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Learning Polish but not focusing on the grammar, good idea? [37]
I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences on this subject. Having lived the majority of my life as an ex-pat I have seen three types of people when it comes to language acquisition.
The first is the survivor. They learn 100% of the language that they need to survive in the first 6 months in country and from that point advance no further. This is especially true where large ex-pat networks exist or if the individual speaks a dominate world language Spanish or English.
The second is the book-grammar student whose pronunciation, cadence, and syntax often matches their native language. They can speak more than they can understand and can read everything. These individuals usually do good in the long run, but it takes them years to get there. Once they do they often know grammar better than the average Jo.
The last is the individual who acquires the language through listening. These individuals are not special, however they seem very special because they use correct syntax, grammar and the cadence often mimics a native speaker very quickly. The speed at which they start conversing at a high level is astounding. Accent is another discussion but these individuals eventually display a closely mimicked accent, which makes them easier to understand, however they forever retain their native accent and eventually it is detectable.
It was not until years later that I understood what my Polish teacher told me when I asked her how she learned English. She said, when she came to the US she watched TV all day long and before she knew it she was speaking very well. I thought she was nuts at the time, because the only way to learn is by learning grammar and reading books. Now I know what she was talking about. If only I had realized it way back when.
That being said Polish is a language where some grammar is essential, just because there is so much. I highly recommend spending hours a day listening to Polish. There is no need to actively listen or even understand the dialog. Eventually you will pick up all of the essentials and you will copy correct, or at least implement grammatical rules without even realizing it.
If you want to read and write then stick with the old school methods as this method does not help greatly with read or writing.
