Evolution of the English Language Position

Evolution of the English Language Position - Małgorzata Kowalczyk

The study is based on a case study of a socio-educational microregion located in Central Pomerania. This case is considered from the point of view of teaching English in local schools. In this perspective, the systemic solution should be the 2017 reform, the so-called reform by Minister Anna Zalewska – based on ideological assumptions called “Good School”. Research carried out in rural schools five years after the implementation of the idea of “Good School” creates premises for the modification of English didactics in the realities of provincial primary schools. In the years preceding the 2022/2023 school year, the dominance of the German language in modern foreign language teaching was clearly inhibited there. Moreover, by the school year 2021/2022, staffing barriers have disappeared. Both the preference for the English language and qualified English teachers are now the premises for the growing importance of this subject and its position in 8-grade primary school preceded by prior pre-school education. The author's research and analyzes show that the main barriers or obstacles in teaching English in a provincial primary school lie in the conditions of the school’s social environment. This is especially important in the realities of a rural school.