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Leaning Polish, any suggestions for a beginner?

  • 19-08-2013 12:59am
    #1
    steve_
    Registered Users Posts: 956 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys im looking at learning to speak basic Polish with the hopes of becoming more fluent over the coming years. But my question is whether there is any recommend books or courses out there specific for English speakers looking to learn the language. Currently i am living with 3 other Polish guys and have decided to begin to learn the language as i feel it is an excellent opportunity considering the environment. I reckon i will be living with them for the foreseeable future (at least one year) and i would love to use my situation to help me learn the language more quickly. They all agreed to help me with grammar and pronunciation which is great.

    But i would like to have some content that i could work through myself while on my breaks in work or just in the evening to read through. I purchased level 1 of rosetta stone in Polish which i hope will arrive soon. Any suggestions for further learning? Cheers

    Thread should be LEARNING Polish......obviously


Comments

  • #2
    Seweryn
    Registered Users Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    steve_ wrote: »
    Hi guys im looking at learning to speak basic Polish with the hopes of becoming more fluent over the coming years....
    Hi Steve,

    Where are you based? There are some Polish native English teachers around, that could be of help to you.


  • #3
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Obralem Ziemniaka



    In a similar boat OP. Living with my Polish GF for coming up to a decade, its really time I learnt a bit more than pivo prosze. I made some progress with Czech so the transition should be straight forward.


  • #4
    Seweryn
    Registered Users Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    syklops wrote: »
    In a similar boat OP. Living with my Polish GF for coming up to a decade, its really time I learnt a bit more than pivo prosze.
    Piwo proszę :).


  • #5
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Seweryn wrote: »
    Piwo proszę :).


    I don't have Polish letters on my keyboard.

    And a correction like that is very discouraging to the beginner.


  • #6
    hawkwind23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,189 ✭✭✭hawkwind23


    learn english first?
    sorry first thought when i seen title :)

    have you tried , duolingo? its a handy wee app i have on the phone (android)

    do you drive?
    i always found the tapes ,or cds as i suppose now :) very handy to stick on and let them sink in.

    its a language i would like to learn , i go to Poland a lot and its embarrassing not having the very basics.


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  • #7
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    There are great videos on youtube.

    My girlfriend sent me this earlier:



  • #8
    Seweryn
    Registered Users Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    syklops wrote: »
    I don't have Polish letters on my keyboard.
    You do, same as everyone, it is just a matter of changing your settings.
    syklops wrote: »
    And a correction like that is very discouraging to the beginner.
    I didn't mean to discourage the beginner. He knows how to pronounce the words and now he knows how to spell them ;).


  • #9
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Seweryn wrote: »
    You do, same as everyone, it is just a matter of changing your settings.

    Im not going to change the input setting of my computer to type two words in a post.

    Edit: I don't have it. I would have to install an additional package.
    Seweryn wrote: »
    I didn't mean to discourage the beginner. He knows how to pronounce the words and now he knows how to spell them ;).

    I was referring to myself.


  • #10
    Aseth
    Registered Users Posts: 421 ✭✭Aseth


    Seweryn wrote: »
    You do, same as everyone, it is just a matter of changing your settings.
    Only if you use windows ;)


    Learning Polish can be quite challenging. But I'd say best is to learn whole sentences - like in the '3 minutes...' video. And once you master the basics start learning grammar. Grammar unfortunately can be difficult and confusing - English one is very easy in comparison.


  • #11
    Seweryn
    Registered Users Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    Aseth wrote: »
    Learning Polish can be quite challenging. But I'd say best is to learn whole sentences - like in the '3 minutes...' video. And once you master the basics start learning grammar. Grammar unfortunately can be difficult and confusing - English one is very easy in comparison.
    Yeah, no doubt Polish is more complicated than English and in fact one of the toughest languages to learn. A real challenge. But hey, isn't life all about facing challenges :) ?


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  • #12
    steve_
    Registered Users Posts: 956 ✭✭✭steve_


    Sorry for some reason i didnt receive emails to say people had replied in the thread. So far the guys have printed out the alphabet including the "sounding" of the word, at least this way i can sound out pretty much any word which should help with a bit quicker. I also ordered a simple phrase book from lonely planet so im just going to start using the phrases day to day


  • #13
    beazee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭beazee


    Jak sie masz, Steve?


  • #14
    steve_
    Registered Users Posts: 956 ✭✭✭steve_


    Dobrze, dziekuje. Riobie ciagle postepy.

    Don't have the polish font :-)


  • #15
    Seweryn
    Registered Users Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    steve_ wrote: »
    Don't have the polish font :-)
    Do you use Windows? If yes, then you do have Polish fonts ;).
    steve_ wrote: »
    Dobrze, dziekuje. Riobie ciagle postepy.
    Well done Steve.

    Widać, że robisz postępy.

    The next step is to use Polish fonts ;).


  • #16
    beazee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭beazee


    steve_ wrote: »
    Dobrze, dziekuje. Riobie ciagle postepy.
    Świetnie! Jakieś plany na weekend?


  • #17
    Dores
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Dores


    Cześć Steve!
    Powodzenia w nauce!
    W Trinity College prowadzą lekcje polskiego i innych słowiańskich języków. Pewnie mają też podręczniki.


  • #18
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    When I was learning Czech, I made the most progress by going to one on one lessons with a teacher. Thankfully it was paid for by the company I was working for. I'd recommend this and will be doing the same for Polish, once I figure out where I will be living.

    Get an actual teacher, not just a friend who says they will teach you Polish, because a teacher will have a plan and materials and experience.

    Check the colleges, they will be starting classes around now.


  • #19
    Marcin_diy
    Registered Users Posts: 464 ✭✭Marcin_diy


    My advice would be not to concentrate too much on the grammar side.
    Polish grammar is very difficult for beginners and I think it could discourage you you from learning.
    I'd start with some greetings, basic words, basic sentences words and phrases like I want ( ja chce), ja ide do... ( I'm going to) , I was ( ja bylem) etc, etc.
    Once you have a feeling that you are ok with basics and you can understand Polish people talking to you, then I'd start with grammar.
    As you know there are 16 tenses in English, but if you know and use 5 of them you will say everything you need. In Polish there are only 3 main tenses, but many words conjugate and create completely different meaning of the sentence, so you need to know all the rules and exceptions before you can talk properly.

    One simple example would be adjective green (zielony)
    no matter what the sentence is you always say green
    in Polish - zielony, zielona zielonemu, zielonej, zielonego, zielonej, zielonym, zielone etc - and this is with almost every adjective.

    so before you get deep into the grammar, make sure you know words and just basic phrases.


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