Institute of English :: Sosnowiec 2015
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29th International Conference on Foreign / Second Language Acquisition
Szczyrk, Poland, 18-20 May 2017
The impact of learning environments
on second language acquisition and foreign language learning
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Practical Information
The event will be held in Szczyrk, a well-known (to many of you) resort town in the Beskidy Mountains of Southern Poland and the dates are: 18th to 20th May 2017 (with as usual the possibility of an earlier arrival on Wednesday, 17th May). The conference venue will be the Hotel META. All conference participants can be accommodated there, but if for any reason you prefer to choose different accommodation or don’t require any at all, please indicate this on your registration form.
Details concerning the conference fee will be announced in the Second Circular in February 2017.
IMPORTANT: Everyone who wishes to receive an invoice (Faktura VAT)issued to the home institution should make sure that the money is transferred by the institution, and not from a private bank account of the participant. It is a policy of our financial department not to issue the bills to a different person/institution than the one who actually made the payment. If, for some reason, it is impossible for the university to transfer the money for conference participation and the staff members are asked to make the payments by themselves, we suggest that in order to ensure that the bill will be issued to the sending institution the transfer should be made by a postal order with the name of the institution as the payer. Bank transfers from private accounts will always be treated as paid by the account holders. If the fee is paid at the conference desk in cash, there is no problem with issuing the bill to the university.
How to get to the Conference
From Warsaw: If you land at Warsaw Okecie Airport, you may get to Warsaw Central Train Station (the distance is about 15 km.) by bus or taxi. If you wish to take a taxi, avoid the touts who meet international flights in the terminal and go to the outside taxi rank. Company "919" is reliable (the name appears on the roof and door of the cab). But a taxi can be very expensive (as much as 80 zloty). City bus # 175 leaves every 15 minutes or so from the airport and stops opposite the central station (the journey takes about 20 minutes). Tickets are approx. 4 zloty per person and can be purchased from the driver; you must buy an extra ticket for every large piece of luggage. A special bus service, Airport City, runs distinctive red and yellow busses into the city centre every half hour; tickets cost 8.00 zl. and are purchased from the driver. Recently, a new railway service has been introduced linking Warsaw airport and the Central Railway station, it is line S3 departing every half an hour or so. This is probably the most convenient option now, as it will get you directly to the train station.From Warsaw Central Station (Warszawa Centralna) express or Intercity trains leave for Bielsko-Biala, which is 40 minutes away from SZCZYRK, if you take a local bus. Alternatively, you might arrive in Katowice or Krakw, and continue your trip to Bielsko-Biala and Szczyrk from there. Second class tickets to Katowice cost about 100 zl (incl. seat reservation, which is required); first class tickets are about 50% more expensive but the difference in comfort is not appreciable. Tickets are purchased in the main hall of the station and there can be a wait in line of up to 20 minutes. The station has numerous coffee bars, shops and kiosks, some of which sell detailed maps, guidebooks and phrasebooks. Be mindful of thieves and pickpockets. The train timetable is available at the following website: http://rozklad-pkp.pl/?q=en/node/143and the bus schedule from Biesko-Biala to Szczyrk here:http://www.pks.bielsko.pl/ (unfortunately only in Polish). The bus stop in Szczyrk where you should get off the bus is Szczyrk, Kolejka, the bus stop where you get on the bus is Bielsko-Biala (Dworzec Autobusowy).
From Katowice: If you arrive in Katowice by train from Warsaw or elsewhere, you can get to Bielsko-Biala by frequent local or express trains; the journey takes 1,5 hours or 1 hour, respectively. A local train ticket costs about 15 zl.
From Bielsko-Biala: The municipal bus station in Bielsko-Biala is situated opposite the main train station and the two are connected by a pedestrian overpass. There are up to 30 daily busses to Szczyrk; the journey takes about 40 minutes and tickets, purchased at the ticket booth before boarding the bus, cost about 18 zloty. Alternatively, you can take a taxi; the journey should cost 80-100 zl.
Important!!! Participants are welcome to use our university shuttle bus on Wednesday, 17th May 2017. The exact departure time as well as the pickup spot will be announced later. The bus will take the participants directly to the conference site in Szczyrk. If you want to reserve a place on the bus, please do so by writing to the organisers at szczyrkconference2017@gmail.comby 15th April 2017 at the latest. We regret to inform that reservations made after that date will not guarantee a seat on the shuttle bus.
ICFSLA Szczyrk, Poland :: Institute of English