Why learn Czech?
If you are living in Prague or Brno, you can mostly get by without speaking much Czech, but there are certain situations where it is still very helpful. For example, when dealing with some official offices (such as the foreign police), traveling to smaller towns or villages, or just trying to navigate websites that don’t translate easily.
Moreover, there are many interesting parts of Czech culture that you won’t be able to fully appreciate without speaking the language and since its relatively uncommon for foreigners to try to learn Czech properly, people are very welcoming of foreigners who do make the effort. If you find the grammar too difficult, it will still go a long way to learn some basic vocabulary and common phrases!
Courses:
For the last two semesters, I have been taking a free Czech class at the Centre for Foreigners (JMK) for levels A.1.2 and A2.1. Despite being at 7:30 in the morning, I have really enjoyed these courses and found them to be well worth getting up early for. I’ve had the same teacher called Simona for both and she’s really great and fun to work with (:
Since it is a free course, they tend to fill up immediately, so you have to register as soon as it opens in order to get a spot. Also, there is a requirement to attend at least 70% of the lectures to be able to enroll in the next course to prevent people from taking up a space on the list and not showing up to class. If you don’t speak any Czech at all, you can simply enroll in the A.1.1 class and if you do know some already, you can take a placement test to start at a higher level. Courses are offered for Slavic and non-Slavic speakers separately since they require rather different teaching strategies.
There are also some paid courses available through the University including a “Survival Czech” during orientation week (which can be found HERE), or during the semester at the University (which can be found HERE). There are also many other paid Czech courses available through different language schools or with private tutors.
Other Resources:
Wikislovník – an online dictionary where you can find detailed information about Czech words such as all declensions/conjugations, multiple definitions, examples of use, and even notes explaining use in slang. When searching for a word, it’s important to make sure that words are spelled correctly including the accents and best if you can search the infinitive forms of verbs and nominative case of nouns (the dictionary form), which does require some basic knowledge of Czech (or some online translator). It can be particularly useful for words with more complex definitions or multiple uses, or if you want to check how a word looks in its multiple forms/cases.
Film/Television and Music – There are many resources available for listening practice such as dubbed films and TV shows (of which there are many!) as well as original Czech-language films and television shows. There are also some great Czech bands from a wide range of music styles including folk and even rap. I found music to be a really helpful way to get familiar with the language and pronunciation, especially before I moved here and didn’t have access to so many Czech-language resources. One of my favourite bands is Jelen, especially their more folk-styled songs. The lyrics are quite clear and often very catchy which is very helpful for learning new words and remembering how to pronounce them correctly (with the possible side effect of sounding like you’re singing all the time). Finding some Czech-language music and film/television that you enjoy is a great way to boost your language skills in a way that is easy and stress-free.
