The ultimate guide to learning Czech
Learning Czech is fun! Below I collected the best resources I recommend for learning Czech, ordered from simple to difficult.
Beginner Resources
- Series with clear Czech dubbing on Netflix and Disney+:
- For example all newer Netflix series such as One Piece, Wednesday, ... (You can search by language using the Netflix website or unogs)
- Older series on Disney+ such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Glades or How I Met Your Mother. You can find all series in Czech using the filters on dsny.pl
- Reading books that interest you, possibly ones that you already have read before
- I especially recommend reading ebooks edited with the the WordDumb calibre plugin. It adds translations over the words in the book, making it very easy to understand what's happening without having to explicitly look anything up. I personally combine it with the KOReader app, it also supports Kindle.
- Simpler audiobooks (or short stories) with clear pronunciation, such as the Youtube channel Kyselá Jahoda čte
- Playing video games rich in text or audio with Czech localisation:
- Watching popular Youtube channels in Czech
- Reading the news on Czech websites
Advanced resources
- Listening to audiobooks:
- A big provider is Audioteka.cz, they also have a monthly subscription where you can listen to a few hundred books without limitations.
- Audible (which has a pretty small selection)
- Watching original Czech series (for example on iTelevize)
- Improving your speaking skills using language exchange or booking language lessons with a tutor, for example on italki.
Common mistakes
- Focusing too much on grammar. Learning grammar is boring, and is only useful when you have to write texts with good grammar, for example for work. For most people, understanding other people and making yourself understood is much more important. Studying grammar will not help here, because during a conversation there is way to little time to "calculate" the correct declensions. Immersion learning (such as watching Czech TV) will teach you to decline correctly intuitively.
- Trying to learn Czech using resources that are way too difficult for you. If you are a beginner and try to learn Czech by watching a old Czech movie with mediocre audio quality, you are going to have a bad time. Only watch things where you can understand what is going on, otherwise you will waste your time and end up frustrated. In case of doubt just do some more flashcards, this will always give you more vocabulary, which eventually will make it possible learn immersively.
- Expecting very quick progress. Learning Czech takes a lot of time, so after a few months you might be disappointed by your (lack of) progress. The good news is that after the beginner phase it will become a lot more fun, because you will be able to watch awesome TV series.
Feedback
If you have more resource suggestions, make sure to open an issue at https://github.com/Vuizur/learn-czech/issues. Thanks!