Polish students in the international exchange programme “Erasmus”

The author presents selected aspects of functioning of the European Union student exchange programme “Erasmus” at Polish universities. She focuses on Polish students travelling abroad and characterises changes caused by popularisation of this programme, not all of which are positive. One of disadvantages is an excessive simplification of the enrollment process. As a result, some of Erasmus students have unsatisfactory command of foreign language or their motivation is too weak. The author refers to three main kinds of motivation distinguished by psychologists: hedonistic, epistemic (cognitive) and influential – the last one is the most desirable for Erasmus students, especially in the field of their studies’ domain, foreign culture and foreign language. However, the practice indicates that some students have hedonistic motivation, which considerably limits the scientific benefits of the scholarship. The theses presented in the article are confirmed by quotations from the motivational letters of applying students. The author indicates that most reports and analyses about Erasmus are based on quantitative data, which prevents noticing substantial aspects of this phenomenon. Yet, one of the consequences of the popularisation is usually lowering of the level of a certain activity. In this situation, the reflection upon the acceptable lowering of the standards is essential