Intensive Elementary Polish

at the ASU Melikian Center

Detailed Syllabus

A. General Information

ASU Listing: FLA 194, Intensive Elementary Polish, 4 credits

FLA 194, Intensive Elementary Polish, 4 credits

Dates: June 02 – July 25, 2008

Time: MTWThF 8.30 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. (class)

Place:

Instructor: Dr. Agnieszka Mielczarek

E-mail: asam@amu.edu.pl

B. Objectives

Students are expected to acquire level 1+ language skills in reading (elementary

proficiency, higher level, with other skills exceeding level 1) as defined by the US
Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR). This level of proficiency corresponds to the
high intermediate level as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL). This assumes the following skills:

Listening: Sufficient comprehension to understand short conversations about all survival

needs and limited social demands. Developing flexibility evident in
understanding into a range of circumstances beyond immediate survival needs.
Shows spontaneity in understanding by speed, although consistency of
understanding uneven. Limited vocabulary range necessitates repetition for
understanding. Understands more common time forms and most question
forms, some word order patterns, but miscommunication still occurs with more
complex patterns. Cannot sustain understanding of coherent structures in longer
utterances or in unfamiliar situations. Understanding of descriptions and the
giving of precise information is limited. Aware of basic cohesive features; e.g.,
pronouns, verb inflections, but many are unreliably understood, especially if
less immediate in reference. Understanding is largely limited to a series of
short, discrete utterances. Still has to ask for utterances to be repeated. Some
ability to understand the facts.
Reading: Sufficient comprehension to understand simple discourse in printed form for
informative social purposes. Can read material such as announcements of
public events, simple prose containing biographical information or narration of
events, and straightforward newspaper headlines. Can guess at unfamiliar
vocabulary if highly contextualized, but with difficulty in unfamiliar contexts.
Can get some main ideas and locate routine information of professional
significance in more complex texts. Can follow essential points of written
discussion at an elementary level on topics in his/her special professional field.
In commonly taught languages, the individual may not control the structure
well. For example, basic grammatical relations are often misinterpreted, and
temporal reference may rely primarily on lexical items as time indicators. Has
some difficulty with the cohesive factors in discourse, such as matching
pronouns with referents. May have to read materials several times for
understanding.

Speaking: Can initiate and maintain predictable face-to-face conversations and satisfy
limited social demands. He/she may, however, have little understanding of the
social conventions of conversation. The interlocutor is generally required to
strain and employ real-world knowledge to understand even some simple
speech. The speaker at this level may hesitate and may have to change subjects
due to lack of language resources. Range and control of the language are
limited. Speech largely consists of a series of short, discrete utterances.
Examples: The individual is able to satisfy most travel and accommodation
needs and a limited range of social demands beyond exchange of skeletal
biographic information. Speaking ability may extend beyond immediate
survival needs. Accuracy in basic grammatical relations is evident, although not
consistent. May exhibit the more common forms of verb tenses, for example,
but may make frequent errors in formation and selection. While some structures
are established, errors occur in more complex patterns. The individual typically
cannot sustain coherent structures in longer utterances or unfamiliar situations.
Ability to describe and give precise information is limited. Person, space, and
time references are often used incorrectly. Pronunciation is understandable to
natives used to dealing with foreigners. Can combine most significant sounds
with reasonable comprehensibility, but has difficulty in producing certain
sounds in certain positions or in certain combinations. Speech will usually be
labored. Frequently has to repeat utterances to be understood by the general
public.

Writing: Sufficient control of writing system to meet most survival needs and limited
social demands. Can create sentences and short paragraphs related to most
survival needs (food, lodging, transportation, immediate surroundings and
situations) and limited social demands. Can express fairly accurate present and
future time. Can produce some past verb forms but not always accurately or
with correct usage. Can relate personal history, discuss topics such as daily life,
preferences, and very familiar material. Shows good control of elementary
 vocabulary and some control of basic syntactic patterns, but major errors still
occur when expressing more complex thoughts. Dictionary usage may still
yield incorrect vocabulary or forms, although the individual can use a
dictionary to advantage to express simple ideas. Generally cannot use basic
cohesive elements of discourse to advantage (such as relative constructions,
object pronouns, connectors, etc.). Can take notes in some detail on familiar
topics, and respond to personal questions using elementary vocabulary and
common structures. Can write simple letters, summaries of biographical data
and work experience with fair accuracy. Writing, though faulty, is
comprehensible to native speakers used to dealing with foreigners.

This level of proficiency, as defined for the purposes of this course, stipulates acquisition
of all regular and frequent irregular grammatical patterns, the 1,500-unit lexical minimum
(with at least 500 units used in speech production), and an array of common pragmatic
patterns.

Take a look at the IRL scale, the justification behind it, and elaborate description of the
levels:

Information available through the Summer Institute of Linguistics

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/mangngyrlngglrnngprgrm/theilrfsiprofici
encyscale.htm

On the Defense Language Institute scale of foreign language complexity, which ranges
from 1 (simplest) to 4 (most difficult), the value of Polish is three, with only languages
such as Arabic, Korean, Japanese and Chinese being more difficult. Ample individual
work will be needed to reach the desired level during the nine-week course.

In addition, this course should empower its student to be able to recognize common
knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral patterns of the region, and to behave
(verbally and non-verbally) in compliance with such cultural norms. In other words,
students should develop elementary cultural competence. This assumes the knowledge of
a catalog of the most important facts in both high and everyday culture.

Finally, students will be given an opportunity to acquire certain basic facts relevant to
their interests. It is expected that two principal groups of students in this course will be
heritage learners and professional philologists.

C. Methodology

The course will principally use the communicative contrastive approach. Elements of
grammar-and-text methodology will be mediated by simplified decision-making
schemata and heuristics. Special emphasis will be put on pragmatics and cross-cultural
differences.
 D. Course Outline

The coursework consists of the following:

a. classes centered around the textbook with ample role-playing exercises,

b. homework assignments,

c. individual audio and computer lab work,

d. cultural and social activities.

The course will encourage cooperative rather than competitive relations among students
in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

E. Grading policy

Students will be graded on the A (excellent) to E (fail) scale.

Grade Percentage of the required skills

A 90 % and above

B 80 % and above

C 70 % and above

D 60 % and above

E 59 % and below

The coursework will contribute toward the final grade approximately as follows:

Attendance and participation: 20 %

Homework: 15 %

Quizzes (every Friday): 15 %

Exams: 50 %
 F. Course materials

The textbook for this course is Małgorzata Małolepsza’s and Aneta Szymkiewicz’s
Hurra!!! Po polsku 1. The textbook will be supplemented by additional texts and
materials. The CDs accompanying the textbook will be used. The textbook doesn’t
contain a glossary, so students are encouraged to obtain the Larousse Polish-English
Dictionary. Supplemental materials (lexical lists, worksheets, etc.) from the instructor
will be used. These materials will be copied and handed out by the instructor. Students
will use an updated on-line version of Oscar Swan’s book – First Year Polish – alongside
with computer drills, etc. available at http://www.polyglot.pitt.edu/Polish will also be
used in particular during the lab time.

Schedule

Hurra = M. Małolepsza’s, A. Szymkiewicz’s book

Unit Culture Structures Lexical fields Skills Text

One
Country and Polish alphabet Common Rules of Polish Hurra 0
(5 hours) people objects, Polish pronunciation
names and intonation
Two Hurra 1-2
Country and Noun gender, Common Introducing
(20 hours) people Personal pronouns, objects, oneself,
Verb to be called, to Features of Greeting and
have a name, to be, people and taking leave of
to have, to live, to things somebody,
understand, to Asking
apologize, to read, questions,
to ask, Numerals Affirming,
from 1-1000, The Negating,
Nominative singular Quantifying,
and plural of nouns Describing
and adjectives, people’s and
Demonstrative thing’s features
pronouns, Present
tense, Conjugation
-m,-sz, The Saxon
 Genitive
Three
Language The Instrumental Nationality Asking Hurra 3
(10 hours) affiliation singular and plural names, questions
of nouns and Professions, (cont.),
adjectives, Verb to Foreign Introducing
speak, to talk, to languages, oneself (cont.),
like, to do, to learn, Stationery, Describing
to dance, Implements people’s features
Conjugation -ę, (cont.),
-isz/-ysz nationality,
occupations,
interests
Four
Major cities The Accusative Family names, Describing one’s Hurra 4-5,
(15 hours) and singular and plural Internet family, friends, 14
geographical of nouns and address, Flat, street, city,
area adjectives, Furniture country,
Possessive continent,
pronouns, Asking for
Conjugation -ę,-esz, people’s age and
More verbs responding,
Expressing
liking,
preferring,
wanting,
Expressing
possession and
relations
Five
Major TV, Verb to eat, to Fruits, Ordering meals, Hurra 6-7
(25 hours) radio drink, to go, to Vegetables, Asking about
stations, know how, to know, Food, Drinks, telephone
newspapers to meet with, The Cuisine, number,
and Web Instrumental with Restaurants, permission,
portals “with”, Personal Meals, information,
pronouns in the Common Asking and
Instrumental, activities, telling prices,
Ordinal numbers Everyday time, Stating
from 1 – 24 routines, Days factual events,
of the week, Toasts
Means of
conveyance
Six The Genitive
Science and singular and plural Railway Asking and Hurra 8-9
(25 hours) education of nouns, station (trains, telling time
adjectives, and tickets), (cont.), Asking
pronouns Names of about
shops, Colors, information
Clothing (hotel, railway
station), Making
appointments,
Taxi ordering,
Buying clothes,
things, food,
Compliments
Seven
Major The Past tense, The Months. Time Telling past Hurra 10,
(20 hours) political verbal aspect expressions events 16
parties
Eight
Culture, The Future Tense Time Telling future Hurra 11
(25 hours) Sport expressions events,
(cont.), City Expressing
objects, Parts wishes
of the world
Nine
Major travel The Locative Travel, Asking for and Hurra 12-
(25 hours) destinations. singular and plural Recreation providing 13
Natural and of nouns, adjectives directions
historical and pronouns,
landmarks Prepositions
Ten
Religion and Adverbs Body parts, Telling the Hurra 15
(20 hours) customs Feelings, weather, At the
Seasons doctor, Stating
medical
conditions
Eleven
Review Review Review Review
(5 hours)

Account of Available Courseware

Textbooks
The textbook for this course is Małgorzata Małolepsza’s, Aneta Szymkiewicz’s Hurra!!!
Po polsku 1. Over the last two years the book has proven to be highly effective in
intensive instructional settings in Poland. This book doesn't contain English words, no
vocabulary lists too. In additon, it is accompanied by Student's Exercise Book and three
CDs.

Reference
It is required that students use a bilingual Polish-English. English-Polish dictionary.
Among numerous reference materials available, there are several excellent works, and in
particular students are encouraged to purchase the Larousse Polish-English Dictionary
available at the ASU bookstore and through amazon.com.

E-learning Objects
All available e-learning objects will listed on the CLI Web server page
<http://cli.la.asu.edu>. This page will host e-learning object focusing on Polish-English
contrastive differences in particular in the sphere of pragmatics. There are also ample
links on Prof. Swan's page <http://www.polyglot.pitt.edu/Polish>, he kindly alowed us to
use. In particular, Prof. Swan's Lektorek drills will be used.

About Poland and Polish

http://lmp.ucla.edu/index.aspx
http://slavic.lss.wisc.edu
http://wings.buffalo.edu/info-poland
http://www.polandembassy.org
http://www.polishworld.com

Polish TV
http://www.tvp.pl

Polish radio
http://www.radio.com.pl

Polish newspapers and magazines

http://www.gazeta.pl
http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl
http://www.wprost.pl
http://www.newsweek.pl