Introduction

As Larzen-Ostermark (2008: 536) claims one cannot underestimate “the importance of learning about and knowing your own culture” as it is a prerequisite for relating it to the foreign culture. “Awareness of one's own cultural background is considered an inevitable basis for more or less conscious comparisons that the students will make when encountering other cultures”

Our research has been designed to answer questions asked by one of the Ukrainian students taking part in the project:

1. a. What is considered impolite or unacceptable to say or to do in Poland?

2. b. What can make Polish people feel uneasy or offended?

Since the question refers exclusively to behaviour, we decided to focus on the “little c” culture defined as: “the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a group of people which results in characteristic behaviours” (Durocher 2007: 145). In order to find a reliable answer to the above questions, we designed two questionnaires meant to investigate Polish people's beliefs concerning unacceptable behaviour.

The Design of the Questionnaires

Two separate questionnaires were designed – one for Polish people and the other for foreigners – in order to compare Poles’ beliefs concerning unacceptable behaviour with the first-hand experience of foreigners coming to Poland. The questionnaire for the Polish people was meant to:

1. • check their attitudes and reactions to faux pas made by foreigners

2. • find the answer to the question: Do Polish people have a tendency to criticise their country? What is their reaction if foreigners do the same?