GSLL faculty member offers Polish online to Ukranian refugees

In August 2021, Dr. Agnieszka Majewska with her colleagues in Poland founded the Continents Association, whose goal is to promote Polish in the world and contribute to the methodology and didactics of teaching Polish as a foreign language. The outbreak of the war in Ukraine and mass flight out of that country, including 2.5 million of refugees in Poland, motivated the Continents Association to respond immediately by organizing crash courses on Polish to help the Ukrainian refugees to communicate with Polish people in both informal and formal contexts: how to introduce themselves, how to fill out an application form at a governmental office, how to do grocery shopping, how to make a doctor’s appointment, etc. Each of the three Association members volunteered to conduct a free monthly online course for 15 people, which often included entire families who would sit by one phone since they did not have computers. The courses were in such a high demand that they all were full by the first day of class. The Association is planning to organize more courses to continue helping the Ukrainian refugees in Poland.