16,000 children attend Polish Saturday schools

Already 16,000 children attend Polish Saturday schools, but local authorities could do more to support such work, writes the Polish ambassador to the UK

Learning Polish – the UK’s second most spoken language – is a plus
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Every Saturday morning thousands of Polish children in various parts of the UK, instead of shopping with their parents or playing sports and computer games, learn the Polish language, history and geography. This is one reason why Polish is the second most spoken language in the UK. Parents send their children to Polish Saturday schools for various reasons. Whatever their motivation, they are right.

Teaching Polish children the language of their parents opens up new vistas for their prosperity. The basic issue for parents is to overcome a mental barrier and to understand that bilingualism is a chance, not a risk. Parents and children need to see the specific benefits of speaking the Polish language. Children taught Polish in the UK will be able to live in Poland in future if they choose to.

Since the collapse of communism in 1989, Poland has been developing dramatically. Life expectancy as well as the GDP per capita have increased considerably. We have observed an impressive rise in the number of motorways, airports or modern stadiums. Poland will become more and more attractive for those who would like to live in their homeland. More and more opportunities also arise for Poles who have acquired professional experience abroad.

The command of their mother tongue makes Polish children bilingual here in the UK, where speaking a foreign language is an asset. For many children in England and Wales, the possibility of sitting Polish at GCSE or A-level gives them a very strong motivation to learn the language of their parents. Efforts are being made so that such examinations might be soon available in Scotland, too.

By attending Saturday schools, Polish children not only learn to speak two languages, but they also learn the history of two countries and two cultures. It is extremely important that over the course of their education they get acquainted with Polish customs, such as painting Easter eggs, and that they learn to sing traditional Polish songs.