Polski. Bez Problemu! - Polish language course (levels 1,2,3) - reviews and comments.

Hello all,

I started this thread as I could not find any reliable first user accounts on its quality and content.
If you have used it beyond first few lessons of this course (published by SuperMemo World sp.z.o.o.), you are welcome to share your feedback here.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences with it.

Hi, me again - has anybody seen it or used it?

Yeah I used it. It is good if you plan to do it without help. Most other sources (in my opinion) assume that you will have a teacher or a tutor.

Thanks for the info. How does it stack up against other sources/courses you know of? Did you go through all 3 levels? If yes, how would you describe your language skills upon finishing it?

I only went through one level, and then started taking lessons.
I am not disciplined enough to learn by myself so I don't know what to tell you.

@Polsyr,

Thanks for the feedback; so what do you think you have you learned after completing level 1 and how long it took you?

I don't remember how long it took, but for sure not more than 6 months.

One of the reasons I stopped and started taking lessons is because I needed to practice conversation with a professional (who can talk to me about my mistakes, and how to correct them).

A good teacher can tell you how to pronounce some of the more difficult words and break things down in a way that a book simply can't.

Thanks! I need this info because I need to select a couple of good Polish language programs for my kids (native English speakers, no prior knowledge of Polish).

For kids I would use a teacher for sure!

Of course. But......I am the "teacher" (sort of) and certainly certainly not the "professional" :).

I am a Polish native speaker without prior teaching experience so I need to select a couple of good courses to follow. Now I am looking for well organized material. Courses which do not teach too much too quickly (leaving learners confused w/o feeling that they are actually learning something, or jumping around w/o a sound method) or too little (I am looking for rich vocabulary, some grammar exercises). Courses that are, in some way, "fun" and have at least some computer aided software (my kids perceive learning anything from a computer as a sort of game, so a course having a PC component would hold their attention for much longer.

Since I am Polish speaker, I have a hard time forming an unbiased opinion of my own, and hence my questions to Polish learners. Hope that explains it :)

Sure does explain it.

That is why you should leave the teaching to a teacher :)

Well, I am not so convinced the effectiveness of a teacher/language course in my situation. It's just that this is way different than for a motivated adult like you. Also, it's hard to find a teacher for 10 and 12 years olds. There aren't many Polish courses intended for children (I actually think there are none in where I live).The only other option would be a private tutor, and most of the ones I can find here are as good in teaching as I would be (or simply put, Polish nationals w/o much teaching experience just looking for a job), or they are insanely expensive here.

Do you have kids? If you do, you'd know that children during class will just zone out and the progress would be minimal. Now being a father I know I can get some of their attention for about 1-hour long lesson. I think with a good course to follow I could do same, or possibly even better than a pro. I learned few languages myself, so I do have some clue what works and what does not. Nevertheless, in the end, the time will tell if this would (or wouldn't) work :)

Hello,

I am the Polish teacher for foreigners and there is one thing I can tell you - it is very difficult to be the teacher to your own kids. The problem is that your role for them is being mummy and they threat you as a mummy. If you try to change the role, they will start to force you not to do it - in the end you will get angry about them, they will get angry about you and finally nobody will learn anything. There is one method that maybe could work but only if Polish learning were a kind of play. The programme they offer was made for parents to teach their small kids English, but you can try it with Polish - just change the expressions - you can read everything about it here:

dedomo.pl/index.php/biblioteka-rodzica/zapowiedzi-wydawnicze/151-qaangielski-dla-rodzicowq-probki-.html

Maybe it will help :) If not, then the Polish teacher will be needed.

Greetings from Wroclaw,
Anna

Hi Hannusia,

Thank you for your feedback. Coming from a "double pro", it means a lot to me. (I meant "Pro" as a Polish teacher to foreigners and a mummy teaching your own kids).

Actually, I am very interested to hear more details about your experiences and conclusions stemming from your work of teaching Polish to foreigners. Email/PM me if you wish.

Agreed, this 'role-changing" is somewhat of a problem, but since my kids are older (12 1/2 and 10 1/2) they are more used to schooling rigors already. For me and them the issue isn't really "changing the role", but the fact that this "polish lesson" eats away at their time to have fun playing MMO games with their friends over the Internet ;). Believe me, my kids do not really object about the lesson itself, it is just "getting to that lesson" seems a hassle. So I had little choice but to make our sessions "mandatory" as in "it is your duty to learn your ancestral language". I have a feeling they would love to be able to speak to their grandfather, but it is the effort that stands in their way. Just like it is the case for most of the kids anyway.

The way I see it, this situation is similar to teaching kids music - 99% of the kids do not want to do it and have to be literally forced to practice every day. They learn to appreciate it only after a few years time, providing that they managed to achieve some instrument proficiency and that their parents have had enough determination in pursuing this goal as well.

So in my case, "mandatory it is" but it would certainly help if the lessons are interesting and not dull. I have briefly looked at your suggestion, I just do not think I have enough time at my disposal to translate English teaching material into Polish. I'd rather use something ready "out-of-the-box".

Come to think about it, it is really a shame that more than 20 years after the fall of the iron curtain and with more than what some say is 10 million strong Polish diaspora, there are so little "Polish as a Foreign language" sources for kids and teenagers available. Well, I could say more about this particular issue, but let's just leave it at that for now.