Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]

Hey!

I have pure Polish heritage and am currently enrolled at a top all women's college in the United States. I'm majoring in Russian Literature and am currently studying abroad at St. Petersburg State University. However, I don't know Polish and that's disheartening to my very Polish grandmother in particular, and my family in general. I also think that because I'll probably be going to graduate school for Slavic Literature (I'm a second semester junior) that I should learn Polish for the benefit of my academic career. So I want to learn Polish a lot!

However, my college in the U.S. does not offer Polish language, and I do not have room in my schedule at St. Petersburg to learn Polish.

So what I'm wondering is:
1. How hard was it for any native English speakers to learn Polish?
2. What did you use to learn Polish? (Assuming that you did not learn to speak Polish from your family)

I would very much like to learn Polish during this year, and become an advanced speaker by the end of this year. :)

Thank you so so so much for any help!