Jonathan:  One problem we've encountered is the motivational levels of expats living in Poland.  When we told fellow foreigners living here what we intended to do, very often we were met with blank stares.  One high level diplomat even said, "Learn Polish?  I've tried that.  Don't want to go through that again!".  On the whole people in Warsaw speak English very well and are very keen to help foreigners out if they can't speak Polish (or even if they can!).  I've been in restaurants were I've spoken in Polish to a waitress and she has replied in English.  Both of us speaking the other's language.  The fact is Poles are not used to foreigners speaking to them in their own language and many foreigners are happy not to have to make the effort.  However, we believe that knowing and, more importantly, using the language contributes greatly to the Polish experience, whether that is 5 years or one weekend.  To that end, we decided to create a one-off language package for tourists coming to Poland for a short stay. 

Richard: When I had Polish lessons, I was forever asking my teacher to teach me how to buy a train ticket to Krakow, how to buy groceries in small shops where you have to actually ask for everything, and what to say at the post office.  I do believe Polish can be taught in a useful way at every stage, it just seems that many local schools take a highly academic approach that we think is outdated. So we wanted to teach Polish using western communicative methods that focus on language you can actually use straight after the lesson. This is how English is taught around the world. Why not Polish?

Jonathan:  Yes.  And that academic approach to teaching Polish has led to its infamous reputation as one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.  Of course learning any new language is a challenge.  I remember at the end of one of my lessons wanting to tell my teacher that I had to dash, but with a small slip of the tongue I only managed to say I have to "make love"!

Richard: Well, my Polish is always perfect, so I'm afraid I don't have such stories to tell...

Jonathan: Mmmm ....

Richard: Interest in Poland and Polish is on the up. With more visitors to the country, more Poles living abroad, more Brits marrying Poles, there are more and more people overseas interested in Polish culture and language.

Jonathan: Because of emigration and the opening up of cheap flights I believe there is an unprecedented level of interest in Poland abroad.  Even in Portadown, the small town I'm from, there are three Polish shops selling everything from Polish herrings to Żywiec beer.  The local newspaper even has a section in Polish.  The only people who seem surprised by the interest in Poland and Polish are Poles themselves.  When I first came here the majority of Poles I met were extremely proud of their country but there was a certain amount of disbelief that a foreigner would actually come and live here.  And at parties the first question is still always "How - and why - did you end up here?"

 

Richard: Naturally we wanted to tap into this interest so besides offering tailor-made 1 to 1 and group courses to expats and visitors here in Warsaw, Ready! Steady! Polish! has reached out to the entire world by offering live online lessons using Webcam and Skype. I have been watching the growing trend of teaching and learning languages over Skype for sometime. It is a growth market. There are plenty of people out there who would prefer to learn with a live teacher at their computer than coping with the intense rush-hour traffic and the anxiety some people have of meeting new people in new situations. Besides, how easy is it to find a native Polish teacher in Seoul, Beijing or Frankfurt? So, we set up the 'Polish Lessons for the World' service, offering lessons to anyone, anywhere.

 
Jonathan: From my experience of living in Kielce (about 170km south of Warsaw) I know how difficult it is to find a suitable Polish language teacher even within Poland.  Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław are densely populated with foreigners and have good Polish teachers to cope with the demand.  However there are plenty of other foreigners scattered throughout the country in smaller towns who are not being catered for.  They speak to their friends and family back home every week via the internet and there's no reason they can't learn Polish in the same way.

Richard: And lets face it, the next generation will learn online. Computers as we know them will be largely replaced with 'smart surfaces' in the next 15 years, so people will just click on their kitchen table, turn on the speakers, using the in-built microphone, in-built 30 mega pixel camera and off they go. To get an idea of the future you only need to go and have a look at what Microsoft is currently investing in.

Jonathan: Or what they are doing in Japan.

Richard: Well, actually live online learning is proving a big hit in South Korea at the moment, they are even using it in state secondary schools. Europe is next.

Richard: What is it like living in Poland? Well, I can only speak for Warsaw. It is relatively easy, you could survive in Warsaw just speaking English if you wanted to, although it would become frustrating of course. Needless to say, the language is the biggest hurdle and if you can become confident conversing with people in Polish, then your life here will become enriched quite simply because the Poles will always want to meet and talk to a foreigner who has taken the time and trouble to learn the language. There is still a fair amount of novelty attached to it. Warsaw feels a fair bit safer than cities in the UK, although you do have to be careful of course, and if you want to just mind your own business then the local population will let you do that. If you want to make local friends, then you might have to work hard at first, Warsaw folk are a little wary of strangers in the beginning but they will soon warm to you. Being from the North of England, I would say it is pretty much the same in all capital cities, people come across as a little cold but with effort you will make friends soon enough. I love travelling in Poland. I think Warsaw is actually on a different planet to many of the other small Eastern towns such as Lublin or Przemyśl where you really feel that you are discovering something very different from what you see in the rest of the EU. They are exotic. In those kind of places, you tend to get a warm welcome from locals, a beer for 50 pence followed by an invitation to down endless shots of Vodka until everyone falls under the table. I truly love it.

Jonathan: For me it's the history of the place.  One way or another Poland has been at the centre of European affairs for centuries now.  From Jan Sobieski's defeat of the Ottomans at Vienna to the Second World War to the fall of Communism.  Walking along Krakowskie Przedmieście recently, I had the chance to see a street exhibition commemorating the first free elections in Poland, and indeed in the Eastern Bloc, in 1989.  There were posters from that time showing people from all over the world - Japan, France, Peru to name a few - marching under the Solidarity flag.  Poland still resonates in those countries and now, in more stable times, is receiving the attention she deserves.

Richard: Is it unusual for foreigners to be running a Polish language school in Poland? Yes it is. But it makes sense. Our customers are 100% foreign, so it really is an asset that we are constantly thinking from the foreigners' point of view 24 hours a day because we are and will always be foreigners here. For that reason, more foreigners should get into the services for expats industry!

Jonathan:  Very much so.  Nobody's in a better position to know what expats need than expats themselves.  In the past, often because of language difficulties, there has been a feeling that Poles have a monopoly on all thing Polish.  For example, that a Polish language school should be Polish run. This was fine, but we are now in the age of open borders and a free labour market across the EU. We are excited to be doing business here in Poland at this time.

Richard: Having a brandable name is English is also a significant key to the interest we are having. This is pretty much unprecedented for a Polish Language School in Warsaw and it really does make sense to us. The largest target group for Polish lessons are complete beginners, who speak English as a first or second language, so the Polish school names don't really say much to them if they don't understand what they mean!

Jonathan: So many of the enquires we receive are from people who are still abroad, but about to come to Poland. We believe our brand helps in that regard. We stand out from the Polish named schools for such people and especially when they see that the school is run by foreigners. We feel that we have our own exclusive market.

Richard: The most important ingredient of course are the teachers. We choose native Polish teachers to work for us who we would like to be taught by.

Jonathan: And ARE being taught by! Our own Polish language adventure is far from over yet!

Further Information

Ready! Steady! Polish! offers 1 to 1 and group tuition in Warsaw and live online lessons via Skype and webcam. For further information, visit www.readysteadypolish.eu or email info@readysteadypolish.eu