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Blasphemer
Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Posts: 199 Location: NYC/Warszawa
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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nah... I think it's got more to do with the fact that I can actually show frustration when it comes to her hehehe... I tried teaching her how to drive at one point too... with same results. |
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Glenlivet
Joined: 21 Mar 2009 Posts: 179 Location: Poland
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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I've lived in Poland for 3 years now and the reason I suggested the idea of Polish only days at home is that I see no possibility with my lifestyle to learn Polish by "immersion". I speak English all day at work and all night at home with my English wife. The only opportunity I get to speak Polish is in the pub or at the shops - hardly immersion tactics. I don't suggest a family member teaching - too many instances of broken marriages due to "driving lessons"etc. Only the necessity to use the language at home. I know a few "mixed" families where the kids switch between English and Polish without a second thought. Mother speaks to them in Polish, father in English. |
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TwinCentre
Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 273 Location: Mokotow
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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I've tried a few Polish language schools here in Warsaw, but have been put off by poor customer service and shoddy teaching. Now I study with 'Ready Steady Polish!', it's good and the teacher I have is really easy going. Found them on google but their main site is www.readysteadypolish.eu Maybe it's because they are run by expats, but they seemed really easy to deal with. There are a few good private teachers around too, any google search should help. |
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 1613 Location: Home
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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dynow wrote: |
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Dynow, yer not alone... any attempt at trying to teach my wife Polish, usually turns into an argument... I don't even know why to be quite honest. |
if you brought your wife to any other country in europe west of Poland, she'd be speaking decently in a year's time, and well in two years with minimal effort. yet again, why your wife may get sick of hearing you say, "well, it's because it's a different case......"
just trying to paint the picture for you. |
So, Polish is hard, your wife shouldn't bother, it's best to not even bother with the basics and stay at home all day for fear of a misplaced kogo.
I love the Pooland expat community. Everyone is like that Steven Seagull movie, you know, the one where he struts the mean streets of Kuala Lumpur mixing it with the locals, only you never hear him speak anything but English.
I once witnessed a mate of mine being mocked and refused membership of a Warsaw expat pop band, his dreams shattered, because his Polish wasn�t up to scratch. I later found out that Pogo, the band leader, could no more string a sentence of Polish together than he could a Rickenbacker 4000. My mate has since gone on to much musical success in Poland knowing that a well-timed cmoll opens far more doors than a dodgy kogo. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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what was written was not to say it's impossible or a waste of time to practice, etc. etc., rather I was just simply trying to put it into perspective. i've lived here a while, i was doing it, i'm still doing it, i know what it's like.
regarding the S.S. reference, i see that quite often myself. so many people come here thinking they can march around the rynek, speak english however they want, and everyone will understand them. they rarely anticipate or plan for a situation where they can't communicate, and look confused when it happens. |
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Blasphemer
Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Posts: 199 Location: NYC/Warszawa
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:30 am Post subject: |
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Hod wrote: |
So, Polish is hard, your wife shouldn't bother, it's best to not even bother with the basics and stay at home all day for fear of a misplaced kogo.
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5.5 moths in, she's doing OK actually, shopping by herself, going out to some music events and moving around the city without any serious issues... her Polish is .. well, 5.5 months old but it's not something that bothers her in the least bit.
She's taking classes once w week, plus some self study... being social and active helps greatly... it's how I learned English, I figured it would work for her too.
As per people speaking English... it's not that bad in Warsaw, we even found a baby sitter who speaks English with out a problem. |
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NilSatis82
Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 110
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:31 am Post subject: |
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i've done Hurra Po Polsku 1 and 2. they're decent, but meant to be used in a class with a teacher. half the exercises you won't be able to do because it's very often, "please speak with your classmates about X, in groups of two, write a letter explaining...." so you end up skipping a lot of it.
also, the entire book is in Polish, including the instructions, so if you're a beginner, you will spend more time with your nose in the slownik then actually doing the book. in my case it wasn't so bad because i would often do it along side my polish fiance, but on the days i would study and she wasn't around, it's constantly back and forth with the dictionary.
i'd give these books a C-. |
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NilSatis82
Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 110
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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dynow wrote: |
i've done Hurra Po Polsku 1 and 2. they're decent, but meant to be used in a class with a teacher. half the exercises you won't be able to do because it's very often, "please speak with your classmates about X, in groups of two, write a letter explaining...." so you end up skipping a lot of it.
also, the entire book is in Polish, including the instructions, so if you're a beginner, you will spend more time with your nose in the slownik then actually doing the book. in my case it wasn't so bad because i would often do it along side my polish fiance, but on the days i would study and she wasn't around, it's constantly back and forth with the dictionary.
i'd give these books a C-. |
Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling that they were more appropriate for classroom teaching rather than self-study. I looked at some of the example pages on the website and I'm sure I'd also have my nose in the dictionary a lot of the time. |
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Khrystene

Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 271 Location: WAW, PL/SYD, AU
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:28 am Post subject: |
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The Warsaw Uni has a course as does Lingua Nova I think... there are heaps of places around. Even a place called the "English Cocktail" based in Praga recently advertised a course. |
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