The Polish Language Café in Pankow, Berlin

It all began in 2008 in a kindergarten in the Berlin district of Pankow which was attended by the children of Agata Koch and Marta Kiszka, the two women who later founded the language café. One day, the mothers were asked by one of the kindergarten teachers whether they had an idea for games in Polish, in order to help a new girl of Polish origin to forge a relationship with the rest of the group. The games made it possible to communicate with the child in her native language, and made it easier for her to get used to the group and integrate with other children of her age. This led to regular Polish-German meetings, during which Polish fairy tales and legends were read out loud and art and dance lessons were offered. Often, the people who came would prepare strawberry dumplings together afterwards. 

The initiative was a big success, both with the children and their parents and grandparents, most of whom did not speak Polish. As a result, the two women decided to organise other activities of a similar kind. One important goal was to encourage and develop bilingualism in their children, not least because very few such opportunities were on offer in Berlin. It was also often difficult for the children to make use of the leisure activities offered due to the long distances that needed to be travelled between the various different districts in the city. They therefore decided right from the start that the new project would have to be locally based.

In 2012, the first Polish Language Café meetings were organised in the “Stadtteilzentrum Pankow”, a neighbourhood community centre. In her blog about the beginnings of the language café, Agata Koch, a graduate of German studies and a teacher and translator, wrote: “That’s exactly what I was missing at the time: an environment in which the diversity of every individual person was recognised and appreciated, in a free, independent and respectful way, and also in such a way that their individual personality was strengthened and appreciated”.[1]

Over the past five years, countless other activities have been organised. Nearly always, the focus has been on encouraging bi- and multilingualism. The language café offers courses for adults as well as for children of all ages. Other offers include Polish-language pre-school, play-based lessons for infants who are just learning to speak, and tuition for older kindergarten children and school pupils. One important activity on offer are the holiday camps, “A-Ą-Ä – tak zaczyna się mój alfabet!” (“A-Ą-Ä – that’s how my alphabet starts!”), which are held for a week in Bad Bevensen in Lower Saxony during the summer holidays. In workshops led by specialists in bilingualism, parents learn how they can help their children learn Polish in everyday life in Polish or multilingual families. Events for children include games and activities that are led by experienced teachers. This enables children to develop and further improve their language skills by means of the immersion method, which aims to immerse them in the language. The language teaching in the café is accompanied by readings and puppet show performances.

Adults also have the opportunity to improve their language skills in the café. Here, the focus is not just on Polish or German. Anyone who is interested can form a language tandem and learn another language that way. Every so often, “speak dating” is offered: a German-Polish language exchange based on the concept of “speed dating”. The language café also offers courses in Polish as a foreign language, which attract the interest of, for example, partners of Poles living in Berlin, or Germans who themselves or whose families have roots in Silesia, Pomerania or Masuria, and who were forced to leave their homes after the end of the Second World War. 

 

However, Polish is not the only language that is spoken in the language café in Pankow. “We also wanted to convey Polish culture in German and other languages. That’s the only way we can promote this culture in a multicultural city like Berlin,” Agata Koch explains in an interview with Radio Cosmo.[2] Every month, women from different cultural backgrounds meet for a “DamenSalon” (ladies’ salon) in the café. Some of them have been forced to flee their home countries, while others have come to Berlin for professional or personal reasons. Conversation, dance, singing, readings and musical performances, even sometimes of their own compositions, all serve to forge relationships. A heterogeneous group of this kind, where there is also an opportunity to discuss questions about family, work or everyday life in Germany, makes it easier to integrate in a new city. 

In the Polish Language Café, diversity takes many different forms. In addition to bi- and multilingualism, the focus is also on bringing people together from different generations. There are hardly any events that are limited to a specific age group as the target group. For the women who founded the café, it is important to also include people from older generations in the activities as a welcome group in society. As a result, it is hoped that younger people, who in many cases have no contact with their grandparents who have remained in Poland, will experience the benefits of intergenerational living and of learning from one another. 

At the beginning of 2018, the Polish Language Café moved to its own space at Schulzestrasse 1 in Pankow. For the women who run the café, whose aim is to build bridges, the new location on the former strip of land where the Berlin Wall used to stand is of particular significance. Not only that: having their own space makes it possible to attract more interest in the café and to realise projects that would not have been possible in rooms that are otherwise used for other purposes. For example, a Polish library has already been created, and there are plans for a neighbourhood café where people can meet to chat and exchange experiences over coffee and cake. A toddler group where Polish-speaking parents of young children can meet is also in the process of being created.

From the start, the Polish Language Café was designed to serve the neighbourhood. By now, though, it attracts visitors from all over Berlin. The café’s activities have long expanded beyond the local neighbourhood already, and have inspired similar projects in other parts of Berlin. In the local library in the district of Steglitz, it has been possible to organise regular reading meetings for Polish-speaking children. At a primary school in Zehlendorf, Polish lessons are now being offered as an additional subject. 

The Polish Language Café is a good example of just how much can be achieved within a short space of time when committed people join forces and combine their resources. In just a few years, a small-scale initiative with a limited sphere of influence has grown into a dynamic “gemeinnütziger Verein”, an association working for the common good, which has been officially registered as such since 2016. An open-minded approach to new initiatives and above all to people forms the basis of its activities. After all, anyone who wants to and who has the time can contribute their ideas and efforts to the running of the café, be it actively or by simply donating money.

The high level of commitment of the women who founded the café was honoured when they were nominated for the “Blue Bear” award in 2016. The prize, which is funded by the Berlin city administration and the representation of the European Commission in Germany, rewards initiatives, projects and individuals whose work contributes to breaking down barriers within Europe and forging relationships between the people living in Berlin. For an association whose goal it is to bring together people from different backgrounds, there could hardly be a better recognition of its work.

 

Monika Stefanek, July 2018