You Can Learn Polish By Yourself
Polish is an awesome language, and learning it can definitely improve your life. But, you don’t need a teacher or a school to reach fluency. You can learn Polish easily by using trusted methods. The following 10 steps are essential for your Polish fluency. And these won’t just show you how to learn Polish. They’ll also reveal how you can achieve Polish fluency in record time.
Is Polish Hard to Learn?
Polish is a Slavic language with 40 million speakers worldwide. It’s fair that a lot of learners worry about the difficulty of learning Polish. But, you shouldn’t. Polish is not hard, and definitely not an impossible language to learn.
Although it’s a Slavic language, Polish uses Latin letters in its alphabet. This makes Polish a much easier language to study than Russian for example. Polish is also a phonetic language, so the Polish pronunciation is much easier to master than you think.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Polish?
How long it takes to learn a language is a mystery. It depends on the kind of learner you are, what your native language is, and how you’re learning your target language. But, if your native language is English, the US Foreign Service Institute has an estimate for you. According to them, it takes 44 weeks or 1100 hours to learn Polish.
That sounds like a lot. But, remember, this is just an estimate. No organization could take into account your motivation and enthusiasm. Not to mention the boost the right language learning method can give you. If you know the best way to learn Polish, you can shave off a significant portion of that estimate.
10 Steps to Reach Polish Fluency Fast
These practical steps aren’t just the best way to learn Polish. They’re also the fastest. Feel free to rely on them as you progress towards Polish fluency. Whether you’re learning Polish in a school or by yourself, all of these will be helpful.
1. Use Cheap Polish Resources
Learning Polish doesn’t have to break the bank. You can use reliable and effective resources for just a portion of the usual costs. Taking a University course or hiring a private tutor can be very pricey. Save your money for a trip to Poland by using one of the following methods instead.
- Download a Polish app: Language learning apps aren’t just extremely convenient. Most of them are also very reliable. The best apps can get you to Polish fluency through daily practice. Just make sure you choose one that makes you speak, not type Polish. Typing a language won’t get you anywhere.
- Buy a textbook: Polish grammar seems daunting. If you’re worried about it, a good textbook can explain it well for you. Although they may seem old-fashioned, books are a great language-learning resource too.
- Learn Polish with a friend: Whether you have a local friend who wants to learn Polish, or you find a Polish study-buddy online, having someone else study with you is great motivation.
2. Master the Pronunciation of the Polish Alphabet
Luckily, the Polish alphabet is fairly easy to learn. It uses Latin letters, just like the English alphabet. So, understanding it won’t be an issue.
But, you truly need to learn the pronunciation of Polish letters. These differ from how the English alphabet is pronounced. If you want to speak Polish perfectly, this is the most important step you have to do. That’s because Polish is a phonetic language. So, whenever you see a letter, it’s always pronounced the same way.
Be aware that Polish also has digraphs and trigraphs. These are two or three letter combinations that signal a single sound. Here are all the letters, digraphs, and trigraphs of the Polish language, so you can hear how you need to pronounce them:
3. Speak Polish From Your First Lesson
Speaking is the only way you’ll reach fluency. Plenty of daily practice is what it takes. But, you can’t procrastinate this one. If you want to learn Polish quickly, you need to start speaking ASAP.
Too many language learners are afraid to speak. But, if you’re too shy to speak Polish out loud, you’ll never reach fluency. Leave your anxiety behind, and start forming Polish words and phrases whenever you can, even on your first lesson. You’ll quickly get used to it, and speaking Polish fluently will be like second nature.
4. Learn the Most Common Polish Phrases
Polish people only use 20% of their vocabulary for 80% of their everyday conversations. It’s true, it’s called the Pareto Principle or otherwise known as the 80/20 rule. And you can use it to learn Polish faster.
So, why learn all the Polish words, when you can dial in on the most useful ones only? Do more by learning less. And if you can study less, you can learn Polish a lot faster than by trying to cram an entire language.
But, where can you find the list of that 20%? OptiLingo includes the most useful Polish vocabulary you can find. It’s built to give you the exact list of Polish words and phrases you need to reach fluency. Download the app to access this vocabulary list today!
5. Break Polish Grammar Down
Polish grammar has a bad reputation. It may sound impossibly hard to master. But, a lot of aspects of Polish grammar make it easy to learn. If you break Polish grammar down to its components, learning it will be a lot easier and faster to learn.
- Polish has three genders: Polish has masculine, feminine, and neuter genders for nouns. Declension of adjectives is necessary.
- There are seven Polish cases: There are slightly more grammatical cases in Polish that you need to know. These are nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, locative, vocative, and instrumental.
- Polish verbs are easier: There are fewer tenses in Polish than in English. While there are at least three different ways you can say something in the past tense in English, you only need one in Polish.
- Polish has a flexible sentence structure: While the usual subject-verb-object word order exists, you can create different sentences and still have the same meaning in Polish.
6. Use Spaced Repetition for the Best Way to Learn Polish
Spaced repetition is the key to remembering your lessons. Your brain is actively trying to forget. But, you can make sure you never forget your Polish lessons with this simple trick.
To use spaced repetition, all you have to do is periodically review your material. Look over what you learned yesterday. Then do it again after a few days. The more you re-learn your Polish lessons, the more information stays in your head. Soon, you’ll remember every single Polish word, spelling, and grammar rule you need for fluency.
7. Create a Polish Immersion Experience
Immersion isn’t just a useful language learning resource. It’s also a lot of fun. But, how are you supposed to immerse yourself in Polish when you don’t live in Poland? Well, it’s actually much simpler than you think. You can bring Polish culture to you every day by doing one (or all) of the following activities:
- Watch Polish films and TV: Poland isn’t exactly the Hollywood of Europe. But, you can definitely find some interesting films and TV programs in Polish. This seems like a mindless activity, but it can do wonders for your Polish understanding.
- Listen to Polish podcasts: You can’t find a more intensive listening exercise than a podcast. You have to be quick to understand Polish fast. But, you can also slow recordings down and make your Polish radio listening experience more enjoyable.
- Read Polish news: You can stay up-to-date on Polish current events while practicing your reading skills. You don’t need to order a Polish newspaper either. There are plenty of Polish online magazines and blogs to choose from.
8. Practice Polish Every Day
The best way to learn Polish is by doing a little bit every day. You don’t have to spend hours on studying Polish daily. But, even 20 minutes of Polish exercises can have amazing benefits.
Feel free to combine your Polish lesson with an everyday activity. Listen to Polish podcasts at the gym. Review your lesson on your commute to work. Turn your Facebook’s language to Polish. All of these help you learn a little bit more of the language every day.
9. Be Prepared to Make Mistakes
Making mistakes as you’re learning Polish is natural. With so many genders, tricky pronunciation, and seven cases to keep in mind, who can blame you? The Poles certainly won’t. They’ll be flattered and appreciative of your efforts to learn their language. If anything, they’ll help you learn Polish with useful tips and advice.
Language learning anxiety is a real phenomenon. But, you can’t be afraid of messing up. Even if you embarrass yourself, you’ll dust yourself off and learn from it. That’s how you’ll achieve Polish fluency best. You’re guaranteed to succeed if you know how to learn Polish to begin with.
10. Download the Best App to Learn Polish
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when you’re learning Polish. Using spaced repetition, focusing on the most common words, and practicing your speaking all at the same time. Conveniently, one language learning app combines all the best steps into one easy-to-use platform. And that app is OptiLingo.
If you want to learn Polish, OptiLingo’s your best bet. You can easily get the best Polish vocabulary and hear common Polish words every day. Best of all, OptiLingo makes you practice your speaking skills. So, you’ll build your Polish confidence and fluency instantly. Achieve Polish learning success when you download OptiLingo!
