This document contains summaries of experiences learning English from several Polish students. It describes participating in an English theater competition and festival, going on a trip to Pszczyna with international guests to practice English, and the importance of learning foreign languages for opportunities, culture, travel, and career prospects. The students express enjoying learning English through interactive experiences like acting in a play and meeting people from other countries.

1. 2010-2012 Zespół Szkół nr 2 Rybnik, POLAND
English is a tool which helps to make my dreams come true
My adventure with the English language began in primary school. Even today I still remember the first
words which I learnt then. I simply fell in love with this language. I wanted to learn more and more. Then I
realized that it would be one of the targets in my life.
Firstly, I am a person who always wants to make my dreams come true, if it's possible. Now I am able to do
it because my school gives me a chance to develop my skills. Of course, it's connected with hard work, but
it's a pleasure for me.
Another reason is the fact that foreign language competence these days gives people a chance to find a
better job which can be well-paid. I think it's absolutely important to ensure a well paid job, because then
our life becomes easier.
What is more, I am planning to travel around the world and it's essential to know the language people are
learning in so many countries all over the world. Without language skills travelling would not be so easy
and interesting.
Finally, the fact that I can use the English language allows me to do many things I love! Not so long ago I
had a pleasure to write a script for the theatre competition and a few weeks later with a group of friends we
staged the play. Considering the fact that I want to be an actress in the future, this kind of experience is very
useful.
I decided to write a play in English entitled ‘A Serious Comedy about the Phantom of the Museum’ because I
thought that it could be really challenging experience. I love theatre and I think that being an actress could
be a proper job for me, so when I heard about a theatre competition in English I was really thrilled and I
said to myself:’ I must take part in this competition’ and so this happened.
At the beginning we faced some technical obstacles……but determination helped us a lot. During the winter
holiday I spent evenings thinking about the plot of the performance and till the very last moment I had
doubts….I remember millions of ideas crossing my mind. Finally, I managed to make up my mind and I
organized some ideas and then I could start writing. Even now I don’t know how I managed to put all the
things together. There were so many different characters: Marilyn Monroe, Romeo and Juliet, Mona Lisa,
Nicolas Copernicus…. These people were from different times, so maybe it was my big imagination which
enabled them to meet on stage. My teacher of English, Mrs. Skowrońska helped me make some corrections in
the script.
When I heard that the script was accepted by the jury and we were invited to perform in the Final of the
Festival I felt like a celebrity. I was really proud of myself because it was the first time I had taken part in
such a competition and I was successful.
As far as the performance is concerned, it was an amazing experience both for me and other people who
played in it. Everyone had fun. Acting on stage we heard the audience’s reaction and it gave us motivation to
perform as well as we could. I hope next year we will also have a chance to have fun with theatre in English.
From my point of view learning English is important and allows me to develop my skills and interests. It is
the experience I really need as I am a creative teenager and I want to broaden my horizons.
1

2. 2010-2012 Zespół Szkół nr 2 Rybnik, POLAND
Wioleta Czech , 16 Rybnik (Poland)
Recently a part of my group and I have participated in the Theatre Festival in English. It was an
interesting adventure and even though we were not the winners, we had great fun during the competition.
The rehearsals were funny and everyone felt relaxed and had a lot of fantastic ideas. The performance was a
great challenge for us because it is difficult to stage a play in a foreign language. At the beginning I was a
little worried that we would not manage to cope with the amount of work and that we would have to give up
but soon I realized that we had a chance to achieve something. Although the rehearsals were sometimes a
little tiring when I was on the stage I didn’t feel fear but a huge joy that I could perform despite being shy. I
hope that I will have a chance to gain more experience like that in the future. Learning English in this way
is fun.
Klaudia Nowicka, 16 (class I g) Rybnik, Poland (first on the left)
2

3. 2010-2012 Zespół Szkół nr 2 Rybnik, POLAND
I would like to share my memories which are connected with the trip to Pszczyna. This trip was in
February. I went there thanks to the invitation from my English teacher. I travelled with my friends from
school and guests from 10 different countries - the CoSSOL partners. It was my first journey with people who
cannot speak Polish. Before the trip I had been scared, but it was unnecessary. The people I met there had a
sense of humour and they were also very pleasant and open. This trip was an unusual and exciting
experience for me. I had an opportunity to meet and spend the time with entirely different people, find out
information about their life, their countries and what they think about Poland too. Sightseeing in Pszyczyna
with our guests was delightful and a big gratification for me. I am very satisfied that I had a chance to go on
such a trip. English is the subject I like very much and this experience also motivated me a lot. Learning
languages is simply indispensable in our times.
Ania Nowak from class I g , Rybnik ( on the left)
To my mind learning foreign languages is a really important aspect of my life. It brings a lot of
opportunities such as a chance to meet new people and get to know their culture, solving different problems
while travelling abroad and eventually I believe it will help me to get a better job. This is why I like learning
modern languages and in my life I have already studied many of them. Thus I acquired knowledge not only
about learning a foreign language but also how to do this effectively. I have been using many techniques to
memorize vocabulary and grammar which I was introduced to by my teachers, but also which I read about in
the Internet and which I invented on my own. The two major languages I study are English and French.
However, due to reasons like holiday travels I used to learn, as I previously mentioned other languages,
including Turkish, Russian, German and Czech.
I am also interested in getting to know the language itself, as a tool people use to communicate.
Patryk Górczyński (16, class I g) Rybnik, Poland
3