Hi Everyone, I would like to come to the Czech rep. for about a month at in November to study the language. The problem is that I have no idea which school is any good. Basically I want to learn conversation without going to deeply into the grammar. I have zero knowledge of the language. I was thinking of the 6 week Charles Uni. course but was not sure if it would focus on conversation or not. What do you guys think? Are most schools pretty much the same or are there loads of charlatans out there? Any advice most welcome. Rangoon
Well, first I cannot imagine learning Czech without a grammar... Czech is extremely complex language and if you do not want only to learn sentences and do want to be able to create them yourself, you cannot do without grammar... Moreover, 6 weeks is not very long time, so I am not sure... At Charles Uni, there are courses but I am not sure whether they would suit your tastes and whether there is anything convenable in the respect of time... There is so called "Letní škola slovanskýc studií - Summer School of Slavic Studies" where the Czech is taught (AFAIK) but I am afraid you have missed it. Concerning other courses... well let's wait for someone more competent. And also it all depends on your innate linguistic skills and you experience with other languages, so how are those?
Thank you for the reply Eleshar, In answer to your question I am very good at learning languages ( I speak Russian,Hindi/Urdu and Chinese to a reasonable level ). Ofcourse I will need to study Czech grammar down the line but I want to get out there talking to people in Czech a.s.a.p and what I have always found to be the best way is to learn convesation/vocab first even with terrible grammar and then continue deeper into it from there. It's all very well knowing the Locative case off by heart but if you can't ask someone for directions in the street then what good is it? As someone who will be moving to the Czech rep. full time I will have a lifetime to get to grips with grammar ( also Russian grammar will set me in good order with Czech I believe ). I was thinking of finding a local and paying them to just walk about with me a few hours each day teaching me in real life situations ( buying a meal, travelling on bus etc. ) and I would pay for their time. I think that is by far the best way to learn any language, sink or swim. What do you think? Charles Uni. has just emailed me to tell me I can study with them in November but I am really looking for another way.
Well, this is important info, you know? If you already know Russian, you surely have a good beginning (although on the other hand it may prove difficult for you when the two come to interfering with each other).
Exactly! Knowing both Russian and Czech (and Slovak), I mix them up continuously. Of course it doesn't help that I used to speak Czech and Slovak fairly well, but these days rarely speak Czech and Slovak, and rather speak Russian daily. The grammatical constructs are similar, so a general knowledge of Russian declension rules will help alot; however, the specific declension forms/endings are different, and you will have to learn those.
Hi, while googling for language classes myself I've found http://www.akcent.cz/en/p/88/czech-out-there.html which might be interesting for you. I have no idea about the quality of the school, however. I'm planning to be in Prague for a language course a few weeks in spring 2008, so I'm very interested at which school you end up, and how you like it cheers, Sonja
