The pandemic reality has prevailed around the globe for nearly two years now. It has affected all areas of human activity, as well as people’s physical and psychological condition. Various manifestations of this new reality encourage scientific reflection, including reflection on “novelty”, understood in different ways, in Polish (glotto)didactics. Researchers from Polish and foreign academic centres were asked to reflect on this topic. The texts collected here revolve around two “novelties”, which have already become, it seems, a part of everyday life in the (glotto)didactic milieu. One of the recent trends involves is the presence of environmental humanities (green studies) as a trend in textbooks for teaching Polish, both as a native language and as a foreign language. This new scientific paradigm, forming since the 1990s, has determined the tools for analysing textbook content and influenced the view on the functions that language textbooks should perform in making learners sensitive to environmental issues. The other “novelty”, which is the main theme of several papers published in this issue, is distance learning, which I ceasing to be considered extraordinary or reserved for specific types of courses. The sudden need for widespread use of digital tools, which in fact have already been known in teaching for many years, has affected the actions and attitudes of both teachers and students. The papers included in this issue are divided into three thematic sections. A Miscellany section and a Report are also included.

Ecological crisis researchers emphasize the need to work on changing people’s environmental awareness. Pro-climate education of young generations becomes a necessity. The paper intends to define the level of involvement of Polish language education in education for the climate. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis was performed of the framework curriculum and of two series of textbooks for Polish as a native language for primary school students (published by Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne and Nowa Era). The findings show that the amount of content conducive to pro-climate education expressed explicitly, including pro-ecological activities in tasks and exercises for students, is scarce in both series of textbooks. The analysis also shows that the educational document and the textbooks offer much more potential: the curriculum contains items that draw attention to the relationship between the word and the world. Profiling environmental tasks have not been provided in the case of many works present in the textbooks. Therefore, to make sure education for the climate is present in the content and in students’ activities, it is essential to involve and prepare the teacher for the role that involves extracting potential pro-ecological opportunities from the curriculum and from the texts.

Problems of climate education interest many teachers, first of all natural scientists, but more and more often humanities scholars – historians and philologists, including teachers of Polish as a foreign language. This important aspect should be reflected in the education system, and therefore should be included in the textbooks for teaching the language. The article is an attempt to answer the question as to the thematic scope in which textbooks for teaching Polish as a foreign language consider the aspect of climate education. It discusses the information they contain, as well as the form in which it is presented, and the attitude to the respective issues. As foreigners learning Polish acquire information on Poland and Poles mainly from textbooks, the picture of Poland and Poles that emerges from the analysed texts on climate, which include texts on weather, climate change and its consequences, as well as texts touching upon aspects of climate protection and protection of fauna and flora, was examined. The analysis covered books from the series “Hurra!!! Po polsku” and “Polski, krok po kroku” for the A2 primary level.

Climate change, increasing environmental awareness of societies across the world, and emphasising climate-related issues in the public discourse are phenomena that have contributed to changes in the content of textbooks used in teaching Polish as a foreign language. These are the main reasons for which this article was written. The aim of the text is to present environmental aspects as an important lexical area and to trace the way in which it is featured in contemporary textbooks from the point of view of the task-based approach. It assumes a focus on deliberate action of a social nature undertaken to induce the activation of certain cognitive processes in learners and to lead them to solving the specific problem they face.
Further on in the article, teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards pro-environmental content in Polish as a foreign language classes were analysed on the basis of survey research. The text cites studies in the field of environmental humanities and social psychology in the context of the glottodidactic process.

This text results from a conference organised as part of the VF project entitled The V4 Humanities Education for the Climate, held online on 11 March 2021. In the face of the increasingly intense climate change affecting the lives of all of us, Polish glottodidactics cannot remain indifferent either. A topical issue is how to harness it for the purposes of green studies. The paper seeks an answer to this question on a local level by analysing materials intended for teaching Polish as a foreign language created for students learning it in Slovakia. The second part of the paper contains recommendations on how to expand such aids by adding further environmental content. The basis underlying the above research is primarily the Ordinance of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 26 February 2016 on examinations in Polish as a foreign language, and in terms of identifying lexical content, it is provided by Lexical competence of learners of Polish as a foreign language in light of quantitative studies. Annex 2 (Seretny, 2011).

In the article, I focus on the possibility of using posters by Ryszard Kaja from the series Plakat - Polska [Poster – Poland] in Polish as a second/foreign language classes, with particular emphasis on environmental issues: the climate catastrophe and littering the planet. I chose Kaja’s posters because they are very popular among tourists visiting Poland, they are valued by art historians and critics, and I also see their potential in use for teaching Polish language and culture. I describe my own teaching experiences, I present proposed linguistic and communication exercises, and suggest cultural aspects that can be addressed in PFL
classes at different levels. I selected 10 images related to the coastal area: Baltic Sea, Sopot, Chałupy, Ustka, Krynica Morska, Kąty Rybackie, Żuławy, Nadmorze, Łeba and Vistula Lagoon. At the start of the article, I introduce the artist. I subsequently indicate the place the poster holds in education, focusing particularly on the possibility of using cognitive metaphor theory in relation to the analysis and interpretation of posters. My analysis and interpretation of selected posters and the proposed language exercises fit within the framework of green studies. The article can be helpful for teachers of PFL, as it proposes specific instructions, and also shows how content included in curricula can be combined with discussion of current issues.

The article presents the experiences of teachers of Polish as a foreign language (hereinafter: PFL) with remote teaching and their self-reflection on the skills acquired during the pandemic. Occurring relatively recently, this problem has not been sufficiently researched so far. The presented data was obtained in an online survey (70 participants) and in two interviews with experienced PFL teachers. The surveyed teachers indicated acquiring several new competences in the field of ICT used in the didactic process after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Although the respondents pointed to the initial difficulties related to switching to remote work, after one year of operating in this mode most of them evaluate their experiences positively. They primarily indicate the acquisition of many new technological skills, learning about interactive
tools and teaching techniques. In addition, they anticipate that teaching PFL will remain largely in a distance mode, and new textbooks will be prepared in a way that would make online work possible.
The article deals with Polish language glottodidactics, especially in pedeutology. It also addresses aspects related to teaching PFL with the use of ICT.

The paper discusses the shaping of intercultural competence in courses of Polish as a foreign language conducted during the pandemic. This is a topical issue which also fits within the framework of the multiple investigations into the challenges faced by teachers forced to switch to distance education. Apart from teaching Polish as a foreign language, glottodidactics specialists’ tasks also include preparing foreigners for the encounter with Polish culture, manifested for instance in and expressed through the language. The paper identifies changes, limitations, and opportunities in teaching of Polish culture as a foreign culture
that it has been possible to observe over the last year or so. The investigation should be regarded as preliminary, as the phenomenon discussed is still present and continues to have an impact on language teaching. The principal observations concern the relevance and usefulness of the selected cultural material used during the language courses. These issues result from the changes observed in daily life after the start of the pandemic. The paper also presents reflections on the ways in which foreigners learning Polish experience the culture. The discussion undertaken in the paper fits in the field of teaching Polish culture and
cultural studies glottodidactics, i.e. within the area of research on cultural background in teaching Polish as a foreign language.

Remote teaching has forced some changes in conducting classes, including foreign language lessons. In the classroom, we typically use two codes of communication: verbal and nonverbal. Virtual space somewhat limits nonlinguistic messaging. Thus, in this article, we reflect on the meaning of nonverbal communication in the new conditions, as far as remote foreign language classes are concerned, on the changes to this form of communication and the potential impact of the changes on teacher-student and student-student interactions. We present the results of surveys that included two groups of respondents from Ukraine. The first survey was addressed to 25 academic lecturers teaching, among other subjects, foreign languages (usually Polish, but also Czech, Persian, Japanese, Serbian, Bulgarian, English). The second – to 57
students of Polish philology in Lviv who attend a Polish language course as a part of their undergraduate studies. Based on the teachers’ responses, we conclude that during remote learning: 1) the relationship with students has changed; 2) due to the lack of direct eye contact it is more difficult to interact with students; 3) the nonverbal communication of the teachers themselves has changed to a greater or lesser extent. The final part of the paper compares the academic lecturers’ responses with the students’ opinions. The results of the analysis confirm that remote teaching will alter nonverbal communication during traditional classroom instruction.

The article stems from interest in the development of effective techniques and methods to support learners of foreign languages and cultures. The communication and educational strategies discussed in the text are an integral part of the project “Język polski ponad granicami” [“Polish language beyond borders”], implemented during the current pandemic. The difficulties that emerged made it necessary to develop alternative methods and forms of education, including ones using modern media and technologies, allowing the Polish diaspora community in Brazil to learn and rediscover the Polish language and culture. The assumptions underlying the project exemplify the value of combining, in the glottodidactic process,
the culture and language inherited (for some learners, a second and/or a foreign language), as qualities that foster communication, integration, self-discovery, the creation of a sense of community and other activities related to language learning in action, in diverse spaces, contexts, situations and interactions (despite the pandemic). The study used the action research approach with its four phases: planning, action, observation, and reflection. The material collected allows us to conclude that an intercultural approach in foreign language teaching and in related forms of education is currently one of the most appropriate ways of teaching Polish as a foreign language. The presented considerations fit within the line of interdisciplinary research on the Polish language in the world, multilingualism, and Polish glottodidactics.

Technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) is the subject of this article, focusing on the results of a survey conducted among teachers of Polish as a foreign language (TPFL) after they have accumulated one year’s worth of experience in holding remote classes. The results have been juxtaposed with those of a study conducted in 2017 on a similar group of respondents. Intended as a reconnaissance, that earlier poll aimed to assess teachers’ (including mainly academic teachers’) attitude towards computer-aided teaching and the possibility of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in teaching Polish. The most recent study is intended to serve as a basis for comparison with the previous findings to assess the changes in viewpoint and attitude among the teachers who had had to move their workplace from the classroom into the virtual realm practically overnight. The questionnaire study covered 65 individuals. The analysis of the
returned answers is quantitative and qualitative. Additionally, the technique of linguistic analysis based on phenomenological methodology was used in this research into the attitudes of teachers and methodologists of Polish as a foreign language. The research findings point to the significant development of technological expertise and of skills related to using various kinds of educational applications and platforms by teachers, but also underscore the need to improve teaching methods based on an action-oriented approach, to make full use of the possibilities of language teaching by conducting genuine communication activities in a virtual environment.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been serving the linguistic community in Europe and beyond for over twenty years now. The document, published by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe in a draft version in 1998, and in the final English and French versions in 2001, quickly achieved the status of a standard European point of reference for foreign language learning, teaching, and proficiency assessment. Translated so far into over 40 languages (as of May 2021), the CEFR has attracted substantial interest and is now used worldwide in language policy development as well as curriculum preparation and design of teaching materials, and most often as a standard reference in foreign language proficiency testing and certification.
In 2014, the Council of Europe commissioned a group of experts to review and supplement the original 2001 publication on the basis of experiences gained over more a dozen years of use. The paper briefly presents and comments on the results of their work, with the intention to indicate and highlight the aspects of the revised CEFR that reveal the wider educational potential of its approach, which in my opinion reach beyond the originally assumed scope related to foreign language learning, teaching, and proficiency assessment.

The reason for writing this article was the belief that the practice of teaching world literature as part of Polish studies needs to be reformed. According to the author’s postulates and proposals, this practice should be based on the one hand on a modern teaching methodology, and on the other hand on specific principles concerning course reading selection. The methodological change should involve placing emphasis on the application of teaching practices enabling students to effectively acquire a set of skills defined as reading competence, i.e. above all proficiency in the analysis and interpretation of literary texts and in the sphere of the broadly perceived understanding of literature. In turn, the rules concerning the change in the course reading selection are related to the postulate of geographical and historical expansion of the spectrum of works discussed during the world literature course. In addition, these courses can be used to give students
some additional universal skills, useful in today’s labour market, also outside the field of Polish studies. The assumptions are in part exemplified by the teaching concept model included in the article, based on the use of short stories. The choice is related to the belief that this particular genre is highly useful in class at university, and at the same time to the desire to draw attention to it as material that can potentially be used in the teaching of this subject.

The aim of this article is to analyse the work of the English poet Christina Rossetti from the perspective of Victorian gender norms directed at girls. In her poem “Goblin Market” Rossetti describes sisters Laura and Lizzie, whose idyllic existence is disturbed by the arrival of sinister goblin fruit sellers. While Lizzie maintains proper restraint, Laura greedily devours the juicy fruits, for which she is punished – she loses strength and sinks into apathy. She is saved only by the sacrifice of her sister, who risks her life to purchase more delicacies and feed them to the weakened Laura. The sisters’ fantastic adventures have been interpreted in various ways, from a story of sin and salvation, to one of food poisoning to an allegory of the
creative process. All these approaches, however, see the eating of sweet fruit as a form of transgression as a result of which Laura is banished from the idyllic self-sufficiency of their small farm, where the girls are not troubled by any sorrows. However, having learned the sweet taste of the fruit, Laura does not want to milk cows, feed hens and bake cakes without a word of complaint. Using the framework of food studies enriched with the tools of conceptual metaphor theory, the article argues that the contamination Laura suffers through forbidden consumption is not presented by Rossetti as unambiguously negative. This interpretation also becomes bolstered by comparing Rossetti’s piece with how other Victorian female writers defined the role of young women in relation to food, including especially the aspect of their apprenticeship to be housewives. In this view, the goblin fruit gains a new dimension: its consumption highlights the oppressive nature of the norms to which young women were subjected in the Victorian era.

The article is a proposal on how to discover important cultural issues of a universal nature in work with a foreign audience using a literary text. The recent history of Kazimierz, one of Krakow’s districts, becomes a pretext to reflect on how one can decipher, through important landmarks in the urban space, the record of a (non-)present community, and address aspects related to the processes of urban landscape revitalisation, at the same time weighing the benefits and threats resulting from them. The literary project O_Kaz. analysed in the article becomes, in the author’s intention, a platform for discovering the historical record/significance of the place, supposed to inspire the target audience not only to start a discourse on Polish culture and the local ways of adjusting to the sense of emptiness/lack, but also to encourage foreigners to take a contrastive approach to the issue. The Krakow quarter, as a literary motif, becomes an inspiration for a narrative on the openness of the Polish society towards the Other with a different cultural background. The text fits within the discourse on the place of literary text in the Polish language education of foreigners and within studies in the field of the humanities analysing aspects of identity in the context of place, in this case: recorded traces of (non-)presence of a community in the urban fabric.

The text is a report on a conference that took place on 11 March 2021 (on the MS Teams platform), and was one of the events organized as part of The V4 Humanities Education for the Climate. Diagnoses – Best Practices – Recommendations (HEC) project. The account contains information on the course of the conference and briefly introduces the thematic scope of the individual presentations. The speakers analyzed educational material constituting the basis for teaching selected subjects, and a series of textbooks, and then introduced selected aspects of Polish (glotto)didactics. The importance of the issues discussed was confirmed by the large interest of the audience. This is summed up as: ‘The protection of nature is the
protection of values’.