Luke Bendick is an MA student in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies and a recipient of a 2024 Polish Studies Initiative (PSI) scholarship. This past summer he spent a month in Kraków, Poland strengthening and polishing his Polish language skills. Learn all about his language learning journey below. 

This past summer I was able to utilize my Polish Studies Initiative scholarship to advance my Polish skills at the Jagiellonian University language school in Kraków, Poland. Having only two years of Polish under my belt prior to this summer, I wanted to take an opportunity to further my skills and experience through an intensive program where I could not only learn more in the classroom, but also practice speaking “in the wild.” Without funding from PSI, I would not have been able to learn and grow in confidence as much as I did in Kraków. 

Every day I attended language classes in the morning and a history class in the afternoon, which was a good balance of learning and left plenty of time to study and explore Kraków. In addition to the classes at the Jagiellonian University we were immersed in the history and culture of Poland, having the opportunity to go on a cultural excursion every weekend. From the Wieliczka salt mine, to the Wawel Cathedral crypts, to a stunning waterfall hike in the Tatra mountains, there was so much to see and do in and around beautiful Kraków. 

While the classes were helpful in advancing my language skills, living in Poland for a month forced me to use Polish with native speakers, which improved my speaking confidence immensely. Every Wednesday, my class would be sent out of the classroom and into the town to do some kind of activity that encouraged us to interact with locals. My favorite of these expeditions was a scavenger hunt to find places around Kraków that could teach us about the poet Wisława Szymborska. We had to go to a library and ask for a collection of her poems, talk our way into another university to see a mural of famous Polish writers, and find Szymborska’s first apartment in the Kraków old town. My favorite part of these activities was talking to people and seeing how excited they were when we told them we were learning Polish. Once someone learned we were studying Polish at the Jagiellonian University they suddenly wanted to talk forever. It was a very exciting, at times uncomfortable, but very rewarding experience. 

My month in Poland could be characterized by a month of discomfort, but it was uncomfortable in the most positive way possible. Living in an apartment on my own for the month, I was pushed to do everyday things like going to the grocery store, which gave me the opportunity to interact with locals away from the more touristy areas where I was not able to rely on English if I felt I needed to. One of the biggest roadblocks in learning a language is the fear of mistakes and embarrassment, which are two things I learned to overcome during my summer in Kraków. The confidence I had by the end of the month was certainly not present when I arrived in Poland, but over time my confidence grew and became intentional about learning, improving, and most importantly, trying. The growth and experiences I had through my summer in Kraków could not have been possible without the Polish Studies Initiative, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities it gave me.

Interested in learning more about the Polish Studies Initiative (PSI)? Visit the PSI webpage and be sure to sign up for our CSEEES the Day newsletter to find out when applications for 2025 PSI scholarships and grants will open.