One of the downsides of choosing to learn Czech is that unlike French or German, it doesn’t have a major selection of resources, at least not free ones on the internet. However, because it is such a niche, what is there is created due to a real passion for the language. Nowhere on the net is this more apparent than in the Little Czech Primer. As a starting place for the language, you can do little better. Obviously, this is too basic to teach you more than the basics in the language and you won’t be able to construct sentences that go beyond “the mouse eats” (you won’t be able to say what it eats as it doesn’t cover cases), but that’s not the point. It’s a nice way to learn the basic vocabulary in the language through pictures, and what’s good is that it just displays a picture and not the translation in English.
This may sound like a setback, but really, it’s not. It encourages you to look at the word and link it to the picture. If you have to work out the picture, or what exactly the connection is, it will stay as you haven’t just skim-read the words. Also, the Czech word is linked to a picture and not an English word, so when you see a picture of a dog, for example, you won’t have to go via English first, which is important when trying to become fluent later on. Another good feature is that it includes sound, which you should definitely take the time to listen to as it creates a link between the written and spoken language. One bit of grammar this does cover is conjugating verbs. Just click on the "conjugate" label and it comes up with all the present tense forms of the verb.
For some basic phrases, czech out (the first and last time I’ll do that, promise) the single-serving.com phrasebook. Print it out, fold it, and keep it in your pocket. Of course, this works better if you take it out occasionally and read it. It’s a good little resource to have on you as when standing in queues, sitting on the bus or whatever other wasted time you have in your day, take it out and try and learn one of the phrases in it. This is important, don’t just take it out and skim read it all, but spend time looking at each phrase, look at the words and memorise it. These are what you’ll need to be able to start speaking in the language when you’re actually there, and the quicker you learn them the sooner you can think about grammar, reading and writing in the language. When learning these, try using them whenever you can. This is obviously easier when in the Czech Republic, but still, keep them in mind. If you’ve told your friends you’re learning Czech, greet them in Czech. When counting, use the Czech numbers. Write a shopping list in Czech. When you’re more advanced you’ll be surprised how you can almost immerse yourself in the language whilst sitting comfortably at home, but for now, do what you can, it’ll make it easier to remember the words and phrases you’ll need later. And it beats learning from lists.
If you need help pronouncing the words, try locallingo.com which is a complete resource and includes vocabulary lessons with audio. Spend a bit of time trying to mimic the sound of the speaker.
James Naughton is a name you’ll come across often when learning Czech. He’s written two of the best books for the language, which I’ll review at a later date. For now, try exploring the oxford university website for resources, which is where he lectures. One is this little page for learning months and days. Unlike most other European languages, Czech months have absolutely no relation to their English counterparts, being Slavic rather than Roman in origin. This means you’ll have to make an effort to learn them, so keep coming back to this page and test yourself.
I hope these links help you and give you something to build on. Remember, you’re vocabulary is only as big as you make it, so learn those basics!
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