I live near Lansing, Michigan and I would like to learn Czech. I frequently travel to the Grand Rapids area for work so I am able to drive for lessons. My wife is Czech and she and my children speak at home. Any local teacher can contact me at my work e-mail: hahnd@michigan.gov Thanks, Devin Hahn
Hi Devin, Welcome to the board. I think you'll enjoy your time spent on this site. Everyone is very helpful and friendly. I wish I could help you with your tutoring request. My tutor lives in Bridgman and works in Benton Harbor. She is interested in tutoring more people, but I'm sure Bridgman or Benton Harbor is too far for you to drive. I hope you find someone in your area.
An after thought.... If you and your wife are disciplined enough, you could purchase the book and your wife could teach you. A good book is Step by Step Czech by Lida Hola. Amazon has the older version without the audio CD but there is a new version out there somewhere with a CD. Perhaps you and your wife could set aside some time each week for her to teach you with the book. My husband and I aren't self-disciplined enough to do that. We would push it off and say "Oh, we don't have time this week" or "Honey, I didn't do my homework this week so let's let it go." Therefore, I had to hire a private tutor. She holds me accountable. I find myself doing a lot of studying the night before I have lessons.
Well I've searched the web and I can't find that website that sells the new Step by Step with the CD in the U.S. However, here is a site in CR. Maybe your wife can help you with it. http://www.kosmas.cz/detail.asp?cislo=123087&afil=1049 But if you can find it, before I came across a website that sold the new book, the cd, and the workbook as a package for about $60 or $70. I know that sounds like a lot, but I've bought each seperately and it was the older verson. I've spent about $100 because I bought them all at different times.
You can buy it from amazon (used) - I think it is the same edition http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/807200 ... 26?ie=UTF8
Thanks for your response. My wife and I agreed that I should get an outside tutor for the same reasons you mentioned. I think we would put off disciplined practice because she is also going to school, I am teaching at the college, we have children, etc. Unfortunately, Benton Harbor/Bridgeman would be too far for me to travel. I stopped by MSU yesterday to see if they have any Czech students coming this year who may be willing to work with me. The language department at University of Michigan wasn't able to help and MSU appears to offer Russian only. Please keep me in mind if you hear of any Czechs closer to Lansing and I thank you again for your replies. I will buy the book and continue my search! Na sheldanou, SSG Hahn
My wife's cousin will stop by the publisher in Prague and pick the book and CD up for me. My mother-in-law is coming next month for a visit so she can bring it (she lives in Brandys nad Labem, very close). Maybe I will have to get started with these lessons on my own..... Thanks for all the information! SSG Hahn
Here is some info from the University of Michigan http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/crees/regio ... emics.html
Thank you for this link. I called U of M a few months ago and didn't get a response about local teachers. I sent an e-mail today to one of the professors so perhaps I will have better luck that way. It looks like an interesting program there. I studied music at Michigan State University, the rival school!
There must be czech people in Lansing. Perhaps you could post an ad in the local paper. Also, you could post something in the MSU paper. I found my tutor by simply talking about it to people. I happened to mention to a friend who knew a person who knew a person who use to teach English in the Czech Republic and taught elementary school in CR. I got her phone # and called her and asked if she were interested in teaching me Czech. She said she hadn't thought about it but would be interested. So, just post ads and talk around. Try the looking for events that would have a lot of Czech people and go to those events and ask around. For instance, our local library had some home video showing of the Czech Republic. My husband and I went just because we knew there would be a lot of Czech people there and he wanted to meet more Czech people in the area. There were good hors d'ouevres and we met some nice people. Lansing is a pretty big place compared to our small area so you should find someone pretty quickly. Best Wishes on your search!
There are 2 registered czechs in the lansing area on meetup.com Go to this site: http://czech.meetup.com/cities/us/mi/lansing/
Good news! I found a tutor. She is a student this year at Michigan State University. She is not a language teacher but I have had a couple lessons now and it is working well. It helps to have the pressure of a scheduled lesson! I am working much more diligently now. Thanks for all your help!
Wonderful!!!! Has your mother-in-law arrived yet with the book and CD? If not, what are you using to study? Will this tutor have a copy? It may be hard to teach you without it. I bought my tutor the same book as myself and workbook. It works well because she can plan ahead for the lessons. However, I think it would be possible to teach someone without a copy of the same book. I'm very happy for you because I know the struggle I went through to find someone. I pray things go well for you and learning the language comes easily for you. Best Wishes!!!
Yes, I have the book now and lessons are going well. The new book has a CD and activity book as well as a laminated booklet called "Czech Grammar in a Nutshell". There is a website with supporting materials for teachers and students at www.czechstepbystep.cz including a teacher's manual and tests that I printed for my teacher. It is a great book! I also found an excellent computer flashcard program called Cue Card which helps me study. It is a free download at http://www.download.com/3000-2051-10075304.html Devin
