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Posts by JonnyM  

Joined: 9 Mar 2011 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 15 Mar 2012
Threads: Total: 11 / In This Archive: 9
Posts: Total: 2607 / In This Archive: 2054 		From: Warszawa!
Speaks Polish?: tak

Displayed posts: 2063 / page 41 of 69
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JonnyM   
26 Jul 2011
Law / LICENCES REQUIRED TO OPEN A RESTAURANT/TAKE AWAY IN POLAND? [7]

1. What think or like people about French food and drinks in Warsaw ?

Unfortunately it isn't very populsr.

Is that a good idea to open something about France in Warsaw ? i know there are some restaurants but expensive or not so good...I would liek a bar/restaurant with degustation, typical food and drinks from France

There have been several such restaurants, some of them good. Unfortunately they have all closed due to lack of custom.
JonnyM   
26 Jul 2011
Life / Is it me or do people "seem" to live longer in Poland? Life expectancy among Poles. [52]

Recently back from my annual visit to Poland it struck me again how many old people, I mean really old people, seem to be alive and kicking.

Women in their 90's are still tending farms or riding cycles.

Or are they really 60 yr olds who just look old ?

Polish people do seem older than their western European counterparts due in very large part to an unhealthy diet. Added to that, people of a certain age are more visible - car ownership is lower and large numbers of people live in city centres.
JonnyM   
25 Jul 2011
News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]

Grzegorz_ Yeah I have no job

And Poland's economy is still strong and the government popular. Jobwise, you should think about going to England - plenty of Poles have and Poland's EU membership means you now can. That or start up a business - there are EU subsidies available that could help you.

Remember Grzegorz, joblessness isn't such a bleak prospect as it was under the PiS regime - you are lucky to live in a country whose economy is in safe hands.

Grow

Yes, the economy is growing. Thanks in very large part to the safe stewardship of the current administration who look likely to be given an unprecedented second term.
JonnyM   
25 Jul 2011
News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]

Do you think that you will impress anyone here with these bull*shits ?

This is the truth - as Delphi said, Poland is doing fine and it looks like the current government will get a second term. .

A certain amount of credit is due to Poland's EU membership. Access to export markets, foreign labour markets and of course the huge and effective subsidies that you said you would give back your share of. Have you done that yet?
JonnyM   
25 Jul 2011
News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]

Further proof that the current government is running Poland well. That and taking full advantage of the EU subsidies. Looks like Premier Tusk will be the first Polish Premier to get a second term!
JonnyM   
24 Jul 2011
News / Observations made by Her Majesty's departing Ambassador to Poland Rick Todd. [9]

Than you definitely did not bother to read the article. Step up? Yes, he is taking a post of Governor but the place is Turks and Caicos Islands so it is palm trees and golden sands after all for him. Perhaps It's time for well-deserved R&R.

True - I didn't read it. I'm quite envious, it sounds a nice place.

HM Ambassador debunked some of those myths more very effectively on the embassy website. In WW2 nobody helped the Poles more.
JonnyM   
24 Jul 2011
Study / Quality of Polish classes for foreigners [7]

Then the best is to have individual Polish lessons.

Yes

I know of a very good teacher of Polish located in Warsaw who speaks several Languages.
PM me if interested.

Likewise. Though there is a lot to be said for having a teacher who cannot speak your language.
JonnyM   
24 Jul 2011
News / Observations made by Her Majesty's departing Ambassador to Poland Rick Todd. [9]

They tend to rotate them between foreign postings and London based policy jobs. He's very much one of the stars - extremely pro-active and hard working so his next posting is likely to be a step up, one of the G8 or larger Commonwealth countries rather than palm trees and golden sands.
JonnyM   
24 Jul 2011
Food / Are there any real kebab shops in Gdansk? [20]

In Krakow kebab shops are absolutely everywhere which is a pity because i would prefer zapiekanki shops .
Moreover they do not serve lamb kebab, as a matter of fact there is no lamb available in Poland at a butcher's or supermarket that i know of.

Lamb is easy enough to get in Warsaw at better supermarkets. Good restaurants alo often serve it. I notice that most central Warsaw kebeb shops now have proper lamb kebabs.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]

@paw, second pic is a psych hospital. on way to prudnik from krk. In the arches on the tower are the skeletons of some of the former residents. Ive been there once many moons ago. The standard of care is shocking.

I've been there too. Amazing building.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
USA, Canada / Polish-American mutilation of the Polish language [75]

He was singing in the local dialect which I believe went extinct after the war with Warsaw's population dead or misplaced.

You can still hear traces of it, but most Varsovians nowadays are a couple of generations away from hicks from the countryside.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
News / "Callan Publishing" sues Polish copycats [15]

A student who doesn't know what they want, waiting for a magic wand, is a thorn in your side as a teacher. There's no sense that you are aiming at anything.

Exactly - it makes the job a hundred times garder.

Teaching schools don't hide their drive for profits too well. It really cheapens the process of learning. Playing to lame statistics rather than other ascertainable yardsticks of progress doesn't help either. It's all a game. I mean, what does 'lacking in vocabulary' really mean? For communication in a given level? If so then many aren't lacking in vocab at all.

In theory that's where the teacher comes in. But of course if they're nickel and diming the teacher in their drive for profits it doesn't really work. Even the quality training providers make it clear that initial and mid-way reports through an intensive course should be over-critical and the final one should show progress whether or not there has been any.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
News / "Callan Publishing" sues Polish copycats [15]

I always state 3 main objectives on the board and do a lead-in. That's almost impossible to do for a Callan lesson. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to follow the likes of Harmer as he is OTT but a little methodology through guidance is, for me, a pre-requisite for having a good lesson.

That makes a lot of sense. Partly it's why I like English File so much - the objectives are clear and the student is sure he/she has achieved them.

I've always thought that there's scope for a 'non-branded' course in Word format that the teacher can adapt. But of course 90% of language schools would hate the idea.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
News / "Callan Publishing" sues Polish copycats [15]

Have you taught from Face 2 Face, Jon? It's a Cambridge publication, I think. I'm currently using it with an EMPIK student. I recommend it, the Intermediate version at least :)

I've seen it and it looks interesting. For one to one I haven't used a book in years although I often lift ideas from books and re-present in my own format. Before I print it off, I often personalise a little. It isn't plagiarism, but it's quick and easy and the sts think you've been up all night making the lesson.

I can say that you can see the benefits for students in the first four levels

I once met a young lady in Poznzn who'd got to level 4 and couldn't ask "would you like a coffee". She showed me the Callan book and whe I read the foreword I was shocked.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
News / "Callan Publishing" sues Polish copycats [15]

That's true! However, if their PR departments were worth their salt, they'd come up with a Unique Selling Point (USP)

There are plenty of gimmicks, but the only real USPs I've seen are OUP with their English File course - short lessons, inductive grammar 60 (rather than 90) extendable to 120 hours, and the dreadful Reward serious, aimed at 'less-experienced teachers'.

Speak Up has been able to do that through their multimedia rooms.

Their method is interesting provided it's used well. It's possible to get up to upper-int without actually speaking, due to their way of dividing the courses into components and the multimedia assessment. If it's done well it's great, if it isn't it's truly dire.

It'd be interesting to know how Speed were able to get the rights to teach Callan here in Poland. Surely they couldn't monopolise the whole method!

AFAIK, they just buy and resell the books, the way Callan makes his money. I noticed they were calling themselves Speed Callan, so perhaps there was an additional payment involved.
JonnyM   
23 Jul 2011
News / "Callan Publishing" sues Polish copycats [15]

another that pushed the boundaries

Almost every published language course, series of coursebooks etc is cobbled together from others. There are very few genuinely new ideas. The art is to make it look like something new.
JonnyM   
21 Jul 2011
History / Poland and Orientalism [115]

murdered by Zionists were Christians not Muslims

Murdered or killed in battle?
JonnyM   
21 Jul 2011
Travel / Traveling around Poland - our photo stories with very personal commentary [225]

that most of these funds were generated by the Germans

Actually, we all pay.

Other UE members also build their highways for EU funds ( vide Spain , Italy, Greece ,

etc)
Spain, Italy, Greece joined far earlier.
[quote=Monia , it is a pity , we are the last .[/quote]
Interesting that you don't mention Bulgaria, Romania etc. They are the last. Lying again or just wrong?
JonnyM   
21 Jul 2011
History / Poland and Orientalism [115]

Read the original post of this thread and see that it explicitly compares partitioned Poland with Palestine today

There is no comparison. Poland wasn't the Germans'/Austrians'/Russians' home. Israel is the Jewish state. They made the desert bloom.
JonnyM   
20 Jul 2011
Feedback / PolishForums Motto? :) [149]

Polish Forums: You'll never leave (unless suspended)
JonnyM   
20 Jul 2011
News / Military power (Poland #21 in the world) [97]

They employed you just like thousands of other civilians and the papers you had to sign were the same as guys enetring military areas to pump the sh*t out have to sign.

Very likely, though I was doing much more interesting and classier things.

As always you were pretending to have some special knowledge, connections et

No. Just professional experience over several years and longstanding friendships.

Enlighten us please. Ah sorry, I forgot... It's top secret of course...

I don't know about 'top' secret, but yes, it is a professional secret. Stop trolling.