How to learn Polish at home from scratch?

Knowledge of foreign languages is not a luxury, but a necessity that reveals almost any door to a person. Knowing a foreign language, we can get a job in a successful company, find new friends in any corner of the globe, go on vacation abroad, without worrying about how to find a common language with the aborigines. To date, not only English or German, but also Polish is in demand. Therefore, the most common question on the web today is how to learn Polish.

Methods of studying

Any foreign language, including Polish, can be taught in several ways.

Sign up for courses. This is the simplest and most effective way. Training takes place in groups, and you have the opportunity to communicate not only with the teacher, but also with other listeners. The main disadvantages of such training - not all cities have such courses, and if there are, classes are held on schedule, which may not suit you.

Tutoring with a tutor. With this training, all the tasks for you are the teacher, he also checks the correctness of their performance, indicates errors. One minus - it's worth the pleasure not cheap.

Training via the Internet. Quite popular method, where you can both enroll in special courses and attend webinars, and find a remote teacher. The cost is much lower, but again, if you have a slow Internet or the payment is for the traffic used, the option is not particularly attractive.

Self-study . Today there are a lot of forums and websites devoted to how to learn Polish at home. The main advantages of the method are low training costs and the opportunity to choose the time for classes and the learning strategy. Less - lack of motivation and laziness can significantly interfere with learning.

Motivation

The main thing in learning a language, no matter what method of study, is the presence of motivation. It's not enough to say: "I want to learn Polish." It is necessary to find at least one reason why you need it. Otherwise, as soon as the first impulse has passed and interest in studies subsides, you immediately abandon the training and after a couple of years do not remember even the elementary phrases.

As incentives may be a desire to go abroad for training or permanent residence. By the way, in this case the Poles quite willingly meet people who know Polish culture and traditions. Even without relatives among the Poles, you can get a Pole's card if you know the culture and customs of the country, take an active part in activities aimed at popularizing Polish culture. The Pole's card gives a lot of advantages - the possibility of obtaining a visa, the right to legal employment and training, other trivialities.

Another good motive may be employment in international companies. Knowing not only English, but also the Polish language will be a huge plus in this situation.

A tourist trip to Poland can also be an excellent reason. Agree, it's much more interesting to travel around the country on your own, choosing the museums and exhibitions you like. And not all Poles own a foreign language and may simply not understand your question about how to get to the museum or hotel if it is asked in English.

Perhaps you are interested in how to learn Polish yourself, in order to read an interesting book that is not translated into Russian, or watch the show. Even such a motive can be an excellent incentive for learning.

Before you start studying, be sure to write down your goal and, as soon as your desire to learn will go down, open your notebook and remember what you did it for. And even better - write your goal on the paper in large letters and hang over the desk. Success is guaranteed.

But if you really do not know how to control your laziness, argue with one of your friends that you will learn the language, say, for 6 months. If you are a gambler, then for sure you will not abandon your studies and achieve success.

Where to begin?

If you decide to do self-study, you must:

1. Decide how many times a week you will be engaged. It's best if you sit down at least three times a week for books.
2. To pick up the educational literature - textbooks, dictionaries, literature for reading.
3. Find additional training tools - audio, video.
4. Install on the mobile or tablet applications for learning the language.
5. Find in the social networks of native speakers.

How to choose textbooks?

In order to learn Polish from scratch, the first thing to do is to select the correct literature. There are a lot of courses and textbooks on the web, each of which has its pluses and minuses. But e-books are not what you need. If you are allowed funds, purchase a textbook in the store, in a paper version. This is a guarantee that during the lesson you will not be distracted by checking mail, calls in Skype or Vibeera.

When choosing a textbook, pay attention to a few points:

1. The year of publishing. The newer the book, the better. Language, especially vocabulary - a dynamic thing. New expressions and words constantly appear. You also understand that learning a foreign language on Soviet textbooks is ridiculous.
2. Publisher. Those who want to know how to learn Polish at home should understand: it is desirable that the textbook be released directly in Poland, best of all if by any language center at the university. Let it not be intimidated by the fact that the tasks are written in Polish or English. But the book will be allowed a minimum of errors, and he will allow you to fully master the language.
3. Availability of answers. If you are studying the language on your own, then you need to constantly check the accuracy of the completed tasks. Well, if the textbook contains the keys to each or at least half of the exercises.
4. Dictionary. The criterion is not obligatory, but desirable. Excellent, if at the end of the textbook there is a mini-dictionary, if not - nothing terrible. In either case, you need to purchase a dictionary.

5. Availability of audio. So you can not only read how to pronounce a particular sound, but also to hear it.

We buy a dictionary

To learn the Polish language by yourself, you need to additionally purchase a dictionary. At least words for 35 000-40 000. To begin with, this will be enough. Ideally, the dictionary should contain from 150 000 words.

When choosing it is also important to pay attention to the year of release.

An obligatory condition is that the dictionary is two-sided, that is, Polish-Russian and Russian-Polish. You understand that you will need to translate not only from Polish to Russian, but also in the opposite direction.

additional literature

Speaking about how to learn Polish at home, it is worth remembering that you will not have enough textbooks and a dictionary. In addition it is desirable to purchase:

• A separate booklet with rules, tables and diagrams on the Polish language. With their help, you can quickly refresh the memory of previously learned rules, quickly learn new ones.
• Fiction. It can be one or two books of your favorite genre. It is desirable that you have not read these works before. Be sure to pay attention, adapted literature or not, in the second case, reading it will be much more difficult.

Additional teaching aids

You can learn Polish independently not only with the help of books and textbooks, but also with the help of songs and films, serials, games. These methods of study are not basic, with their help you can improve the level of language skills during the rest.

Find online songs in Polish. You can periodically listen to them and try to translate words, individual phrases and sentences. This method is especially valuable if you go to work and with it.

Watching movies and TV shows. Of course, you can watch movies and series exclusively in the language you are learning, but it's better if they are accompanied by subtitles in Russian. Thus, many phrases and expressions from the domestic sphere can be learned.

Games and applications. Those who do not know how to learn Polish, resting, may be interested in learning through games and applications. Today, many applications have been developed for learning the language using tablets and smartphones. Having installed any one you like on your mobile device, you can spend time with benefit while playing exciting games.

Communication

Most are interested in the question of how to learn the Polish spoken language independently. The answer is simple - communicate as much as possible. Spoken language for that and colloquial, which functions in oral speech. The best solution for independent study will be communication with native speakers - residents of Poland.

Find in the social network of friends on interests living abroad. They not only explain to you the rules of using certain words and expressions, the specifics of the syntax, but they will also tell a lot of interesting things about their country and culture.

Learning phonetics

After all the textbooks are bought, you need to start learning. For those who are interested in how to learn Polish at home and where to start, one should remember: it is always necessary to start from the alphabet. You must learn the alphabet - the name of each letter and the pronunciation of sounds. It is important to use special discs that record the sound of each sound. The issue of phonetics, the correct arrangement of stresses, should be given special attention. Wrong pronunciation is one of the grossest mistakes that are difficult to correct in the future.

Vocabulary

The opinion of teachers of a foreign language often differs in what one should pay attention to first of all - grammar or vocabulary. Some believe that a large vocabulary more than compensates for ignorance of grammar, others - that an unfamiliar word can always be found in the dictionary, but with grammar should be sorted out first.

Whatever the case, lexical stock is important, especially when learning Polish. Those who are wondering how to learn Polish at home have probably heard that some words in Polish and Russian, Ukrainian languages have a similar sound, but their meaning may radically differ.

To replenish the lexical stock, you can:

1. Read the previously acquired fiction.
2. Listen to songs and watch movies.
3. Chat with friends on the web.

Additionally, experts recommend:

• Read and translate news articles from various sites. Reading the media, you not only learn new words, but also remember the correct construction of phrases and sentences.
• Use a dictionary. Quite an interesting way to study vocabulary - reading a dictionary and making cards. For example, you scour the dictionary and find 5-10 words unfamiliar to you. Cut out small cards from thick paper. On one side write a word in Polish, on the second - in Russian. Then go through the cards, trying to translate the word on the card, and see the translation for self-examination.

By the way, this method - word - translation - is often used in mobile applications.

Grammar

The grammar of the Polish language deserves special attention. Those who wish to learn Polish quickly at home should prepare themselves for paying much attention to the study of the case system of the language, studying the endings in words depending on time and form.

In addition, people who study Polish, quite often complain about the special logic of constructing sentences and the stylistics of the language.

When you study grammar, you will need a textbook and tables with diagrams. It is advisable to have your own notebook, in which you will write down the basic rules and points.

Speaking

Those who want to know how to learn Polish from scratch at home, it is worth paying special attention to speaking. The main goal of any training is not only to be able to understand the interlocutor, but also to learn to convey your idea to him. When studying a foreign language, a special role is given to this particular moment. Remember how in the lessons of English you were taught to talk about yourself, your family and hobbies, write letters.

When studying Polish, the same approach is applied. You should learn how to talk about yourself, your habits, hobbies, write letters - personal and business, perhaps a resume.

It is important to be able not only to write, but also to tell, without peeking into a notebook and dictionary.

In addition to the development of monologic speech, it is important to pay attention and dialogue.

To develop speaking, you need to communicate with native speakers as much as possible, preferably with video calls. So you can not only learn the basic constructions, expressions, put the pronunciation, but, importantly, overdo your fear. It is the fear of saying something wrong or not - the main problem when learning a language.

Listening

Another important point, which should pay special attention - the perception of speech by ear. It's no secret that most language exams consist of tests aimed at checking grammar and vocabulary, writing, or speaking and listening.

Pull the skills of perception to you will help songs and movies, communication with friends.

In addition, in almost every textbook to which a disc is attached, there are exercises for listening. It is advisable to carry them out by checking the answers and making an analysis of the mistakes made.

Time

So, how much can you learn Polish? The answer to the question depends entirely on you. If you persevere and systematically engage, in a couple of months you will be able to understand Polish speech, speak a new language for you. Let it is not perfect, but still enough for a trip to the country with a vengeance.

If you are lazy and constantly postpone your studies for a while, you will not be enough for several years to get at least minimal communication skills.

Some useful tips

1. Systematically learn the language. Do not skip classes if you do not have a good reason. And if there is, do the exercises planned for the day, as soon as you have a free minute.
2. Do not be zealous in school, do not be a fanatic. Doing daily five to six hours a day - the idea is good, but useless. One lesson should not last more than an hour and a half.
3. On holidays, watch films and listen to music in Polish.
4. Learn the culture and traditions of Poland. So you can immerse yourself in the language you study, understand the meaning of some words and idioms that are not translated into Russian verbatim.
5. Teach not only individual words, but also proverbs, sayings, aphorisms. This will make your speech richer and brighter.

We hope that we gave an exhaustive answer to the question of how to learn Polish from scratch. Follow our advice, systematically engage, and after a few weeks you will notice that you understand individual words and phrases, and after a few months you will be able to speak fluent Polish without any special efforts. Good luck to you!