Social networks

22.08.2019

Lecturers
Students

Business & Communication
Journalism & multimedia

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Polish

Any language

B1

Audio

Vocabulary
Grammar
Pragmatics

Listening
Speaking
Writing
Reading

HelloPolish! is a podcast for learning Polish at different levels of study, from A1 to C2. The authors upload new material every two weeks. The podcast uses authentic Polish language, provides information about Polish culture, customs, movies, books, tourist attractions.
The site contains complex resources (audio, texts and activities) and allows students to develop their vocabulary, listening, reading and conversation skills. The audio (MP3) and text (pdf) can be downloaded to any device, so students can also work offline.
Phrases and expressions to be explained at the end of the text are marked (bold).
The vocabulary presented includes both specialist and colloquial terms used in everyday communication by young people.
The list of terms explained also provides collocations.
Each unit also includes a series of exercises (in a downloadable PDF document), together with the exercise key.

The material for learning Polish by B1 level learners consists of an audio recording and a text in Polish, the text being also provided as a downloadable pdf sheet from the web page. The text on the webpage is accompanied by a vocabulary list, explaining in Polish certain words which in text are written in bold for ease of reference. The text is divided in five paragraphs, each one being read out by native speakers of Polish addressing a particular and current topic.
The text is easily accessible and the audio recording may be either played directly on the webpage, or downloaded for further use.
The downloadable document has four sheets, each one dealing with a specific grammar aspect of the Polish language, thus providing the text of the audio recording, a vocabulary list with certain words which are explained and completed with grammatical notes, an exercise section meant to improve the comprehension of the text and of specific grammar issues, and a sheet with the correct answers for the exercise section.
Besides the audio recording and the matching text, the answer sheet provided affords the students the possibility to verify and correct their answer, thus improving in real time their listening, reading and comprehension abilities, as well as the improvement of the grammar skills.
The selection of the materials is carried out taking into account their adequacy to the level of proficiency, being thus an important and appropriate aid for B1 learners and providing the tools to increase their level of proficiency.
A learner of Polish language, with a B1 proficiency, or aiming to a B1 level of the Polish language, will definitely find such material a great tool since it helps improve such language skills as reading, writing, listening, speaking and comprehension. Apart from being a reliable aid to improve one’s B1 proficiency, it turns out to be a source for a higher level of proficiency, B2, in that, by means of the exercises provided, it helps increase the level of competence and mastery of the Polish language.

The teacher presents the platform, the elements on the portal, explains the structure of the units to the students.
The teacher presents the unit theme, On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
1. Students listen to the audio recording (8 minutes) from the main menu. They can download the MP3 envelope to their computer.
2. Students read the podcast transcript aloud, pronunciation exercises are done. They can download the text in PDF format to work offline.
3. The teacher provides explanations of vocabulary and grammar, suggest recognising grammatical forms in the text.
(sądzić – myśleć zakładać / założyć – tutaj: zacząć coś, zainicjować, rozpocząć działalność
korzystać / skorzystać z + D. – używać
podtrzymywać / podtrzymać kontakt z + N. – nie tracić z kimś kontaktu, być z kimś w kontakcie
być na bieżąco – mieć aktualne informacje
wrzucać / wrzucić – tutaj: publikować coś na stronie internetowej
epatować – pokazywać coś często i w dużej ilości;
ma negatywne znaczenie z umiarem – bez przesady, w granicach rozsądku
stwierdzenie – zdanie, opinia
istnieć – żyć
być współczesny – aktualny;
taki, jaki jest w danym momencie
załatwiać / załatwić – rozwiązać coś,
skończyć jakąś sprawę w realu – potocznie: w rzeczywistym świecie, nie wirtualnie
móc policzyć na palcach jednej ręki – kiedy kogoś lub czegoś jest mało
kręcić / nakręcić – zrobić film
umieszczać / umieścić – tutaj: publikować,
z nosem utkwionym w ekran – całkowicie skoncentrowany na tym, co jest na ekranie
wyobrażać / wyobrazić sobie – zobaczyć coś w swojej fantazji)
4. Students solve the three exercises proposed by the podcast author and check their answers.
5. The teacher challenges students to discuss (guided conversation) social media. Do they have Facebook or Twitter accounts? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media?

Other activities
The teacher suggests that students search on Facebook or other social networks for official pages of cultural institutions (theatres, museums, publishing houses, philharmonic) and write down the most important aspects, discuss the importance of being visible on the internet.
Possible follow-up activity :
1. Using the lexical material, students can be asked to discuss some strategies in marketing in social media;
2. Using facebook or other websites, students can choose and discuss advertising in internet, how the algoritms choose target groups etc.;