Collection of learning resources for learning the Polish language

A foreign language should never be taught through the translation method because languages don't translate word for word. There isn't a textbook on the planet that will enable you to do that! So give up on that idea immediately.


You shouldn't be trying to at this stage.


That's a much better approach.

Bear in mind that when a child goes to school in a foreign country where they don't know the language at all, they don't learn by having everything translated into their native language, or by having the finer points of grammar and syntax explained to them. They learn by listening and drawing conclusions about what is being said from the context. (Receptive language)Then they gradually begin to produce those phrases themselves (expressive language). Just using basic Polish with your children every day will make a big difference but it takes about six months to see results.

A web game for learning Polish vocabulary: baltoslav.eu/hulnia/pol.php?mova=pl

Far too long and some of the pictures are misleading. Needs to be broken up into smaller stages

I got three wrong

ocet - the picture didn't show enough of the bottle and so I guessed owoc (from the pictures on the label which was all you could see) I thought maybe it was an empty jam jar

where you have to fill in letters:

kolejka - a statue of people in a public place (not waiting for anything) so I guessed kultura
mlecz - was blanking on the word and guessed mnisz (from mniszek....)

Hey, guys, hello! :) It's a Bulgarian guy here.

I started to learn Polish a few months ago through duolingo but I struggle a lot with not keeping up to the tempo of their lessons. I need more explanation and A WHOLE LOT of exercises, so I'm looking for some hardcore grammar (preferably) book or websites. And all I come to is all expired like the Colloquial Polish book.

Can someone help me?

Learn phrases by heart. Read Polish websites or books. Watch Polish yt. You achieve more and faster than studying grammar. There is a lot to learn what is easy. Do not start with difficult part.

@peter_olsztyn

I'll try to follow your advise better for sure. Maybe I just had too many years of studying English that I forgot how to systemize learning languages. :)

Thing is that I learn better by following the logic rather than learning it by heart. I was always better at maths compared to long texts I had to learn. So that's why I'm looking for a way to have logic+heart together with logic prevailing.

Me too.

The old Teach Yourself Polish by corbridge-patkaniowska was pretty good. Some of the language is very dated, but the structural descriptions are very good and it drips the structure rather than dumping declination tables on your head at the beginning.

It seems to be hard to find, however. The updated Teach Yourself book is crap - just a glorified phrasebook.

Anything descriptive by Oscar Swan is also good (and maybe hard to find)

Online, I've seen lots worse than this: mowicpopolsku.com/polish-grammar

It seems to be originally in German with an English translation added but the little I checked out seemed okay.

Merged: Resources (esp. textbooks and websites) for learning Polish as a foreign language for speakers of English

Dear forum users,

can you suggest resources for studying Polish as a foreign language for speakers of English. I need resources which are tailored especially to the needs of speakers of English (Americans, British folks) whose mother tongue is not Polish. Ideally, can you suggest textbooks or websites devised by experts in teaching Polish as a foreign language: teachers, applied linguists, language enthusiasts etc.

I have one requirement: I am a speaker of Polish and I need resources written in English with Polish translations of texts, exercises, dialogues etc of course. I need the instructions written in the English language (grammar explanations / cultural intricacies etc) because I need to have a different insight / outlook / view than mine on how such resources are written. Such outlook sometimes helps to look at language from a different perspective.

The following book is an example of such a resource. It is available on the Internet to have look a look inside.

Krystyna Stypulkowska-Smith Krystyna Sadlowska, Polish Familiarization and Short-term Training, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, 1992

Thank you very much for any suggestions.

All the best,

Piotr

Why do I need books like the suggestion above? Say that an American writer of such books is delighted with Polish cuisine and in his/her book describes a recipe for one of the traditional Polish food; namely "bigos". In his/her write-up for the recipe he or she gives in detail why he/she likes it. The description has an outside view of the dish: the "reviewer" of the dish says something the following: although I don't like sauer kraut, the way "bigos" is cooked makes the dish as a whole exquisite food etc and that's what I call the outsider's view. More or less. In fact: it's not only the opinion that I'm after but also the language the reviewer is using: words, idioms, expression that he/she usually uses to describe an American or British food. In the case of Polish "bigos", it would be an interesting fact to see how a Brit or American uses mushrooms in his/her recipes. Thank you.