Agata Lewandowska

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about me

I am a lecturer at the Teacher Training College in Poznań, which is a department of Adam Mickiewicz University. Years ago I graduated from the University's School of English. As can be seen on this website, my major fields of interest these days include Computer Assisted Language Learning and  English grammar. I used to teach other courses though: general English, introduction to linguistics, descriptive grammar (syntax), language awareness (an elective course which is no longer available) and American English pronunciation.  All these courses helped me learn a lot about language in general and English in particular.  

My other major interest is ELT testing, which I pursue as the regional co-ordinator of the Regional Practical English Test, a project initiated with the support from the British Council in the 1990s and now continued as a joint project of eight teacher training colleges in our region (Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Leszno, Gorzów Wlkp., Kalisz, Stary Tomyśl, Złotów and Września).  The test is used in our colleges as an end-of-year Practical English examination, and includes the following sections: Use of English, Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

The IT course has proved the most rewarding of all that I have taught so far. I feel that by teaching it, I can have my contribution to the changes taking place in Polish schools. My conviction is that teachers need to be able to exploit the resources that students are most eager to use: the Internet. Students can be involved in various on-line activities and projects, and develop all language skills while doing it. Web 2.0 technology offers a lot of opportunities for that. In my IT course I try to make it known to students in practice, as I believe in learning by doing.

My grammar course focuses on language analyzed in context, at text level. I believe that this is the appropriate approach at an advanced level of your language study. Only in this way can you see the justification for language choices we make. Another strong element is translation.  Although I may be accused of resorting to "grammar translation", I feel that no other type of language task imposes such a high level of  precision of expression. Here you cannot escape a structure you don't feel very secure with and stick to your well-trodden paths; you need to overcome your weaknesses, get the deepest possible grasp of the message and style of a particular text and render it in the target language as effectively as you can. This is a real challenge, but if you do it well, the satisfaction is enormous.

As said above, the Regional Practical English Test is a team effort. For over a decade now I have been privileged to lead a group of passionate people dedicated to the project. Stressful though the job is, it is also very interesting and stimulating. Actually, it was RPET that led me to Information Technology: I simply needed all these skills to keep the project running, and so I had to learn them. Now I have developed all this far beyond what RPET requires, but that was where it all began.

I was born and grew up in Poznań, and this is also where I live now. I am married and have twin daughters, who bring a lot of fun and music into my life. :)