Authentic Engagement: New Perspectives on Teaching Polish

On Saturday, May 6, 2017, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures hosted the NAATPl 2nd biennial workshop for Polish language teachers. The topic of the workshop was Teaching with Authentic Materials: Theoretical and Practical Classroom Implications. The North American Association of Teachers of Polish (NAATPl) is an organization run by passionate professionals who teach the Polish language at all levels of education in the US and Canada. The Association provides a forum for sharing resources and best practices among Polish language educators.

The May workshop, organized by Ewa Pasek and Jodi Greig, was attended by 27 language teachers from various universities, colleges and K-12 schools.  The workshop program addressed challenges language instructors face while incorporating authentic materials into their curricula: selecting appropriate texts, designing tasks for learners of various ages and levels of language proficiency, and using technology for editing authentic materials. The participants also discussed the future of Polish language teaching and learning, and different modes of language instruction that technology offers, e.g., blended learning and CourseShare programs.

The workshop was cosponsored by the Copernicus Program in Polish Studies, U-M Language Resource Center, and the Polish Cultural Fund. A complete program of the workshop is available here (pdf opens in new window). The workshop's website is https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/naatpl/.