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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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 Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 4:09 pm Post subject: ha |
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So what you're saying is, you got hypnotized by the totty like the rest of us.  |
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manumany
Joined: 28 May 2009
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 9:52 am Post subject: |
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I got to the end of this entire thread with no-one mentioning the irony of being a language teacher and not learning the language of the community you live in, so I thought I'd put it out there.
That said, if you start out building a social circle of English speakers, it can be pretty hard to break out of. I'd also agree that it's not necessary in order to survive, just as some Poles can get by with no English living in Polish communities and working in Polish teams in the UK.
I'd agree that there's no obvious advantage to having the language in order to earn more as an English teacher. Still, if you want to build on a few years' experience and branch out into any other business environment, being limited entirely to ones that didn't require you to speak the language of the country you live in is going to be, well, limiting.
To answer the original question - I took me a year to become conversational, but it was the same 5-minute conversation over and over again. It took 3 years to become a decent intermediate, but I failed to make any progress 'studying' (I tried for a few weeks in my first year), and did it reading, listening to the radio every morning and speaking to people who didn't speak English (it's amazing how tolerant of limited, banal conversation people can be in a pub).
Getting over the apparent ridiculousness of the case system is, I think, the biggest barrier to most people, and by that I mean stopping getting upset about it, accepting that that's the way it is, and learning the phrases as they are, rather than balking at the endings. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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| manumany wrote: |
| Getting over the apparent ridiculousness of the case system is, I think, the biggest barrier to most people, and by that I mean stopping getting upset about it, accepting that that's the way it is, and learning the phrases as they are, rather than balking at the endings. |
Here, here!
I used to get all bent out of shape about the declensions and flat out refuse to use them. Then a Polish teacher explained to me that it was like speaking English using infinitives all the time. I finally realized what a neanderthal I sounded like, and probably still do, once I get out of my familiar-subject comfort zone.
Right now I'm working in Thailand where verbs aren't even conjugated and there aren't any plurals. And the locals are incredibly tolerant of you butchering their language. Speaking Thai is paradise compared to Polish. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Yep. "Your food ready 10 minute!" is simply them speaking the way they know how, not sounding silly on purpose.
Polish still pisses me off....9 years later.... |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 5:37 am Post subject: I'm amazed |
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I'm amazed anyone bothers to learn Polish. When I think of all the adult Poles I know, only 1 doesn't speak much English. I think as long as you can get by in shops and restaurants etc , it's more than enough. If you've got a Polish wife, she can do all the paperwork and marketing should you set up your own school etc.
I've been looking over the job ads for some time in Poz and the vast majority of them are in Polish because they want Polish English teachers. Why? Because they can pay them even less. Also, because many of the jobs seem to be with young learners. |
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manumany
Joined: 28 May 2009
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:23 am Post subject: |
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| I'm amazed anyone bothers to learn Polish. When I think of all the adult Poles I know, only 1 doesn't speak much English. |
If them speaking English is a pre-condition to having a meaningful relationship with you, it's hardly a surprise that you don't have many friends that don't speak English; it's a self-selecting group, isn't it? |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:39 am Post subject: erm |
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| OK, so I'll just say that most people I meet these days, in fact everyone under 40-ish speaks good English. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:04 am Post subject: Re: erm |
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| dragonpiwo wrote: |
| OK, so I'll just say that most people I meet these days, in fact everyone under 40-ish speaks good English. |
Not at all my experience. There's a significant percentage of even under-30s who don't speak English well. And many of them live across the river in Praga, Warsaw where I used to live.
While certainly more than 50% of younger Poles speak some English, it's by no means a given. Even if someone speaks good English, they're often so self conscious about making mistakes and hesitant to speak that you'd mistake them for an A1... until they get up the balls to say something really formal and awkward like "Never have I ever felt so famished as I do at this moment." |
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sparks
Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| Never has the Polish forum ever been so famished for new posters and fresh ideas as it has at this moment |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 1:16 pm Post subject: ... |
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| sparks wrote: |
| Never has the Polish forum ever been so famished for new posters and fresh ideas as it has at this moment |
By all means, sparks: [Polish accent] Put your money in location in which your mouth is being.[/Polish accent] |
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sparks
Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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I don't actually have anything positive to contribute, I just like sniping
BTW "as it IS at this moment" I should have written. |
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Infinite
Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| jenkinsd wrote: |
| The level of blinkered ignorance from one or two on this board is quite staggering. |
At this point it's the only thing that brings me back here. It's like passing a terrible car crash, you know, the one that's just carnage incarnate, you know what you're going to see when you look.... but you do anyway. |
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Infinite
Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:43 am Post subject: |
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| jenkinsd wrote: |
| Agreed! Shouldn't have got involved, but that guy winds me up something rotten. |
He's an idiot, on top of being a sad liar not to mention his Napoleonic complex. There hahaha, I said it. Funny thing is, I'm 99% sure I've ran into him once.... I'm pretty sure, but then again, it could've been any other pseudo-teacher with an ego the size of his imagination. One can only hope that this Brexit thing will sort these types out real quick. I'm out of teaching as well now, but man, one thing I'll always have is the memories of all the winners met along the way. |
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Infinite
Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| manumany wrote: |
That said, if you start out building a social circle of English speakers, it can be pretty hard to break out of. I'd also agree that it's not necessary in order to survive, just as some Poles can get by with no English living in Polish communities and working in Polish teams in the UK.
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I have about three native friends (English native), they all speak Polish at an advanced level. I've made the choice to move here and make this place my new home. My family is bi-lingual and it's actually a great thing. Anyone saying that being multi-lingual does nothing for your wealth is a moron. The more languages you know, the less you actually have to work and the more you get paid and that's a fact. If you're a polyglot and you're still earning as much as an average teacher, you probably should change your profession.
Also, if you believe that not knowing Polish doesn't change anything for you in terms of prices on services and goods... I'd say you're dumber than advertised. |
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Infinite
Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| sparks wrote: |
| Never has the Polish forum ever been so famished for new posters and fresh ideas as it has at this moment |
I'll drink to that |
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