Job Discussion Forums

lit46 · Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 18

I'm struggling to set up an exhange in warsaw...any ideas?

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

after reading these posts and judging by my own experiences, i must say that i agree that it just takes luck when finding an instructor that works for you. i've been struggling with Polish for a while now, and I have a girlfriend who is a native Polish speaker, AND an English teacher, WITH a Linguistics Master's Degree, and she can't explain to me some questions i have for her regarding declensions. it's no different with my fellow Polish/English teachers at school. when I ask them some questions, they look at me with big wide eyes, break out into laughter because it's something they've never even thought about before, and then proceed to struggle to explain it.

Polish is a monster of a language, and after a year studying it on and off, and now about 6 months studying it routinely every week, I've come to the conclusion that it's just a matter of time. a LONG time. Polish takes years, and is much different than english. It's not my lamo college spanish classes that even if I paid attention half the class, i would get the gist of the lesson and have the vocab memorized by the end of the week.

moonsongs2007 · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 22

Got a chance to use my Polish at the weekend. Managed to understand and express some ideas on a very simple level with my friends' parents (left alone with them, they don't speak any English, felt like a true test) and also with a five-year-old.

Tumteetum · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 144

No doubt some luck is involved but when someone (moi) has made a point of meeting all the participants, filtered them down, made a half arsed attempt to match like for like and has a bank of ready and willing reserves should it not work for a particular couple, the luck element is certainly reduced. That is (was - I don't do it any more) the idea - to make it a bit more organised than hopeful punters just hooking up with random Poles.

To the poster wanting to try it in Warsaw - if you dont know anyone you can do tandem with, I suggest putting some ads up in/around the universities.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

moonsongs2007,

yeah, i am tested around twice a month with a trip to my girlfriend's parents' place. it gets better and better each time, but it's still a total mess! i am still going through the same things......i know the words, i can put the sentence together, and then i get to the declension......and it's a roll of the dice how to change the word.

moonsongs2007 · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 22

dynow

I know what you mean about the noun declensions. Haven't taken the time to learn these yet as it isn't the most captivating subject to me. My study of the Polish language has been quite slack recently (not giving up, though).

Do you use any books to help you? I was using "Polish in 4 Weeks" at the start but this got lent to a friend and now I think I'm (more or less) beyond it having worked through an elementary course book with my language swap partner. Any recommendations for self-study? Very Happy

Tumteetum · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 144

'Hurrah Po Polsku' is good apparently. I've got a link for it somewhere if you want it. Rosetta Stone is also pretty good (and available on a good torrent site near you - although you may have to download a bundle of other languages too if you do it that way).

Another possibility is to get your tandem to translate the Callan books for/with you and use them. I know one or two folk who've done that but they were beginner level. May work.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

Moonsongs,

I use Hurrah Po Polsku, but if you don't have the patience to sit through declension exercises, don't bother! I'm on Ch. 13, and for the most part, the entire course has been learning Polish grammar/declensions. It's exhausting, but I am finding that the more I do it, the more I start remembering the declensions by feel rather than by memory, just like Polish people learned to speak the language. Their mothers didn't do declension drills with them, they just learned through constant exposure. Bottom line with Polish, you have to keep at it, every week, no less than 3 times per week, or you will never learn proper grammar.

Just learning words in Polish without the proper grammar is a dead end, I can promise you that. People will flat out not understand you. Quick story (but one of many similar stories): when I first came to Poland, I had no concept of Polish grammar, and ordered 2 Zywiec drafts for my friend and I. Not knowing the declension, I said "dwa Zywiec", and the bartender simply stared at me. About 10 seconds went by with him and I trying to communicate what I needed, because I totally confused him. He eventually switched to english to double check what I wanted. Nowadays, I say "dwa Zywce", and even though my accent is far from perfect, I don't even get a second glance because my grammar is dead on and they understand right away.

moonsongs2007 · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 22

Tumteetum

Cheers for the book recommendations. I'll probably go with "Hurrah Po Polsku" and fork out for a real copy, cos I hate staring at a screen for too long. Time to start wrestling with Polish grammar, methinks, which has been regrettably overlooked compared to vocabulary and pronunciation.

Hope you had a good trip. Smile

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

i'm still hoping to find a book or website with various exercises for Polish grammar. you can find a thousand websites with online, interactive grammar drills, practice sentences, quizzes........nothing in Polish. There's just no demand for it, i guess.

I'm learning the grammar, but it's not natural yet, I gotta really concentrate when speaking to use the declensions sometimes, and I know that if I drilled, had more exercises, I would sit and do them and learn them.

until then, i guess i gotta just push through the grammar the best I can and speak awkwardly for a few more years till it becomes more natural.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

are there any websites anyone can recommend where you can chat with other poles, to practice your polish? My Polish is weak, but I am a visual learner and I know I could really benefit by speaking to a polish speaker through IM with a dictionary at my side......through IM I am able to atleast have a very basic conversation. any websites any of you are using for this purpose?

i found mylanguageexchange.com, but it appears to require payment for their services.

Tumteetum · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 144

Richfilth · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 225 Location: Warszawa

I just found "Hurrah Po Polsku" (as mentioned above) in Warsaw, in Plac Bankowy (91zl for the coursebook, workbook and CD) As Dynow says, it's very much grammatical exercises, but unlike older manuals like "Czesc jak sie masz" (20 years old now) and "Learn Polish in 4 Weeks" it's intelligently structured and thematically organised, as well as being rigorous in the grammar areas that Polish demands.

It looks a lot like elementary English File.