Pre Intermediate Czech...

I got Krok za Krokem last Friday in Brno, it was in that big shop that i don't know the name of where the foreign books are downstairs and also that big shop that i don't know the name of where the foreign books are upstairs
I went with the upstairs one because the man was so friendly.

Definitely a book that requires a teacher. With Step by step 1 you can say it's better with a teacher.. but with this one i'd say you genuinely need one, all the explanations are in Czech, and even if you understand them, you really need someone to check and make sure you understand everything and correct your mistakes. And i think it's good anyway to have someone who will say to you when you feel like giving up: No... it's not so hard.. don't be silly.. look; a, b, c Now you have it!

It seems like a slight jump in level from 1, I think if all you'd used before was 1 you would struggle, but most people here have a few books and resources on the go at any given time.

I'm really really excited by the last chapter (though it will take me a year to get to it) because it's all extracts from proper Czech books for dospěli! Imagine! Reading grown-up books! Milan Kundera's "The Joke" is there, and loads of others.
There's also a chapter about communism which has a listening exercise where different people talk about their experiences, it looks really interesting, i'm trying so hard not to skip ahead.

The set cost 849 crowns in the shop and comes with a Coursebook, 2 Cds, and a separate book with a key and a german-russian-english glossery. Also Czech Grammar in a Nutshell 2, which is about 6 pages heh.
No workbook

I'm really looking forward to starting it
I miss the lovely design of the old one though, this one looks very professional however, each page is filled up completely, and you can tel it's been influenced a lot by the Oxford EFL books.




Happily bumping this thread, anyone else have any other ideas? I really need a self-study book for B1. I should be finished all my other books in a few weeks( the plan was to finish over the summer.. but I took a break, and I'm glad I did! a lot of things just clicked as soon as I came back, where as before they seemed very daunting, I'm also much braver when it comes to talking to strangers heh) except for Basic Czech 2, which is only really drills and grammar exercises.. which is nice, but I couldn't do it for more than a few hours at a time.

 

I'm slowly working my way through Krok za Krokem, and I also think it is the type of book where one would need a Czech teacher. Right now I'm on chapter four, but I've taken a little break from it to regroup my thoughts. :lol:

The pages keep falling out of the book though. Very annoying considering I paid almost 900kc for it. :roll:

 

Yeah i've only opened mine a few times and already the pages are loosening! They should have bound it the same way as Czech Step by Step, that book has been all over europe in my back-pack and had all kind of drinks split on it and it's still holding together fine.

I'll definitely be emailing them about it, plus the lack of a workbook.. Maybe they were afraid if it went as far as 1000 crowns no one would buy it, but they could at least make CDs and Workbooks optional. And I think they have almost a monopoly for czech books at B1 level i doubt the extra money would loose them any customers.
I think they include the CD as standard to stop teachers copying for their students, but this seems a little unfair seeing as how it would cost them nothing and the book is already so expensive.
Maybe they think we are rich Russian business people?

How is the glossary working for you? I found the one in Step by Step terrible, about 80 per cent of the words from the book that i looked up weren't in the back.