How to develop my Polish

[u/WizzAirPilot]

I’m half Polish and half English. I (18M) have grown up in England my whole life but would go to Poland every summer for at least 3 weeks, which is where I’ve learnt Polish. I can understand a lot but I find it hard to speak and definitely can’t read or write. It’s like my family can understand me but I don’t form proper sentences. I’m annoyed with my Mum for not taking me to Polish school when I was younger. I’ve tried Duolingo but found it quite useless. I’ve heard there’s some good AI tools to learn languages, so was wondering whether they’re worth the money? I plan on moving to Poland when I’m older as I love the country, so I want to get my Polish to a good standard. I’ll try speaking to my Mum in Polish everyday and she bought me some elementary Polish books to help learn years ago but I never used them.

[u/rafioo]

use polish

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/rafioo]

I will but that still doesn’t teach me words I don’t know

[u/rafioo → u/WizzAirPilot]

Learn a language the way most people do – by consuming content in that language

We live in the 21st century; you can look up the meaning of an unfamiliar word in a matter of seconds. Subtitles for videos on platforms such as YouTube are generated automatically; you can download English subtitles for Polish films, and switch on Polish subtitles for English films, there's sooooooooooo much things to incorporate while learning polish. And almost everything is for free

There really are loads of non-book-based options available, so much so that it seems some people are just looking for an excuse not to do it, rather than finally getting started

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/rafioo]

Yeah I suppose this is more of a me issue but I just don’t enjoy watching polish content and I don’t enjoy having subtitles on as it distracts me. I guess the best way to learn a language is by living there, I came back 2 weeks ago from Poland and at the start of the trip my Polish was really rusty but by the end it improved in just a short space of time. I’ve got a good base of understanding for the Polish language, but Polish is one of the hardest languages in the world so it’ll take time. I’m not even looking to get fully fluent in reading or writing, I just want to be able to have full conversations

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

It seems that you watch content that you do not enjoy. Why?

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Ok-Philosopher-5923]

Huh? I’m just saying that I’ve watched Polish TV before and I don’t enjoy it, I don’t actively watch it, only sometimes when I’m in Poland

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

YouTube is your friend then.

[u/crimsonredsparrow → u/WizzAirPilot]

There are so many movies with Polish dubbing or the infamous lektor. 

[u/Express_Drag7115 → u/WizzAirPilot]

There is a huge part of the world that doesn’t use English and relies on subtitles to consume mainstream media. Don’t act like a privileged prick and put some effort into watching stuff with subtitles like the most of the world has to do, ffs

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Express_Drag7115]

No need to be so aggressive, I do sometimes watch Polish TikTok’s if that helps you sleep at night

[u/Express_Drag7115 → u/WizzAirPilot]

I sleep fine, thank you. Not aggressive too- it was just an assessment of you based on your own words.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Express_Drag7115]

It was very passive aggressive. I just don’t know why you’re angry with what I said, I’m willing to put in the effort by using the Natulang app others have recommended so I’ll give that a shot. Plus I’ll continue to speak Polish to my Mum. I watched some Polish TV whilst I was there and it just doesn’t interest me, idk why that means I’m a ‘privileged prick’

[u/Long_Restaurant5926 → u/WizzAirPilot]

Yeah I agree with the OP, I don't find Polish TV very interesting either. But I would still recommend you to look for Polish content that aligns with your interests, be it a music genre, sports, podcasts, or books. I have learned foreign languages that way, including English, without ever experiencing life in an English-speaking country.

[u/Express_Drag7115 → u/WizzAirPilot]

You are, you speak the dominant language of this planet and have problem with subtitles. Good night, not going to continue as I head to bed.

[u/PotentialParamedic61]

Znajdź Polaków w Anglii i sobie z nimi gadaj. Kup im piwo w pubie, wyjdzie taniej niż duo czy SI, a z duo większą korzyścią.

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/PotentialParamedic61]

That will not help with speaking good Polish though. I bet that none of them says pełłem or tę or dwiema.

[u/dr4kun → u/Ok-Philosopher-5923]

No one in their right mind says pełłem.

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/dr4kun]

R.I.P. Polish language, it looks like WW2 selectively 🪦d everybody who could speak it 🏮

[u/quarky_uk]

I found natulang much better than Duolingo because it is more conversational.

But it depends on your level too. You want as much exposure as possible through talking, music, films, etc.

[u/Misiekshvili]

Input (both listening & reading:
A1-A2 Polish Listening Course for Beginners (& Sentence Breakdowns)
Slow Polish Podcast (Transcript & Subs)
Listening Only (Short Recordings & Subs)

Output:
Spaced repetition apps (e.g. ANKI), grab a list of some questions and try to build answers.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Misiekshvili]

Thank you, would you still recommend listening to the beginner videos even if I already have a good base level understanding of Polish? Is there any intermediate level videos?

[u/Misiekshvili → u/WizzAirPilot]

Always try to listen to something which is slightly above your level so you can make progress. If A1-A2 course is too easy, try the podcast as it is a bit more advanced. If that's easy too, you can check out Easy Polish YT channel. And if that's too easy, I think it's time to choose the content natives would watch/listen to ;)

[u/oliverjohansson]

You need Polish cousins or gf and you need to start living in PL and it will come

[u/Zealousideal-War3006]

you can sign up for individual language lessons on italki if you want to try different teachers or don’t have a consistent schedule. they have a bunch of teachers for lots of different languages. definitely worth looking into! you can ask for formal lessons or just someone to talk to to improve

[u/jtnk10]

I've been using a Polish tutor on Preply. She's been extremely helpful. I also found a bunch of free Polish textbooks on Google. Polski.info is also extremely helpful and free. I've also made my own flashcards on Quizlet. I watched Aniela on Netflix and now I'm on the second season of 1670.

[u/Purple-Flamingo-3617]

I got a tutor on iTalki and made friends on Whatsapp for that purpose. I'm less familiar with the language than you probably are but in a similar boat. Getting a tutor to help me refresh the basics and assess my level was super helpful.

[u/maxymhryniv]

Natulang app will help you with speaking. Full disclosure: it's my app, but I see others are also recommending it here. The Polish course there is very advanced; the app is really effective. Give it a try.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/maxymhryniv]

Thank you, I’ll give it a try. How long do you recommend me to use it everyday?

[u/maxymhryniv → u/WizzAirPilot]

1 lesson per day + cleaning the repetitions list. About 25-30 mins

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[u/Pasza_Dem]

You need to speak read and listen a lot. Find some podcast you are interested in and listen to it, watch a polish movie from time to time or read a book, read a ton of books actually.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Pasza_Dem]

How much a day should I dedicate learning Polish considering I want to be able to have full conversations with my family by next summer?

[u/Pasza_Dem → u/WizzAirPilot]

I'm not you, I don't know what exactly is your level and your skills. If you push for it it possible.

Just do as much as you can and little bit extra.

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

Polish is a much smaller language than English, so it is easy to learn the basics. But it is so crazy that you need 20y of practice to stop speaking broken (a.k.a. common sense) Polish 😵‍💫

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Ok-Philosopher-5923]

I mean Polish is a significantly harder language to learn than English, especially with the English tongue, that’s just facts. First of all I’m 18 so couldn’t of had 20 years of practice, second of all I’m there only 3 weeks a year and the other 49 weeks I’m in England speaking English, third of all my Mum didn’t speak Polish to me as a child as I have an English Dad so he wouldn’t understand. So yes Polish is a smaller language but that doesn’t make it easier. Also like I said I do know the basics and have conversations with people as I understand most of what they say, I just want to get to the stage where I can have full conversations instead of just small talk. And I’ve never actively tried to learn Polish other than using Duolingo but that didn’t help much, so for only learning by being on holiday 3 weeks a year I’d say I have a good base level of the polish language, unlike my brother who knows no polish and I have to translate for him

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

That just means you will be able to speak good Polish 20y after you have moved to 🇵🇱, but only if you really work hard on it. So, if you move in 2 years’ time, you can expect to fade in when you are 40.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Ok-Philosopher-5923]

Wait so have I misread your reply? I thought you were having a go at me for needing 20y of practice to speak broken polish, which is common sense according to you

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

No, common sense Polish (the kind you speak after you have learnt the basics) is broken Polish, and that is because Polish is a crazy language where almost everything has gone haywire.

[u/WizzAirPilot → u/Ok-Philosopher-5923]

Oh I’m sorry for my harsh reply

[u/Ok-Philosopher-5923 → u/WizzAirPilot]

I am used to harsh replies actually, it is just hard to imagine the extent of shit our ancestors left us with 🤣

[u/No_Natural2941]

I was similar but with French instead of Polish, I got a summer job in France and that sorted it! Although it wasn’t easy at first and I had a headache at the end of every day just from the concentration it took to understand people, it was worth it in the end.

[u/Impossible-Fish1819]

Almost everything on Netflix has a Polish audio track, especially kid shows. My son only watches bajki in Polish and he has been watching Pokemon and Avatar the last airnbender in Polish. Amazon is hit or miss, but Disney + also has most content in Polish too.