Polish resources

All about language programs, courses, websites and other learning resources
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księżycowy
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Re: Polish resources

Postby księżycowy » Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:40 am

Aside from a few odds and ends, I am done compiling the list of resources. :)
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Re: Polish resources

Postby StringerBell » Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:54 pm

Hey, I noticed that I have a lot of Polish resources listed in my log that I don't see here, so I'm pasting what seems to be missing so you can add what you like to the main page. I tried to delete whatever you already had on the main page but it's possible there might still be some duplicates. The vast majority of these resources I have used myself. If something is "by natives for natives" which means it's native material for intermediate/advanced learners, I indicated it with: BNFN

Total Beginner:

100 Daily Polish Stories This is what I used when I started learning Polish from zero. There are 100 graded “stories” with Polish text and an English glossary to the left that you can read while listening to the audio. Each “story” is told from two points of view and there is a series of questions and answers after each story.

LingQ has beginner and intermediate material (Polish text + audio).

Where to find podcasts with TRANSCRIPTS (in addition to those at RealPolish/LingQ):

Polish with John He produces podcasts with transcripts in multiple languages. In Polish, there are currently 30+. There are two levels: A2/B1 and B2/C1. After listening/reading to two, I signed up to support him on Patreon. This is a fantastic resource for Polish (and other) language learners.

Courses / Coursebooks:

My absolutely favorite Polish course book from Preston Publishing It's an ebook with instant digital download and mp3 files. I can't say enough good things about this course, it's really well done. The notes in the margin are really useful. It's also cheap! Last time I checked it was the equivalent of $12.

Beginning Polish Volume 1 by Alexander M. Schenker I found a used copy for less than $10 on Amazon. Yale University makes available the audio for free on their site (the one I linked). I've heard good things about this book, but I haven't started using it yet. As far as I can tell, Volume 1 and Volume 2 seem to be identical, so I don't think it makes sense to buy both.

First Year Polish and Intermediate Polish both by Oscar E. Swan. I have not used either of these, myself

Polish Tutor: Grammar and Vocabulary Workbook The first few chapters were really good, but they way they teach verb families is a total mess. Once the book started really going downhill, I stopped using it, but I may revisit it to see if any of the later chapters are useful. As of now, I don't recommend it but others might feel differently.

Assimil Polish As of now, Assimil is only offered with a base in either French, German, or Italian.

FREE Courses/Lessons:

50 Languages phrasebook audio course You can download audio that is 100% in Polish or in Polish with an English explanation of each line, which is an option that I think is pretty useful.

FSI Polish Fast course I couldn't really get past the first lesson, which was terrible. It was about introducing yourself, in the formal, to officials at the embassy. The embassy. The one place in any country where they are guaranteed to speak English and/or whatever your native language is. Maybe others will find this more useful than I did.

DLI - Polish Language Course - Proficiency Improvement This course uses native materials (rather than artificially created material for the purpose of learning the language).

DLI Polish Language Course I took a look at this course after I was already at an intermediate level of Polish, so I was already too advanced to use it, myself. As a beginner resource it's not bad; the whole thing is various "graded reader" stories with a list of vocabulary at the end of each story. It's from 1979, so the stories are really dated (a character decides to rent a furnished apartment for 50 złoty/month, or about $13/month). I think it's a decent resource to start with early on.

DLI Polish Language Course - Refresher Course

Advanced Beginer/Low Intermediate:

365 Daily Polish Listening Program This is what I used after finishing the 100 DPS. There are 365 podcasts (audio) ~5 minutes long and a Polish transcript. There is no English translation, but I used the Polish text to create a parallel text for each file because I like that format.

Parallel Texts:

Online: Storybooks Canada This site has a series of children's stories with pictures that are told sentence by sentence. You can toggle between Polish / English if you don't understand a sentence. (Other languages also available.)

Online: Free Parallel Texts in 50 Languages

Short Stories:

Horror Stories written in Polish BNFN

Websites / Blogs / Articles:

globalvoices.org BNFN International news articles in many languages (including Polish). Can be used to make parallel texts.

Really awesome travel blog by a Polish guy who writes in BOTH Polish and English. BNFN

Vice Polska: current articles written by younger folk with very current language BNFN

YT channels:

Super Easy Polish These videos are mainly filmed with the folks who produce Easy Polish videos; they try to talk much slower and use simpler language. There are duel subtitles in Polish / English.

Peppa Pig aka Świnka Peppa Children’s cartoon show with very simple language in Polish.

Uczmy Się Polskiego ("Let's Learn Polish") This is a TV series created by Polska Fundacja Upowszechniana Nauki (Polish Foundation for Science Advancement) and Telewizja Polska SA (Polish State Television) to help people learn how to speak Polish. I watched the first episode but didn't watch past that because it felt a little too artificial and corny. But the actors do speak simply and slowly.

Easy Polish Street interviews conducted with random people around Poland on different topics. People speak at normal pace and there are duel subtitles in Polish / English.

Nieprzeciętne Życie This channel has ~5 minute videos on a range of topics including book summaries or general concepts like “Lies about Sleep”. The narrator speaks at normal pace but the real-time illustrations really help with comprehension. The auto-generated subtitles are quite accurate. I love this channel and wish I could find something similar in other languages. BNFN

Madam Polyglot a Polish polyglot who has a video series in Polish about language learning. She speaks relatively slowly and clearly. BNFN

Podcasts:

-Bloggy Polish - Free to download through iTunes. Each "episode" is a few minutes long and explains some grammatical concept with lots of examples.

-Polski z Grażyna - Free to download through iTunes. Each "episode" is a few minutes long and consists of a conversation between the main character and someone else.

-RealPolish Podcasts - Free to download through iTunes. Each episode is about 30 minutes and consists of Piotr discussing different topics like why we should stop eating so much sugar or criticisms of the self-help industry. Transcripts are available if you are a member of the RealPolish VIP club, otherwise it's just audio.

Stream Polish TV shows:

Stream for free the TV sitcom Rodzinka.pl BNFN

Stream for free the TV cop show Komisarz Alex BNFN

*There are tons of shows available to stream for free through vod.tvp.pl, including kids' shows.

Where to get Ebooks/Audiobooks:

Empik.pl This is the website I frequently use to buy ebooks + audiobooks. I recommend it highly.

ebookpoint.pl

UpolujEbooka

5,000+ FREE public domain ebooks and some audiobooks - everything is free to download

Public domain ebooks that are free to download LibriVox

Inexpensive ebooks + audiobooks of public domain stories

Book Suggestions:

These are all children’s chapter books / YA series, which are BNFN. I have copied most of these from various recommendations made to me throughout my previous log. I also tried to include a brief description from the person who gave the suggestion:

- “Nowe Przygody Mikołajka” (Polish edition of Le Petit Nicholas by Goscinny and Sempé) The language is accessible and many of the stories are hilarious.

-“Dzieci z Bullerbyn” this is a translation of Astrid Lindgren’s book.

-“Jeżycjady” series by Małgorzata Musierowicz (there are 20+ books in this YA series) the last book was published last year so they are more up to date when it goes to vocab. The newest books in the series tell the stories of the grandchildren of the main characters from the first ones. To really understand all the family connections and appreciate the books in full, it’s better to start from the beginning. if you wish to read only one, you may choose one of the newer books (but not “Kalamburka")

-Books by Alfred Szklarski: “Złoto Gór Czarnych” and the series “Tomek w…” which are adventure stories similar to “W Pustyni i w Puszczy” by Sienkowicz but their language is more modern.

-Books by Jan Brzechwa: His rhymes are absolutely fantastic and the book “Akademia pana Kleksa” was an essential reading in primary school.

-“Karolcia” by Maria Krüger.

-“Hihopter” by Małgorzata Musierowicz is meant for younger readers.

-YA authors: Edmund Niziurski, Zbigniew Nienacki ("Pan Samochodzik" series), Adam Bahdaj. Their works are from the 50s-60s so some of the vocabulary is out of use now. No one will tell you that something is “morowe” but “cool, super, fajne”.

The Little Prince / Mały Książę A free version online in Polish.

Where to buy physical Polish (and many other languages) books anywhere in the world:

Book Depository I have ordered books through this site and like it very much. They don’t also have the widest selection availalble, but they ship anywhere in the world and the shipping fee is included in the price of the book.

Verb Conjugations / Dictionary (translations with sample sentences):

Choose from a list of 500 Polish Verbs with Conjugations I used this often.

Type in any verb to get conjugations I used this for less common verbs.

Grammar Explanations:

An all-around useful guide for many different aspects of Polish grammar

The best explanation of Polish Verbs of Motion I have ever seen.

Very detailed explanation of Polish imperative verbs

A really helpful explanation of how Verb Aspects work


Self-Evaulation / Test Practice:

Test your writing, reading, or listening on levels A2, B1, B2, C1

Cactus Languages - Polish Grammar Level Test
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księżycowy
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Re: Polish resources

Postby księżycowy » Tue Nov 16, 2021 5:24 pm

Thank you for the additions. I'll put them on the first post as soon as I can. :)
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Re: Polish resources

Postby chove » Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:16 am

I get a 404 on that Preston Publishing link :(
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Re: Polish resources

Postby księżycowy » Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:31 am

chove wrote:I get a 404 on that Preston Publishing link :(

It's the same as the Speak Polish textbook I have in the first post. I'm not sure why StringerBell's link isn't working, but the one in the first post still works.
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Re: Polish resources

Postby IntrepidLearner » Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:14 pm

A few courses, grammars, and readers can be found in the following post.
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Re: Polish resources

Postby księżycowy » Wed May 24, 2023 3:29 pm

księżycowy wrote:

I've just recently heard from the man himself, that Oscar Swan is currently working on a new course/textbook to replace his old materials. I'm not sure how far along the process is, nor do I know if it will go beyond the beginning level, but considering how solid his previous work has been, I for one am very much looking forward to new material from him!

Godspeed, Professor Swan!

Naturally I'll update if/when the materials are published!
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Re: Polish resources

Postby balmieracorn » Tue Dec 12, 2023 1:14 am

Would anyone happen to have the MP3s / transcripts for MrRealPolish 365 daily stories? I adore language learning but money is pretty tight now. I've already given him money for the 100 daily stories and loved them but can't afford the 365 course. Just a shot in the dark, please DM me if you have them. Good luck with learning everyone!
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Re: Polish resources

Postby Ug_Caveman » Tue Feb 13, 2024 12:43 am

Beginning Polish (Volumes 1 and 2) (Yale Language Series) 1973, by Alexander M. Schenker
audio-lingual method, sponsored by, and adopted for use by, the Foreign Service Institute
original sound files, approx. 60 hours, freely available at Yale University
https://www.amazon.com/001-Beginning-Po ... C+Schenker
https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Polish ... C+Schenker
http://archive.cls.yale.edu/polish/


Just wondering, does anyone know if these audio materials are still available anywhere? The Yale site sadly no longer seems to provide them to those outside of the university :cry:
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księżycowy
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Re: Polish resources

Postby księżycowy » Tue Feb 13, 2024 9:56 am

Ug_Caveman wrote:
Beginning Polish (Volumes 1 and 2) (Yale Language Series) 1973, by Alexander M. Schenker


Just wondering, does anyone know if these audio materials are still available anywhere? The Yale site sadly no longer seems to provide them to those outside of the university :cry:

Actually, the audio is available to anyone, it's just not obvious. You need to sign up for a Yale Press account. After which you go to the book in question (in this case Schenker) and click "access course resource" (I can't remember the exact wording). After which you're taken to a page that asks you what course it is, or if you're self learning. There's also a security question, which should pose no problem. Finally after that you get online access through your account.

It's not very clear or well laid out, but the audio is still available to anyone. I just did it to double check. Unfortunately, they've moved away from allowing it to be downloadable.

EDIT: I definitely need to take the link in my list above down, as the audio is not located there anymore. Thanks for the helpful discussion, so I can update the list! :)
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