Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences’ Urszula Czerska Shares Her Insights

Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences’ Urszula Czerska Shares Her Insights

Originally from Poland, Urszula Czerska now teaches German at Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Brandenburg. She spent two weeks at Atlantic to improve her English. It was a privilege to speak to Urszula and learn about her crucial work not only in teaching a foreign language but also in integrating students from the most diverse backgrounds.

Urszula Czerska
Urszula Czerska from the University of Applied Sciences, Brandenburg, Germany

I’m teach German as a foreign language at the Department for International Relations and Languages. We have students from many foreign countries, from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe, too. They want to study in Germany at Brandenburg University, and they need German for their studies. They have to sit an exam, and if they pass, they are allowed to study, it’s compulsory.

When asked about her experience as a teacher of international students, Urszula said:

It’s very interesting for me to meet lots of people. They have to like learning German. They have such interesting biographies, of course, very different experiences. Some students come from war-torn countries and have experienced conflict and war first hand.

But’s interesting to teach students from all countries. You have be very sensitive. It’s a challenge for me as a teacher, for my team too, because our students have very different educational experiences.

Education in Germany is different from other countries, from Poland, for instance, too. I am originally from Poland, so German was a foreign language for me too.

Touching on whether students harbour a wish to integrate into the broader society, Urszula said:

There is a wish to integrate, to meet people from other countries to learn German, of course, to learn about the culture. Most of them will stay there and study.

Urszula on her Erasmus+ Experience in Galway at Atlantic

Urszula explained how she had never learned English before, adding that she chose Atlantic Centre of Education on a colleague’s recommendation:

I never learnt English at school. My wish was to improve my English. Over the years I have taken many courses and studied English by myself. But I came to a point where I felt that’s not good enough.

I was looking around and researching course options to find the right course. I asked my colleagues, too. One colleague participated here (at Atlantic). She was very impressed and happy, so she recommended Galway and your school to me.

I continued by asking Urszula about the course quality, teaching methodologies, and what it was like for her to be a student rather than a teacher.

The course was very good the first week, and it’s still very good. I’m very impressed. The people are very friendly, very helpful. Our teachers are perfect. I like their methods and skills very much. I like Dee and I like Kevin. He has taught us so much about Irish history and culture.

We are mixed class. Three people people are permanent participants. The other ones are like me, here for a short time. It’s interesting to meet people, to talk to them, to hear about other countries, cultures.

It’s very interesting for me as a teacher to be in a different position, to have a student’s perspective.

When asked how her methodologies differ from Dee and Kevin’s approach, Urszula said:

They use the communicative methods too, of course. It’s very interesting to be student myself. And of course, I’ve got some games, some exercises I am definitely going to do with my students.

Finally, I asked Urszula about her Galway/Ireland experience:

I have never been to Ireland. This is my first time. My first time in Galway, too. I like the city, especially. It’s very lively.

I like the pub culture, especially the live music. I’m very impressed. During the week, people go to pubs, listen to music, have fun. It’s a very nice experience. In my first week, there were two people from Germany, too. We met and went together to the pubs. We had fun. That’s been so good.

Urszula explained how taking the leap and travelling abroad to participate in an English course seemed a huge challenge at the time:

I was a little bit nervous for the first time. But now it’s getting better. I didn’t know for example if people could understand me. This is my first time doing Erasmus+, my first time being in an English-speaking country. So it’s very exciting, everything. But it’s a very good experience. People are really, really helpful and friendly. So I’ve calmed down.

Our conversation concluded with Urszula’s love of the Irish landscape, her Storm Éowyn experience and her core takeaway:

I think what I will treasure as a memory are the friendly people and live music in pubs.

While loving the pubs, the beer, and maybe even the whiskey, Urszula was a little less enamoured with Irish food:

The food? Difficult topic. Okay. I like Irish beer, and I tried whiskey as well. But I must say I missed bakeries. Because in Germany and in Poland, we have a lot of fresh bread from bakeries. So I walked around and looked around for bakeries, and didn’t find them. But that was the only drawback I can think of.

It was our pleasure hosting Urszula and I would like to thank her for giving me the time to get to know her and learn about her indispensable work.