Polish students compete in the Polish Language Contest

“Hence, if joy, then with a touch of fear/ if despair, then not without some quiet hope” – the words that come from Wisława Szymborska’s poem became the motto of this year’s 24^th Contest on Polish Literature and Language. Preliminary of the second stage of the contest have already started in Vilnius region. The Konstanty Parczewski Middle School in Niemenczyn was the host of the contest prepared for the enthusiasts of native language. On the 6^th of February, there were 26 students from 19 schools in the region.

The students who take part in the contest have to go through three stages – school stage, regional stage and country stage of the contest. The winners of the country stage will compete with the students from Poland and other countries who take part in All-Polish Contest on Polish Literature and Language in Warsaw.

–          The contest lasts two days – says Janina Klimaszewska, the specialist from the education department in Vilnius district municipality. – On the first day, the students write essays, interpret literary works and do tests in linguistics. The next day, there is an oral exam. The students speak about a literary or linguistic topic they had chosen before. We are happy that, thanks to the teachers’ involvement, lots of students want to take part in the contest.

Aldona Sudenis, the teacher of Polish and the former pupil of the school in Niemenczyn, has been working here for 25 years. This year, she helped two students prepare for the contest:

-I did not persuade anyone to take part in it. You cannot force students to do it. They are ambitious themselves and want to develop their knowledge on literature and their native language. Łukasz Mikielewicz won the regional preliminary of mini contest on Polish language last year and he takes part in the contest again this year. Robert Gasperowicz, the student of the last grade, is very active and creative. He participates in various events and actions – says the teacher.

Before the students did the tests, the teachers had had an opportunity to participate in the lesson conducted by Irena Karpavičienė, the teacher of Polish and methodologist. The topic of the lesson was “The January Uprising in Polish Literature”. They also visited Ethnographic Museum. The next day there was a lecture on the January Uprising given by dr. Józef Szostakowski from Lithuanian Educological University.

Erika Jarosz from the secondary school in Rukojnie said, with flushed cheeks, that she chose to interpret “Nonreading” by Wisława Szymborska.

–          I decided to interpret this poem because I like modern poetry. Szymborska discusses the issues that are still relevant. I have been preparing for the contest since September. Mrs Regina Iwaszko have taught me how to interpret poems. When it comes to the oral exam, I decided to discuss “The Doll” by Bolesław Prus.

All essay topics start from the words: “Present the interpretation of…”. This year, the students who took part in the contest were to interpret the poem “In Verona” by Cyprian Kamil Norwid, “Nonreading” by Wisłąwa Szymborska and the novel “The Polish Complex” by Tadeusz Konwicki. They also were to compare two poems: “Co jest poeta?” by Władysław Syrokomla and “Przypowieść” by Zbigniew Herbert.

Students’ tests were checked by the examination board which consisted of 6 persons: Wiktor Kirkiewicz, the chairperson and specialist in Polish studies from the secondary school in Mickuny; Bożena Bieleninik, the methodologist from the Rafał Kalinowski Middle School in Niemież; Danuta Czerniawska, the methodologist from the primary school in Mościszki; Łucja Podworska, the teacher from the Stanisław Moniuszko Middle School in Kowalczuki and Krystyna Stankevičienė from the Marian Zdziechowski Primary School in Suderwa.

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2013/02/06/olimpijskie-uczniow-zmagania-o-najlepszych-z-polskiego/

Tłumaczenie Katarzyna Kurowska w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Katarzyna Kurowska the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.