OVERVIEW

This course is designed for beginners and provides students with practical A1/A2-level proficiency in Polish, introducing the most useful aspects of descriptive grammar for the early stages of language learning, including elements of phonetics, nominal morphological categories (case, number, gender, degree), verbal morphological categories (tense, person, mood, aspect), and elements of syntax.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is aimed at absolute beginners and aims to enable the rapid acquisition of the fundamental morphosyntactic, functional, lexical and pragmatic structures of the Polish language, as well as to develop the communicative competence in everyday life situations. The course aims at a linguistic preparation which, in relation to communicative competence, reaches the A1 level, in order to allow the student to understand and comunicate in situations that require a purely practical use of the language. The type of approach envisaged is the communicative one, with particular attention to the synchronic development of the four basic skills: oral and written comprehension and oral and written expression.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students are expected to have mastered all the skills outlined in the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) at the A1 level. Students should be able to understand, produce, and correctly translate simple sentences, as well as compose texts in Polish on everyday topics (e.g., self-introduction, describing daily routines, communicating in a store or at the doctor’s office). In addition, students will acquire transferable skills such as presentation skills, active listening, action orientation, and teamwork.

From a broader perspective, the course aims to develop the following overarching goals: 1) provide quality, equitable and inclusive education and learning opportunities for all; 2) achieve gender equality and empower all women; and 3) reduce inequality within and among nations.

PREREQUISITES

The course is primarily open to students of Italian and/or foreign origin who are complete beginners in Polish, but it is also available to others (e.g., native Polish speakers). Subject to academic regulations, the course may also be included in the study plan as a third language (as an elective or other activity) worth 6 ECTS credits.

To arrange a program tailored to your specific educational needs, please contact the instructor directly.

TEACHING METHODS

Theoretical Module: 30 hours of theoretical lectures (I semester) - it is provided for students who choose the course for 9 credits
Lecture: 80 hours of language exercises (40 in the first semester and 40 in the second semester) - it is provided for students who choose the course for 6 or 9 credits.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is intended for beginners and presents the notions of descriptive grammar most useful at the initial stage of Polish language study, there including elements of phonetics, phonology, nominal (case, number, gender) and verbal (person, tense, aspect) morphological categories, as well as the basics of syntax.

The Lectureship (language practice) program is balanced between the study of new grammatical topics and the development of lexical and communicative competence. All new grammar topics are placed in the communicative context of the lecture. Due to the use of the communicative approach and the action-oriented approach from the very beginning of the course special attention is paid to interaction in the Polish language in the basic everyday life situations of the student. In addition, course participants will be asked to make small oral presentations and regularly write various texts whose themes correspond to the course program.

During the lectures of the Theoretical Module, Dr. Kowalcze will address in detail some topics of Polish descriptive grammar drawn from the Lectureship program. Specifically, we will focus on the following topics:

1) Polish in the family of Indo-European languages

2) Elements of phonetics and phonology: the main vowel and consonantal alternations

3) In the context of nominal inflection:

•  the nominative singular and nominative plural non-masculine personal
•  the accusative, the instrumental, the genitive and the locative: singular and plural

4) The pronouns: possessive (mój, moja, moje, etc.); demonstrative (ten/tamten, ta/tamta, to/tamto); personal (all cases)

5) In the area of verbal inflection:

• the present tense (all conjugations)
• the modal verbs: chcieć, móc, musieć
• the verbs of motion: iść - chodzić, jechać - jeździć
• the past tense of imperfective and perfective verbs
• the future tense of imperfective verbs and modal verbs

6) numerals: cardinals from 0 to 100 and ordinal numerals

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• M.Foland-Kugler, Grammatica essenziale della lingua polacca, Warszawa 2006.
• J. Machowska, Gramatyka? Dlaczego nie?, Universitas, Kraków 2010.
• M. Małolepsza, A. Szymkiewicz, Hurra! Po polsku 1, Prolog, Kraków 2017.
• L. Marinelli, A. Stryjecka, Il corso di lingua polacca, Hoepli, Milano 2018.
• I. Stempek, A.Szymkiewicz, Polski krok po kroku 1, Glossa, Kraków 2008.
• A. Prizel-Kania i in., Po polsku po Polsce, Kraków 2016.

The main textbook will be selected in consultation with the students at the beginning of the course. Supplementary teaching materials (grammar worksheets, exercises, various texts, videos, songs, etc.) will be provided by the instructor during class and/or posted on the Aulaweb platform.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

I SEMESTER
The class schedule will be available on the EasyAcademy portal of the University of Genoa.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of a written test for the theoretical module (for the 9 CFU course only) and a written test and an oral test for language exercises. In each of the three exam sessions there is a written session and two oral exams.

The written test relating to the theoretical module consists of a short test on the theoretical and grammatical topics covered during the year.

The written test relating to language exercises consists of a dictation, a short composition in Polish, various listening exercises and a grammar test, organized in a series of different exercises, on the topics covered during the year. Passing the written test is a prerequisite for access to the oral test.

The oral exam relating to language exercises consists of a short conversation in Polish on the topics covered during the year and with the aim of verifying the grammatical and communicative skills acquired by students throughout the year.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the academic year there are 3-4 written intermediate tests ('in itinere') which aim to provide adequate preparation for the end-of-year test.

The final exam of the course is aimed at verifying the effective acquisition of the four language skills at the level required by the educational objectives of the course, as well as the metalinguistic and translation skills developed by the student during the lessons.

The final grade of the course is calculated on the basis of the average of the partial grades obtained: 1) from the intermediate 'in itinere' tests, 2) the written exam of the lectorate, 3) the oral exam of the lectorate, 4) the written exam of the theoretical module (for those taking the 9CFU course).

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended.

Non-attending students can take the final exam of the course, but are invited to contact the teacher at the beginning of the academic year to agree on a possible program adapted to their training requirement and language skills in Polish.

Students who have duly filed a certification of disability, DSA or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it) and the lecturer at the beginning of the course, in order to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.