Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

Yep, that seems to be the consensus. German has always been sort of touch-and-go, so to speak. Much as with Russian in the former GDR of the Eastern Block countries, Germany and Poland have had a rocky relationship to say the very least. Practicality notwithstanding, many Poles these days, would prefer to focus as Roger5 said on either French or English with translation studies instead of German.

The irony is of course that the majority of Poles who studied German know it better than English, both from the point of view of basic fluency, not to mention accuracy! It's this persistent myth that America has no culture, and so Poles will typically have read their compulsory Goethe, Schiller etc. resp. the French classics in the original, whereas in English most are relatively illiterate, save for trashy pulp-style fiction.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

For my two cents worth, Europeans as a whole are really growing tired of native English speakers with zero target language skills or real (certified) qualifications trying to make quick money by teaching English under the umbrella of "I'm a native English speaker!"

I don't wish to sound nasty or anything, but when I was studying in Germany, the so-called English instructors at local language schools often entered the field solely to meet, flirt, and eventually bed down with German girls!

Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

....and hopefully in the original!!!:-)

Can you imagine Mark Twain in Polish???! That's almost like Mickiewicz in English. It's a different bookLOL

Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

German, more difficult than English??!

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

There you are! Better a regular highschool, college and the like instead of a bloody language school:-)

Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

AMEN, zrozumieniec!!! Frame that last comment. That's been my battle cry for years now:-)

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Mine is without a doubt "Zakazane piosenki" (1947) with (??) Szlarafka! I needed several hankies during and after the film:-)

Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

No offense taken, rozumiemnic!

As my German is furlongs further along than their English, I just sneer back and mock their atrocious accentsLOL
It may not win me popularity contests, but hey, it garners respect in the long run:-)

Oddly enough, their poor English doesn't seem to bother most of them. They've got about the thickest skins (and heads) I've yet encountered!

Can ALL posters stick to the thread title please.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

Again, target ESL- programs at grade schools aka elementary through junior high and/or college or university!!
AVOID the Berlitz or local-type language schools. Believe me, they're a royal rip off, most of 'em.

You presumably want a serious, rewarding experience teaching English in Poland ( as I had in Germany). Admittedly, times were different, but for me, I headed straight for the established schools also offering English classes:-)

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Right on! "Popioł i Diamanty" along with "Kanał" remain true resistance era classics. Black and white - always the actor's best friend.

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Sure, 'cuz the actors in those movies BELIEVED what they were performing, not imitating what they've been scripted to say!

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Films in general nowadays don't seem to have "character actors" as in former times, since it seems so relatively few people as a whole have either character or personality any longer! Scripts/Dialogue reflect the times, and these are sorry times, I'm tellin' ya.

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

As a manager here in the States, I would simple NEVER hire someone who didn't speak English fluently, with as little intrusive first-language interference as humanly possible! Polish is a "hard" language??? Well, so is English. Therefore, JUST DEAL WITH IT!

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

Just to reiterate, there are doubtless tons of jobs in ANY country one can get without knowing the national language! 'Happens here in the States every friggin' day, e.g. the local coffee shop worker who knows only Spanish etc....

Thing is, without knowing, say Polish in Poland, you're simply left out of the rest of society!

But if you're happy living in isolation, congregating with other Yanks, Brits or Aussies, whatever floats yer boat, dude:-)

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

Yes, but I speak the national language! Those ex-pats who live in Poland and don't are left out, period:-)

Perhaps if one is simply travelling on business, being met by a US-pickup service at Modlin Airport and then shuttled to the Warsaw Hilton, or something, so as to avoid contact with the locals, then I'd say for the purposes of sheer practicality, "No reason to know Polish!".

This is though an isolated example. Other than that, I reiterate adamantly that working in a foreign country (even for a flagship firm from the home country or a multi-national) should make it incumbent upon the employee to learn at least a modicum of the language, basic phrases or daily expression etc.

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

The question is, JollyRomek, were you there on business or purely pleasure? In the latter instance, there's some justification for what you said. Most of us err on the side of taking the path of very least resistance:-) The greater the effort however indoubitably yields more rewarding results in the long run!

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

Hmmm, sort of a fool's paradise, if you'll gently allow me for saying so. I might leave for Hawaii tomorrow, basking beneath the palms, a cool drink in my hand, azure waters lapping at my feet and feel as if this were heaven on earth. Were I though to show serious and respectful interest in Hawaian culture, apart from her touristic blandishments, I would probably want to learn something of the language and engage in true communication with her people in THEIR native tongue, not mine, in order to derive some lasting benefit from the experience.

If you though prefer to sit on the sidelines as life in Poland goes by, enjoy her food and entertainment, while letting others do the understanding for you, I guess what's your pleasure is your privilege!

Enjoy!

PS
If your partner speaks no German (or even little English) and you even less Polish, seems to me, you're looking for a concubine, rather than a serious relationship:-) Just my two cents worth, that's allLOL

Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

On another note, when I first had any dealings with Polish people, I couldn't speak a syllable of the language either, and so relied on German. Many did not know English. I met a client from Poznań aka Posen and said to me in German that he wished to "absprechen" (odmówić/odmawiać) our appointment for the following day. Thinking he meant "to firm up" or "confirm" as in German, I arrived at the appointed spot, at the appointed hour, but of course he never showed. As the Polish expression means "absagen" (to cancel) in German, the guy figured he was breaking our engagement, rather than confirming it.

Needless to say, there was equal embarrassment on both our sides!

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

How to find work in Warsaw......."? Easy! Lots and lots of Poles know German, others Russian or French, many still, some variety of EnglishLOL

You know uuat aj tolkink??
:-)

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

To one who reads, e-mails, interacts, i.e. webcams etc. on a daily basis, it's scarecely "amazing", it's simply normal!
Yes, I live here in the States. And yes, you live in Poland. Why should any enlightened, sentient being claim amazement by stuff which most other enlightened people take for granted??

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

You mean "mUmbo-jUmbo"??

I've travelled enough throughout the world, i.e. Europe and Israel, to know that lack of knowledge of the target language where one is visiting/working or living can be a tremendous deficit, that's all I'm saying!!

Everyone abroad claims to know English. Everyone in America claims to have a driver's license. Not everyone does, and frankly, not everyone can. Some of us are less talented with languages, same with driving. So why not simply ADMIT IT??

Finally, yes, I can pass judgement about Poland because I too have been there, albeit not for long. I still have acquaintances with whom I remain up to date.

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

OK, JollyRomek. Let's just concede you're right! Is it a "must" to know German to integrate into German society?

In my long experience, whenever I've decided to do Germans a favor and speak in English with them (..only for their practice, of course), the results have often been questionable, at best:-) I've never really understood them, and they've never really understood me. As civilized humans, we've merely ended up being polite to one another. We've ALWAYS had to resort to speaking German. They felt weird, granted, but at least I understood exactly what they meant and they could express themselves naturally.

When last in Poland, in Szczecin (Stettin to you), I was invited to a journalist's talk. If I hadn't spoken Polish, the entire evening would have been an exercise in futility.

Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that you don't quite understand what I mean:-)

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

JollyRomek, I somehow doubt that if English were your first language you would've missunderstood my prior post(s):-)

Language / Frustrated Polish Learner -- people in Poland try to speak to me in English [31]

Stand yer ground there, xerxes2 ol' man! Don't let 'em scare you off from some honest communication. If you really truly knew only a few words and your partner was actually "fluent" in English, then I'd probably say "Screw it! Speak English."

Apart from that (as this is not the case here), keep on speaking Polish and sooner or later they'll relent:-)))

Life / From Sweden to Zakopane (permanently), possible? [23]

D'you plan on visiting any other cities in Poland, Chris? I'd recommend Szczecin.

Life / From Sweden to Zakopane (permanently), possible? [23]

Which Polish city/town is most similar to Goteborg paa Alven? I know only of Wrocław nad Odrą, but unfortunately, I've never been!

Polish won't be that hard for you. You already know Swedish and English:-)

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

....sounds like the reaction of the crowd I was with when I first saw "Zakazane Piosenki"! When the first strains of the Warszawianka began, I saw my neighbor start dabbing her eyes with a tissue. And by the time our heroine played by that wonderful actress whose first name's Szarafka (or something like that), slowly began singing the final stanza of the above tune, there was scarcely a dry eye in the house (including my own).

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Thanks!

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Poles, like many non-Anglophones, believe English simply sounds "cool" (...even if a vast number can't even understand a bloody word of it!!)

Others will liberally pepper their conversation with American/British vulgarisms in an effort to fit in with a cool crowd. In this respect, the Dutch are the worst offenders:-)))

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Just the opposite happened to me at a (supposed) Polish eatery. I asked for "wędlina", to which the Polish-American waitress replied snappishly, "D'ya mean "smoked sausage"??! So why didn'tcha say so?"

LOL