Compared with other textbooks in the same series, 'Colloquial Polish' comes off pretty well. One big plus: it does not assume that every reader is a package tourist by making all the conversations and vocabulary into expanded versions of standard phrasebook headings. ('Colloquial Hungarian' does exactly that and is useless.) There are readers in the UK who will want to make general conversation with Poles now living and working in our country in large numbers. Welcome and good luck to all.
A few faults I'd like to note: There is no Polish-English wordlist at the end of the book. Because of a gradualist approach to difficulties like noun case-endings, these are spread over different chapters and we do not get a full table of forms to facilitate memorisation. Exercises are rather brief and should have featured more extended passages for translation.
I cannot comment on the audio product because I could afford only the book. There are, however, websites featuring sound-files from native speakers (eg the University of Pittsburgh's First Year Polish Course) which people will find invaluable.
Polish language learning (Rating 4 of 5)
» Denis Carroll
i have found this book quite good but simply because i am studying it with my girlfriend. i was under the impression that the tapes came with the book but they do not. to actually find this book useful you must either have a native speaker, or a basic knowledge of the language. i don't think it's the book's fault, it's just you'll find it near impossible to learn polish word structure on your own. after starting the book i can honestly say that you should not feel intimidated by the word structure, eg. przypraszam. you will get used to this very quickly with some help. the book is also very good for vocabulary and the topics and very useful. JUST DON'T TRY LEARN POLISH ON YOUR OWN !!!
Good if you have help, but not a stand-alone book (Rating 3 of 5)
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I found this book a struggle to learn from by myself even though I spoke a little Polish already.
When going through the book with a native speak it was excellent. The topics helped me cover a good range of vocab with real life examples.
I recommend this book for anyone using it as part of a course or who has a Polish speaking friend/tutor to go through with it with them but not as a stand alone book to learn by yourself. There are many other books that explain how to prnounce words clear than can be found here.
There are accompanying tapes which make this book a lot more useful but these are not included and must be ordered separately.
Polish - a complicated language reasonably well explained (Rating 4 of 5)
» Laura
I've been learning Polish in an evening class for 2 years now and we've use this book as our class text book all the way through (and still haven't finished it). I started it on my own before I joined the class and found I could keep up with the explanations on my own until about chapter 6, but after that without regular practive from a class, I couldn't keep enough of what had happened before in my head to keep up with the exercises.
Also, the grammar got increasingly complex, and I'm say this from the perspective of someone with a German degree which means that I already understood a lot of the grammar to start with. However, that's not the book's fault - even German grammar is a doddle in comparison to Polish grammar - and at least at the start of the book, the explanations are comprehensive and reasonably easy to understand (I'm not so sure about the end of the book, where it tackles more difficult topics, but then I'm not sure that these topics can be comprehensively explained in less than 20,000 words).
Don't be put off though. The book does it explain it all well, and it's a good extra resource if you are taking a class and/or using other books. It's just not ideal as a single teach-yourself book. But then, I'm not convinced it's humanly possible to teach-yourself Polish from one book though, although a person with steely determination might be able to learn Polish largely based on the book - but be warned, it's going to be an uphill struggle and take longer than you expect from the size of the book. Basically, if you finish (and understand) everything in the book, you'll be fully equipped to converse in mainly correct Polish, but in order to fit all the necessary information in, it tends only to tell you stuff once, rather than offering the sort of practice you need to retain the information.
For business, for pleasure, for leisure - Colloquial Polish (Rating 5 of 5)
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Whatever your reasons for learning, whatever your ability in languages, Colloquial Polish will unravel the mysteries of Polish. This new edition of Colloquial Polish has been thoroughly revised and revamped to bring it up to date. Improvements to the book reflect an awareness that it has to serve the interests of the business traveller, the tourist, and those who are learning Polish with a more academic aim in mind. The author has obviously taken into account the comments of previous students with whom he has worked closely, and the changing needs of the new reader. Polish language and Poland have been placed in their European context by Norman Davies' (the eminent historian) foreword, with its welcome assurance that those who embark on learning Polish are not on mission impossible! The book can be used on many levels. For example, those with little time can swiftly learn colloquial phrases that will provide instant success in communication, whilst in-depth explanations of grammar equip the more diligent student with the knowledge needed to reach a proficient level of Polish. All this in just twenty lessons!
The vocabulary used (unlike in most of the other comparable teaching aids for Polish), is extremely relevant to the situation in which the tourist or business visitor is likely to find themselves. The conversation material can be swiftly assimilated by the more sophisticated student, who may want to move on more quickly with the aid of the cassettes. The author reveals handy language strategies, which together with the regular repetition of structures, gives the reader a feeling of confidence. Sections covering shopping, directions, and even being robbed are exceptionally useful when away, as well as those on hobbies and business presentations. All-in-all, the improvements have made the book more practical, more fun, and more realistic.
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