when they come home).

UK, Ireland / I worry about the Poles working in the UK [77]


I'd suggest those who do will survive as the crappy jobs are usually the ones which are needed boom or bust. Funny how McD's always note a rise in employment (and useage) during recession.


agree 100%


Apparently the new Matt Lucas show is full of 'blacking up' and it's caused a stir.

dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1342025/David-Walliams-Matt-Lucass-BBC-spoof-Come-Fly-With-Me-accused-racism.html

(it's a bit of a joke to say it's 'pushing boundaries' by using a style from 30 years ago)

UK, Ireland / I worry about the Poles working in the UK [77]


Indeed.

Actually it was a failed attempt at irony on my half. I just get fed up with people making out britain is racist as if it's the only place in the world which is.

Also, I hadn't twigged Mr B is british. My laziness in not reading the thread more closely.

UK, Ireland / I worry about the Poles working in the UK [77]


Isn't calling britain racist being rather ethnocentric?

I thought the thread was about the fall in job opportunities and economic problems.