The story behind the lessons

I Help Bilingual Students Turn Home Polish Into Exam Polish

I am Sylwia Karolina Janiec, a qualified Polish language teacher with examining experience, doctoral researcher and creator of specialist learning pathways for bilingual students. For more than 15 years, I have worked with students who use Polish at home and English in education.

Sylwia Karolina Janiec, bilingual Polish teacher, holding a cappuccino beside a warm glowing lamp in an intimate café setting

The problem I kept seeing

Students could speak Polish, but nobody had taught them how to examine it

Students could communicate naturally with their families and understand everyday Polish. Yet when they had to write formally, explain a language choice or work under examination conditions, their confidence changed.

They were often treated either as native speakers who should already know everything or as language beginners who needed to start again. Neither approach reflected their real needs.

The materials rarely helped either. Students were working from textbooks that were never written for this examination, or spending lessons on past examination papers. Neither of those addresses the gaps that growing up in a bicultural environment actually creates.

Sylwia Karolina Janiec, Polish language teacher, smiling and holding a calico cat in a cosy wooden interior

Harnessing the Magic of E-Learning

Learning designed around bilingual students

E-learning makes it possible to combine structured teaching, authentic language, independent practice and useful feedback in one organised pathway. Taught properly, distance stops being the thing that limits any of it.

I have worked with e-learning for and I am certified in distance-learning methodology. Over the last few years that way of working has earned its place with students in every part of Ireland, in a niche the country has overlooked for a long time.

The technology supports the method. It does not replace the teacher or create the method by itself. Whether or not a structured course like this is the right fit for you, the sequence matters more than the platform it runs on.

The Bilingual Learning Consultancy course platform shown on a laptop, tablet and phone, displaying Polish e-learning lessons

My Bilingual Journey

Qualifications, research & textbooks

My teaching rests on high-level pedagogical qualifications and on specialist knowledge of bilingualism. I am currently conducting doctoral research in linguistics with a focus on bilingualism, and the methodology and findings emerging from that research informed the design of Blitz & Go and the wider Home Polish to Exam Polish approach.

I'm also the proud co-author of two Polish language textbooks, „Emi and Maks", published by ODN. Alongside this, I've collaborated with the organisation Chlebem i Solą, running language courses for refugees, a truly rewarding experience that has enriched my teaching journey.

These same principles run through every one of my Leaving Cert Polish programmes, and the questions families ask most often are answered in the FAQ.

Making Bilingual Dreams a Reality

Let's begin, together

My passion for bilingualism and teaching is the driving force behind my work. My Leaving Cert programmes are designed for bilingual and heritage-language students who already have some conversational Polish and want to develop accurate, formal and exam-ready language.

If you're looking for an expert who approaches bilingualism with genuine enthusiasm and specialises in her field, I warmly invite you to get in touch. Let's begin this journey together and discover the rich world of bilingualism.

Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation