Team - Be Better Club

We endeavour to be complete professionals. We have varying life and professional experience, but we are always recognised by:

• professional education and teaching qualifications,
• teaching, psychological and counselling experience
• outgoing personality with a talent for communication.

Trainers of the German language	Barbara Barłóg
	Anna Trąbała
	Joanna Dzięcielewska-Rapsiewicz
	Alina Rozynek
Trainers of the English language	Barbara Kilpatrick-Pietrzak
	Agnieszka Proć
	Magdalena Domagała
	Anna Borkowska
	Marta Lewandowska
	Maciej Durczewski
Trainers of the Polish language	Barbara Barłóg
Business advisor - coach	Renata Barlog-Scholz
School subject Trainers	Team of cooperating teachers
English material text proofreading	Andrew Pietrzak

Owner – Barbara Barłóg                                                        German and Polish

An insatiable curiosity has always been the hallmark of BB and led her in 1991 to graduate in German philology at Poznań University and then travel to study political science in Cologne.   

Even as a student, long before the opening of the frontiers, she organised seminaria for German, Polish, Czech, Russian and French youth. The purpose of those meetings was to support multicultural co-operation through knowledge of the history, mentality, socio-political and economic situation and the joint consideration of various cultural experiences for the development of individuals and groups.

In 1991, in Germany she began working with German television as a translator, author and producer of reports about Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia. Working with the German television stations (ARD, WDR, NDR, ARTE, RTL, RTL2, VOX, SAT1) she produced many reports, including that about beloved Cracow: “Cracow City of the Dragon”, “Skinheads in Nowa Huta”, “Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of Cracow”, “Steven Spielberg and his film plan in Cracow”.

From 1992 to 1994 worked with Ralph Giordano in the production of his book   “Ostpreussen ade”. She managed this project as assistant and translator (Polish, German and Russian languages), organised the travelling, established contacts, collected material and was the consultant until the moment that the book was published by Kipenheuer & Witsch.

Between 1994 and 2001 she organised and led educational tours in Poland (Masuria, Warmia, Cracow, Lower Silesia and Pomerania), principally for groups of Germans.

In 1999 she returned to Poland, established a business and worked as a journalist, reporter and German and Polish teacher. In 2001 she achieved her dream, creating an educational club, initially operating under the name Fun Learning Foreign Language Club, and from 2008 Be Better Club. The club mission is to create an environment, in which students not only acquire knowledge and abilities in a given area but also in associated areas.

The passion for delving into the secrets of human psyche, undertaking new tasks, seeking new routes, travelling the world, making the acquaintance of new cultures, the joy at each new day, enriched with music, dancing and words are for BB the driving force for ceaseless joyful development.

Anna Trąbała                                                                                         German

2001 M. A. German Philology.  Even while still at lyceum, due to an excellent teacher she caught the "German virus”.  After her studies she acquired students of her own for lessons and foreign expeditions that she organised, revealing to many young people the advantages of fluency in foreign languages.
After a period of intense cooperation with German and Austrian companies and living for several years in Austria; she returned to her vocation, teaching German.
An interest in other people and cultures ensures that she enjoys her work. Her hobbies reveal her artistic soul - dancing, music from all over the world and decoupage compete with German literature for her free time.
 

Barbara Kilpatrick-Pietrzak                                                                     English

 
A New Zealander in Poznań.
Following graduation, set out to travel the world. While living in Britain, acquired the English sense of humour, as well as a husband.
Following a varied but interesting career, found herself in Poznań and much to her surprise and pleasure teaching her native language to the “natives”.
Thoroughly enjoying this alternative career and has found that her past life provides a wealth of anecdotes and ideas to entice students to use this strange English language, as they use their own.
Willing to use all modern technology, unfortunately has problems doing so, unless there is competent help in the group.

Agnieszka Proć                                                                                         English

In 1978 during May Agnieszka (Agnes) Proć began to discover the world.
The first few years were idyllic with her grandmother. Once 7 years old, she began her education at primary school. There like a bolt from the blue, she was struck by the words of one of her teachers:
 “Agnes, you have talent for foreign languages, make use of it”.
The decision came like lightning - lyceum, specialising in languages: English - Russian. But that was only the beginning …. Wishing to see the world. First fate brought her to Poznań, to enhance her mastery of both languages and also learn the Poznań dialect.
While studying she developed a passion for Russian and English literature and also for travelling, most frequently the then popular working holidays.
During the agricultural working holidays, she discovered new possibilities, made many precious friendships and gained interesting experiences. However neither the Queen, nor Big Ben and not even English pudding were able to thwart destiny and so she became an English teacher.
Sensitive, calm and responsible, but anyone taking that for granted could be  mistaken …
CURRENTLY IN ENGLAND

Maciej Durczewski                                                                                    English

Maciej Durczewski, born in 1968, shortly after his birth the famous March protests broke out, with the effect that nothing could ever be normal in his life.
In 1976 he went to Great Britain with a practical knowledge of two words. Returned in 1979 calling the small neighbourhood shop a "supermarket" - parents despair.
His following education confirmed an inborn disinclination towards tedious language lessons. Not for one moment did it occur to him to pin his hopes on a teaching career. Fortunately for all concerned, he did not become a priest, a mad chemist or a doctor; but he met Melanie Ellis (then with the British Council) – currently methodology adviser to Oxford University Press.
Entranced with how an English lesson might be presented he passes the Cambridge exam. He acknowledged success shouting: Destiny here I come! And becomes an English teacher.
From then on he scrupulously accumulated experience  - equally as a teacher, as in varying areas of self-employment. He teaches at schools featured in the Newsweek ranking list - to corporate clients and individuals – from 4 to 84 years of age.
An adherent of the concept of lifelong conscious learning and e-learning, willing to play chess at any time.  Prefers travelling to sunbathing. Fascinated by the history of World War II.  

Magdalena Domagała                                                                               English

 A teacher of English with 12 years experience, a translator and an American English enthusiast. Her adventure with English began at primary school, where the only language taught was Russian. Her parents, considering English to be the language of the future, encouraged her to enrol for an English course. And so she became an enthusiastic student.
The efforts of splendid teachers imbued her with a passion for English, particularly the American version, and the culture of the English-speaking countries. Several years later this bore fruit in the form of English philology studies and travel to the USA, Great Britain and Ireland.

Anna Borkowska                                                                                       English

Having a bunch of relatives living in the United States, it seemed obvious to Ania to learn English. This decision was made at the early age of ten.
Then, there was music. Her favourite pastime was to listen over and over again and to translate, among others, the songs of the Beatles and Michael Jackson. Today, she is capable of humming the whole Michael Jackson repertoire. When truly at ease, she might even sing.
Ania then moved on, logically of course, to study English at university. Her keen interest in the English language and the United States became even stronger due to the Work and Travel programme, which gave her the opportunity to visit America four times. From coast to coast, she travelled extensively through this fascinating country with which she fell in love.
Following graduation, she decided to share her enthusiasm for the language of Shakespeare with students, young and not so young alike.

Marta Lewandowska                                                                                English

Languages have always fascinated Marta.  She always wished to understand the world and discovered that this was facilitated by language. She began learning English in primary school and soon became aware that the world is increasingly interesting and attractive the more one knows about it. From early childhood she has listened to different types of English and as she grew older she perceived that linguistic diversity is mirrored in culture and perception of the world.
Linguistic studies paved the way to a teaching career and created opportunities to travel and explore the world. In 2010 she gained the CELTA qualification. During the CELTA course she learned innovative teaching techniques and became qualified to teach English anywhere in the world.
Marta’s free time is spent in extending her knowledge of South America, its countries, cultures and languages. In her free time she tries to broaden South American countries and their cultures.






                                                                                                                                       

Renata Barlog-Scholz, PhD., Dipl.-Psych.,

                 psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, business advisor

Already while a student of psychology at Lublin Catholic University she made her first contacts with young Germans, who were in Poland participating in friendship projects. She won a KAAD stipend (1984-86) and studied political science at Cologne University and conducted research for her doctoral study. She worked as a trainer at various German educational academies and institutes.  As a Friedrich Ebert Stiftung scholarship holder (1989-91) she was awarded a doctorate in behavioural science by Heidelberg University  (“ The knowledge of young Germans of the Nazi concentration camps”, publisher Peter Lang, 1992). From then on she has lived and worked in Cologne.  In the ‘nineties she worked in the health service as a researcher and quality control manager and also as a psychotherapist.  Since 2001 has her own psychoanalyst practice and works as a business advisor.    Jointly with a group of advisor friends in 1988 she established the advisory firm Kölner Gruppe (www.koelnergruppe.de).  Since 2003 is also a reader at the Alfred Adler KölnAachen Ev Psychoanalysis Institute (www.aai-aachen-koeln.de), and from 2004 a partner and trainer in the advisory firm Königswieser  & Network  (www.koenigswieser.net).
Primarily interested in individual and group development, development of cooperation, conflict resolution, multicultural competence and  “appreciative leadership”.