Join Polish youth around the world. Read below.
Dołącz do polskiej młodzieży z całego świata.
To join please 1)click picture on the left 2) click"Join a community" on the site
3) find "Polish
youth around the world" ; 4) register and follow the instructions
Aby dołączyć do młodzieży polskiej z całego świata należy: 1) Kliknąć na rysunek z lewej strony
2) na stronie kliknąć "Join a community" 3) znaleźc "Polish youth around the world" 4) zarejestrowaź się i postępować według instrukcji.
Other documents to read about the project:
Czytaj o projekcie:
1. Do Rodziców i młodzieży.
2. Dlaczego ?
3. Project summary.
Internet Resources for Bilingual Development
How can the Internet help my child become multilingual? First of all, parents and teachers must invest some time in looking for suitable resources. There is a good chance that a Google query such as “websites for children” written in the community language (e.g., Kinderwebseite in German or strony internetowe dla dzieci in Polish) will bring up dozens of pages designed for children in the country of origin. Such pages will contain a number of traditional resources that can be used for language development such as quizzes, crossword puzzles, gap-filling exercises, and other simple games involving manipulation of language items. They may also contain sections with the news, jokes, and comics. Such resources are always fun for children to play with. They can be particularly beneficial for language development if parents find some time to play along with their children and offer them language support. We must remember that a lot of language games and activities available on the Internet have been created for children acquiring literacy in their first language and they may be too difficult for bilingual children living overseas.
However, the Internet has not been created for people to interact with machines, but for people to interact with other people via the mediation of machines. This is its major strength as an educational tool. Some websites for children will thus contain facilities children can use to write electronic postcards to cousins or friends living in the country of origin or forums where they can insert a comment about a drawing created by another child. Posting a comment may lead to an exchange of messages between children, sometimes to a longer relationship that can be beneficial for language development. Websites for older children sometimes encourage original contributions from their readers. With the encouragement and support of their parents or teachers, children can write a report from a recent family trip to Coral Reef or the Grampians, they can Interview a well-known person or develop a quiz about an area that interests them and publish their work on the Internet. These will be very motivating projects for children and a great way to learn a language.
For a few years now, I have used technology to help my own daughter Natalia (12 y.o.) improve her skills in Polish. There are a few activities I have found particularly useful. I have for example encouraged her to keep a Web log (or blog, for short) in the community language. A blog is a Web-based diary where people can write about life, for example about travel, and publish their writing and photographs on the Web. There are blogs in all languages and you will be able to find a suitable one using Google. The Web address (URL) of my daughter’s blog is only known to several family members and friends in Poland and this is an excellent way to keep in touch with them. Each time my daughter updates her blog, she sends an email out to these people to let them know about it. In return, she receives blog comments, phone calls, and emails, all in Polish.
I have also found an email keypal for her, a girl same age who lives in Poland. The girls have now been corresponding for a few months. Patrycja, the girl in Poland, is now building a blog with her friends. When it is ready it will be a great way for Natalia to get introduced to Patrycja’s friends. I have noticed that Natalia has already picked up a few expressions used by young people in Poland. She is also getting more confident with her writing in Polish. I am in the process of arranging another keypal for her. This time it will be the daughter of a Polish friend living in Spain. Polish will be the only common language for the girls. We also hope that the girls will get interested in Spanish and English, respectively.
One last comment. All these activities will work only if you find some time to participate in them. Children will need your encouragement and support. They will need you to help them with unknown vocabulary, to correct their writing or to assist them with a technical problem. Last but not least, you must be there to make the Internet a safe place for your child. But you can expect great rewards! Kids love technology, the Internet, and linking the community language with something they love is the best thing you can do for your child.
The Editor of the Newsletter has kindly agreed to give me a regular column on this topic, so until next time! Next time I will write about safety on the Internet – a good topic to start with. I have just published a paper on the use of the Internet by the Polish community in Melbourne. If you are interested in reading it, please check http://llt.msu.edu/. Also, do not hesitate to write to me if you have questions. My email address is rdebski@unimelb.edu.au
Robert Debski
The University of Melbourne
©2004 The Polish School of Sydney Incorporated