The best way for a Polish person to learn English?

Could someone tell me what is considered the best way for a polish person to learn english whilst living in england, perhaps a class, tape/cd, etc.

anyone done this themselves

many thanks

The best way is to get an English girlfriend/boyfriend. The second best way is to get English friends, and speak a lot with them.

It's also good to get a course book to learn grammar etc.

It's probably pretty hard to find a gf/bf when you don't know the language to begin with.. If you're a bit on the introvertic side you can always try to use voice chats and try to chat with some natives.

ok not so bad then, this girl is my girlfriend!
I just want her to have the best oppurtunity to find work here in england, her english is pretty basic but she is a fast learner, what about those loretta stone (not sure of name) language tapes, are they good?

Different people prefer different ways to learn. But I think it's best to combine a few methods.


Rosetta Stone
I don't like it. You don't get the structure of the language.

Very true.

I would argue on this one to be honest. Why to force yourself finding a foreign girlfriend/boyfriend, especially if you don't need one or already have one. Besides, there is no guarantee that they'll teach you proper English(my first hand experience, I still at times teach my English boyfriend his mother tongue, spelling in particular).

If you simply want to speak in other language, try spending as much time as possible with foreign people (since we all know that working in the UK means working with many polish people , when one can speak his or her mother tongue). But if you wish to speak it properly, learn the grammar first. Ask somebody who feels at ease with English and can explain some things to you.

Buy magazines and newspapers in English. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Nobody should force anybody 2 anything,we discuss the BEST way 2 learn.1st of all to enter relationship with foraigner u must allready speak his/her language at some level(or he/she must speak yours).then it is really handy to have a native speaker around.

Having foreign partner makes it easy.to give you an example i remember:watching "taxi driver" with my wifey.in one of the scenes de niro says:"i take everyone,even spooks"i have had no idea who the "spook"was,but all i had to do was to ask "baby who is the spook?"and had answer in a sec.

immerse in the language. if you can't afford/haven't got time for English classes just speak English as much as you can, write in English, THINK in English. your gf has the advantage of having you, so take time out of each day you spend together and talk. correct her and get her to note things down if she can't memorise them. just make it fun, you're not her teacher lol. read books and magazines in English together, watch tv, anything that involves contact with the language. learning songs in English is a great way too, singing along and looking up the lyrics is fun and effective. as long as you don't make it a boring chore i'm sure she'll start naturally picking up more and more things each day.

Couldn't agree more, especially song you like, it's easier to memorize the melody and add words later. And when you finally check the lyrics these words usually stay in your head.. very good way to learn. There were so many songs I though I knew lyrics of, after looking them up I was like "I though she was singing "sex sex sex" and it's "some success" ".. ; )

I did that (and still do it) in Polish. It's more effective than people think, because positive music experiences create strong memory associations.

A formal course with recordings. To speed things up and to minimize any guesswork you need to learn the rules of the language. You're likely to figure them out without manuals eventually, but manuals make the process faster. Living in and English speaking country will allow you to get instant feedback and verification of what you learn.

Songs are a great suggestion. Learn the lyrics, sing along.
Above all speak aloud as much as you can and ask your English friends to correct your vocabulary and pronunciation.

Don't be afraid to experiment with your tongue, and I don't mean muff diving or sticking it out at people. One of the initial obstacles in learnign a foreign language is the articulation of sounds, some of which you will find to be somewhere between unnatural and ridiculous (for instance the spit inducing "th")

some studying with the book is necessary, but I learned how to speak English from American TV and radio. In Chicago I saw a lot of Polish people unable to give up their Polish media.

Now I'm teaching myself Spanish the same way. Radio is a riot, but TV is pretty bad.

Speak with an English speaker as much as you can...


Get together with a native speaker...

all that is true, but when driving to and from work it's easier to turn on the radio station than look for a Spaniard to take for a ride. ;)

Spanish TV has a lot of well known movies, dubbed. It's hard to sit and concentrate on most of them for too long, but even as a background noise it does it's work. After a while, it starts sinking in.

I write words and phrases I keep hearing and look them up later.

personally, i think the best way to learn English for almost anyone is to actually speak the language with a native speaker. Once you begin to hear the language and answer in it, you are truly learning the language. Until then, studying words without listening to speakers of the language doesnt help, not me at least. My suggestion? Find someone who speaks the language and call them every day to speak with them

Merged: I live in Poland and I would like to learn English

Hello my name is Sebastian. I live in Poland and I would like to learn English. In English I speak and write very poorly, I would like to change it :)

Is there someone patient and willing to write me and help me learn?
In writing this thread I use the dictionary, I'm sorry for the mistakes.

Look i have an idea not only to help you but the other expats living presently in Poland, willing to learn Polish and tackle the pronunciation, issue.

But I would need help from Administration of this forum and members who are willing to "waste"/contribute few hours a week.

@yel you ain't the only one with this issue. I see post scattered all over the place calling for help.
As I said I have a solution.
I will prepare a video presentation, how we could go about it.

Unless you are looking for a new friends ;) actually watching You Tube is more efficient way than writing messages.

youtu.be/J9Pc1C8sQ38


The BBC has an English Language [learning] page. They do other languages too.

The best way cut of any contact with Polish people move away were there is know polisy community and then you will force to learn English because you will hear only English so you will learn a lot faster then living with group of Polaks and speaking there luggage you all ready know Polish.

ENGLISH close caption TV (on a daily basis!!), BBC/ABC/CNN/C-SPAN news broadcasts or podcasts and English (not Polish) subtitles in the beginning of the English phase, when watching a movie!

Duo lingo is a good app for our big a language

Anything's got to be better than Pimsleur, Berlitz or Rosetta Stone.

Marry a Polish girl is the easiest way.

The challenges for a random Polish learner are naturally entirely different from those of a random English learner! For one thing, Polish remains by in large vastly unfamiliar to native Anglophones save those of Polish background, they simply don't bother studying any foreign language except for absolute language requirememts e.g. highschool Spanish. Poles on the other hand are obligated to study English, force fed, just as the whole world is obligated to lear basic arithmetic, regardless whether they've a speck of talent for it or not:-) No foreigner is legally required to study Polish.

Certain types of residence and/or prospective citizens are required to show proficiency (B2 IIRC).

IIRC you weren't around when I posted about this channel: She teaches Polish as a foreign language (including state exam prep). Crystal clear diction with lots of explanations. Judging from the types of errors she discusses (and the comments) a (large?) majority of her students are Russian speakers but lots of good content at any rate.

youtube.com/c/PozdrowieniazPolski/featured

People used to learn English through Spotlight English or SKY-Channel.

One problem for any immigrant including Poles is other immigrants who speak lousy English as well. That is why on arrival you (editorial) should avoid them like a plague or you will be speaking that awful immigrant English in your coffin fifty years later.

You actually have a point. It cuts both ways too. Anglos wanting to learn a foreign language abroad in recent years (pre-Covid, of course) are often met with a slew of well-intentioned folks eager to barrage them with broken English while usually unwilling to concede to the simple fact that plenty of Anglophones might know their language more competently than the foreigner knows English:-)

Anybody with close caption capabilities on their phone or home PC can readily turn on or off the English captions at the bottom of the screen. This technique works for all languages.

Moreover, the English isn't even taught by Anglo-Saxon native speakers!