Thursday, 6 March 2025
9:30am - 6:30pm
Knox-Shaw Room, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
We are very pleased to invite you to a one-day conference on "Transforming Polish Language Studies: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities".
The conference will explore questions pertaining to the Polish language in various aspects, especially in the UK: in primary and secondary education, universities, teaching methodology, and the presence of Polish literature in British cultural life.
The conference will feature panels on topics including Polish as a heritage and foreign language, teaching methodology and linguistics, and Polish literature in translation. It will also include a round table featuring institutional actors and decision-makers to explore ways to strengthen and expand the role and presence of Polish Studies, Polish language education, and Polish literature across the UK.
The conference is co-convened by Ms Edyta Nowosielska (Teaching Associate in Polish) and Prof. Stanley Bill (Professor of Polish Studies).
The event is open to the public.
9:30am Welcome
Stanley Bill and Edyta Nowosielska (University of Cambridge)
9:45am Polish as a Heritage Language
Chair: Bernardette Holmes (National Consortium for Languages Education)
Antonia Bifulco (Middlesex University)
Piotr Romanowski (University of Warsaw)
Agnieszka Tambor (University of Silesia in Katowice)
11:15am Coffee break
11:30am Methodology and Linguistics
Chair: Ianthi Tsimpli (University of Cambridge)
Piotr Lewiński (University of Wrocław)
Anne White (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies)
Dorota Gaskins (King’s College London)
1:00pm Lunch break
2:00pm Round Table: Polish Literature in Translation
Chair: Stanley Bill
Anna Blasiak
Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Anna Zaranko
3:15pm Coffee break
3:30pm Polish as a Foreign Language
Chair: Edyta Nowosielska (University of Cambridge)
Waldemar Martyniuk (Jagiellonian University)
Anna Dąbrowska (University of Wrocław)
Jan Fellerer (University of Oxford)
5:00pm Coffee break
5:15pm Round Table: Transforming Polish Language Studies in the UK
Chair: Charles Forsdick (Lead Fellow for Languages, British Academy)
Elżbieta Barrass (Polish Educational Society, UK)
Łukasz Gołota (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange—NAWA)
Bernardette Holmes (National Consortium for Languages Education, UK)
Krzysztof Kirdzik (Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London)
6:30pm End of Conference