ABSTRACTS

ELIZA CHABROS

Senior Learners in a Mixed Group – How to Support and Motivate Them

More and more frequently, elderly people become participants of language courses. The article determines a role of a teacher in the process of motivating seniors to learn a foreign language in a group with an inconsistent age structure. The analysis covers maintaining motivation and eliminating the influence of demotivating factors that result from the advanced age of learners, such as memory disorders, decreased attention span, weakened senses, radically different educational profiles from other participants, and specific goals and interests. An important task of the teacher is to create new motifs which in a given educational context may effect a greater motivation of a learner. The role of interaction, emotions and the attitude of the teacher towards senior students are discussed in greater detail.

JUSTYNA HRYNIEWICZ

KIKUS Digital – Interactive Educational Software for Young Learners

The process of teaching languages in the context of migration, multilingualism and the new media needs to account for important changes which affect both teachers and pupils. KIKUS digital is an interactive software designed to support early foreign language learning, and is a brand new teaching aid with eight languages available, including Polish and German. The article presents the basic elements of the KIKUS teaching method, as well as explains the functioning of KIKUS digital. Moreover, it shows the possibilities that the use of this educational software brings to Polish and German classes when teaching vocabulary and grammar in primary schools.

MARCIN JURKOWICZ

Organizational Aspects of Project-Based Learning at School

The article discusses how project-based learning at school should be organized in order to be conducted efficiently and successfully. There is considerably more to it than simply telling pupils they are going to do a project and asking them to bring the necessary tools and materials to the classroom. The author shows that one of the essential factors determining the success of pupils’ project work is their ability to communicate and cooperate within a group, which needs to be practised. Also, the article discusses the role of the teacher in pupils’ project-based learning.

KATARZYNA KODENIEC

Translation as a Form of Language Mediation

The paper presents translation as a valuable element of language teaching. Translation is presented addressing a few basic assumptions concerning its nature, especially seen as a form of communication. As such, it belongs among other areas of language teaching outlined in CEFR. The skill of translation can be developed at various levels,

including primary school, through a number of activities incorporated into students’ work. Theoretical conclusions are drawn with reference to a project of an English-Polish translation competition co-organized by the author in a primary school in Olsztyn.

MAREK KRAWIEC, KAMILA GENDERA, MARCELINA FRANKOWSKA

Project Method at Primary School Level

This article discusses the notion of the project method and its role in cross-curricular language learning and teaching. Apart from theoretical information on the issue in question, it presents practical guidelines on how to use this method for integrating the content and skills from different languages at the primary school level and enumerates the effects of this type of work. It points to a number of project activities which help foreign language educators to implement the cross-curricular approach in school conditions and to prepare young people for better functioning in the present world.

WERONA KRÓL-GIERAT

Sensory Activities in FLT of Sensory Processing Disorders Learners

Sensory activities, that is games and plays, encourage children to explore the surrounding world through the stimulation of receptors reacting to a given type of stimuli. Sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch and even equilibrium can be engaged. Such activities can be naturally and effectively incorporated into foreign language teaching, especially at the pre- and lower-primary level. The following article aims to present the value of sensory activities to teachers and inspire them to use such games and plays during their lessons, particularly with young learners.

KATARZYNA MARIAŃCZYK, BEATA ŁUBIANKA, SARA FILIPIAK

Integration with Flying Colors? Personality Traits in Students in Inclusive and Non-Inclusive Education

The aim of the research was to analyze the personality traits of students in integration in inclusive and non-inclusive classes based on the Big Five Model. In the school year 2016/2017, 69 six-grade primary school pupils were examined, including 37 from inclusive integration. For the analysis of personality traits, the Picture Based Personality Survey for Children (PBPS-C v1) was used. The results indicate that there were no differences between the students in extraversion, neuroticism, openness to new experiences, conscientiousness and agreeableness. The results are discussed in the context of supporting the resources of students benefiting from inclusive integration.

ANNA MIKULSKA

What a Multicultural School Needs. Polish as a School Language of Education

This article summarizes educational measures applied by a team of teachers within a twoyear period, with the aim of helping foreign elementary students to learn Polish as a school language of education. Basic communication skills, although important, are not sufficient to achieve educational success, because a proper level of academic language is an absolute necessity. Teachers’ reflections are part of a scientific discussion on the changes needed

to be introduced in the Polish school in order to facilitate its increasing multicultural reality. Proposals included in the text can be considered as a guide and inspiration for other schools considering preparatory classes (adaptive classes for young migrants).

ANNA PARR-MODRZEJEWSKA, WERONIKA SZUBKO-SITAREK

CLIL4Children – Practical Tips for Lower Primary School Teachers

Despite the fact that CLIL has received a lot attention in the recent years and is quite a popular method of cross-curricular EFL instruction, it is rather limited to higher level students. Primary schools rarely introduce this mode of instruction into their classrooms. This seems unjustified since especially the first grades of primary school constitute a perfect context for CLIL. Lower-primary curriculum consists of interrelated subject areas organized into weekly topics. English is one of three subjects that are excluded from the integrated syllabus (alongside PE and RE). Some of the reasons for this situation are lack of ready-made teaching materials and inadequate teacher training in the area of CLIL methodology. CLIL4Children is a European Union funded project that allowed an international team of experts and active teachers to create ready to use CLIL lesson plans in the areas of Mathematics, Science and Geography, as well as a comprehensive course for primary school teachers who want to implement CLIL into their classrooms. All resources are free and available online and this article offers a short insight into what can be expected in the project materials.

ALEKSANDRA RAŹNIAK

Coded Stories. Using Coding in Storytelling

This article presents coding as an innovative method used in teaching children storytelling. The term coding is often used to talk about programming and computers. However, programming may start without computers. Offline programming may be the first step in preparing young learners to programme and to activate computational thinking. It combines playing games and solving problems with creative and logical thinking. The aim of the coding activities used in teaching stories is to increase learners’ interest and motivation as well as to develop abstract thinking and analysis processes in the holistic and synthesis method.

SŁAWOMIR STASIAK

Unnatural Family Bilingualism – a Case Study of an Autistic Boy

This case study research paper discusses issues connected with a longitudinal experiment involving the bilingual upbringing of the author’s son diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Although both parents are L1 Polish, the father addresses the child using his non-native L2 (English), hence creating unnatural family bilingualism. The report attempts to identify the selected areas of the boy’s autistic spectrum disorders that can be assumed both to contribute and hinder L2 learning efforts. The author shares his personal experiences and expertise gained over nine years of the teaching endeavour.

ANNA SZAPERT, PAULINA CZAPSKA

Beyond Words – Teaching and Learning Language in the TEIP Program

The present text describes the basic assumptions behind the TEIP Program as an innovative language teaching methodology encompassing the context of a genuine meeting between representatives of different cultural contexts in order to facilitate the learning process and establish functional Polish-American connections. As suggested in the article, basing on such foundations the program goes far beyond conventional language education curriculum becoming a comprehensive educational scheme stimulating acquisition of interpersonal skills, multicultural competence and building lasting interpersonal networks. On top of that, the formula of TEIP language camps for children and adults triggers factual cooperation of Polish and American volunteers, who become acquainted in action and interact in real-life tasks, solve problems, negotiate and operate together thus authentically developing cultural awareness and communicative skills. In this perspective, the metaphor of establishing common language gains a literal dimension, standing for practical linguistic competence, on the one hand, and reinforcing dialogue, democracy and contributing to the establishing of civic society, on the other.

AGNIESZKA TAMBOR

Building Language Competence: Film-Related Vocabulary

The author describes methods of teaching professional vocabulary concerning filmmaking and explains the possibilities that teaching such vocabulary creates. The article contains both theory of teaching professional vocabulary and the examples of exercises that can be used during the classes. The conclusions are based on the experience gathered during the teaching practice. The article concerns teaching Polish as a foreign language, but some of the suggested strategies can be used while teaching other foreign languages too.

IZABELA WIECZOREK

Conversational Strategies in Teaching Polish as a Foreign Language

This study analyzes the outcomes of teaching in the scope of understanding the intention and sense of utterances, considering chosen speech acts. Instilling knowledge about language politeness is a long-term and more complex process than teaching any other skill due to the fact that it involves socialization. Therefore, it is worth questioning the efficiency of teaching linguistic skills, especially since numerous new compendia have recently been published, enriching the process of teaching Polish as a foreign language. The author of the study focuses on linguistic functions expected in the curricula of A1 and A2 levels. They include: welcome, introduction, request, wishes, congratulations and declaration of help. The analysis was formed as a diagnostic test, which was taken by course participants in AMU School of Polish Language and Culture for Foreign Students. The speech acts in the questionnaire were described in the Polish language.