Pictured above: Marek Sowa and Linda Walker outside the
academy on The Ropewalk
Polish marshall Marek Sowa - the Polish equivalent to a UK mayor
- has spent three weeks at Nottingham Language Academy on an
intensive course to improve his English.
As the Marshall of the Malopolska region of Poland, based in
Krakow, he wanted to increase his knowledge of English and be able
to communicate more fluently in the language.
So he opted to join classes at Nottingham Language Academy to
help him deal more effectively with his role, which currently
involves dealing with EU funding, investment and regional
development and strategy.
"English is very important for my job," said Marek. "I take part
in meetings with other European regions and countries and I started
learning English three years ago. Then I decided to come to England
for a three- week intensive course."
Marek stayed with a Woodthorpe family, and had six hours of
lessons every day at Nottingham Language School.
"I found the lessons very interesting," he said. "My English has
improved and I had a good time. I was very happy with it and the
teachers were good."
He hopes the course will help him in his role as marshall.
"I'm involved in regional politics and development," explained
Marek. "Last year there was a lot of flooding in the region and we
are now dealing with the damage. I also deal with EU funding,
investment and regional development and strategy."
Nottingham Language Academy, which is based in The Ropewalk, was
recommended to Marek by a friend who owns a language school in
Poland and who was taught English by one of the teachers at the
academy.
"We were very pleased to have Marek as a student," said Linda
Walker, who is a Business Language Champion in the East Midlands
and who launched the Nottingham Language Academy in September last
year.
"He was a model pupil and it's extremely satisfying for us, as
well as for him, that his English has improved so much during the
three weeks he spent with us."
The school, which offers tuition to individuals and businesses,
teaches English as a foreign language, alongside the modern
languages of French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Greek and
Mandarin.
Classes are run during the day, evenings and at weekends, and
are designed for people who want to improve their job prospects,
travel and see the world, live and work abroad, gain a place at
university or learn something new for the fun of it.
The modern foreign languages courses are linked to the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages, which now forms the
basis of language teaching and learning in most European Union
countries.