I grew up ( in the US) hearing Czech from my Czech born mother and her parents who came to the US in the late '40s. I learned a few words here and there, but she never taught us Czech as she wanted to assimilate so badly. She spoke English perfectly, no accent, and it was her third fluent language. I cringe when I hear you say Czech is a level 3 language to learn. Mom used to say she didn't teach us Czech because it was a small country in the middle of Europe and we would never need it. If she were alive today, she would be astonished at how small the world has become. When I visited the then Czechoslovakia in 1982, it was under Communist rule and most residents there spoke German. I remember being so upset that she didn't teach me Czech. My English and French didn't help me. So, at the age of 61, I am committed to learn Czech-- just wish she would be alive to see it. My goal would be to spend a year or more in the Czech Republic, after our pandemic has eased. I appreciate your video and website.

@user-yc7rq7rm1e

3 жыл бұрын

Good luck!

@futures-trader

Жыл бұрын

Good luck mate. Age doesnt mean a thing - check the guy out on youtube who started learning languages at 65 or 75 and now speaks over 20!

@danielruzicka3858

9 ай бұрын

Nice to see you are discovering your roots in our country

@tkap581

9 ай бұрын

​@@user-yc7rq7rm1eThank you! Just seeing this now

@tkap581

9 ай бұрын

​@@futures-traderThanks so much for the encouragement! Just seeing this now

Wow, I'm astonish by you ř! Really great pronunciation 👍

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

Awww, thanks! :)

@Mike_Litoris_Official

4 жыл бұрын

@@WanderlustingExpat Yea, that Ř was excellent 👍

Jen, I have been struggling to learn Czech for 6 years, and this is incredibly helpful. thank you!!

Hey! I just found your channel. I am trying to learn Czech since I have a friend there and I wanna talk to her in Czech! Thank youuu this helps so much

Watching again and again this video. Very usefull tips and well presented.

Amazing! I saw a video of you speaking Czech! I was absolutely stunned :) I am considering moving back to Czech after 15 years in California. I am very hesitant to do it as I enjoy my home and mainly my military career. Good job Jennifer :) I enjoy your videos.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Honza, A Czech in California!? Great! Where are you in California? In my next video, I compare Czechs and Americans, so you might have an opinion on that ;)

@honzacaf

4 жыл бұрын

Dream Prague - Bay Area lives here since the age of 18. When I go to Czech, 3 days later I am like “ok, cool I think I am ready to go home” 🤣. I don’t see myself fit well amongst the Czechs anymore. Looking forward to see the next video :)

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

@@honzacaf Wow, that would be a big change! I was born in Palo Alto and half of my family still lives in the Bay Area. Personally, I find the quality of life to be better in Prague than in San Francisco., even though SF is amazing and has so much to offer. We're just very happy in ČR!

@honzacaf

4 жыл бұрын

I live in San Mateo and work in Redwood City. I’m sort of happy over there due to the weather and the diversity of people. But I don’t feel free being here. When I go back to Czech I feel very free and happy in general. Plus the whole Family there anyways. So I might move eventually

@strahaironscale571

2 жыл бұрын

ty voe cech co si uziva karieru v americky armade... se nech vysetrit

Golden and very practical tips. Thanks!

Thank you very much for the video! It was very useful to me. Děkuji moc a měj se hezky!

Tvůj kanál je skvělý! :) A v tomhle videu vypadáš opravdu skvěle! :)

A lot of good information really thanks for sharing them.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

You're great Jen! Thank you :)

Thanks for the tips, they make the whole goal of learning and becoming fluent in Czech seem less overwhelming. Learning Czech will be a fun and interesting experience.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! Don't get me wrong, it's quite complicated, but not impossible! Good luck!

@Diego-ys9tv

4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks, same!

@MyYTwatcher

4 жыл бұрын

No it wont. It will be stressful pain in the ass :-)

Great tips, I agree they apply to learning of any foreign language. From personal experience I would add: 1) TV and radio commercials. They use everyday language, are short and repeated ad nauseam. TV gives you visual cues as well. 2) audiobooks in Czech, combined with print/digital text (which you have to purchase separately).They are narrated by professional actors in standard Czech pronunciation, some apps allow to adjust the speed I.e 0.75. I use audio books for shadowing, or simple listening if I am too tired to read aloud myself. Great content.Jen tak dál!

Thanks for the tips! I am trying to learn

@takoda5424

4 жыл бұрын

hlavně se nauč ř//learn ř

Great tips I will try some. Memorizing nouns with their preositions is a great idea. Better than learning the 7 voices. Eventually I will do the italki sign up. I am trying to get my vocab up a bit first. But this Friday I am canoeing down the Vltava to a pub with several bands...love it here

Wow vidím že je tu spousta lidí co se chtějí naučit česky😎

Any place in the world keeps mocking native English speakers for not being able to learn other languages, while actually many of the greatest polyglots around are all native speakers of English. It is just that people like Czechs have to learn the languages if they want to travel, research, do any kind of international collaboration, etc. And they have a bit of advantage by being forced to start quite early and usually learn two or three foreign languages before they graduate. Your Czech is really pretty good, and the diction flow seems to be improving in the recent videos. And I find really impressive, that you could perfectly understand even all these questions for the Czech nationality exam, which contain many rare and formal words. Yeah, and your Ř is also excellent, many Czechs cannot pronounce it at all.

Hope this will help to my husband :) I'm czech and personally I think you explained beautifully 👍

I admire you Jen,its really not easy to learn Czech.Very well👏

Hi Jen. Colin in London UK here. I'm learning Czech, I have a Czech lady friend and it seems like a nice country. It might end up becoming my bug out country if the zombie apocalypse comes, some say it already has. My exposure to Czech has been a lot of Radio Povídka and an app called Tobo Czech. I'm getting a, bit bored with listening to detective dramas. Is it me or are the Czechs obsessed with Sherlock Holmes?...so many Czech videos with Sherlock! I searched "Mluvené slovo' and a few different videos came up but not much variety. I started just after the new year and know probably 100 words. I listen for a few hours a day and I'm picking up words and often look up one's I hear a lot, I made it so I've got an English and Czech keyboard which saves time. I think in a month or two I'll be ready to start talking and maybe find a tutor. I'll look into the tip you recommend. Thank you 👍

I enjoy watching this video. Are you still doing more of these videos? I am very interested in learning Czechoslovakia language.

Many thanks for your videos. I am so bad in English like you in Czech and your learning advices are good, I think. Sorry for my czenglish. :)

This video is amazing, thats basically the way how i learn languages my whole life and im not a teacher.

I'm Portuguese. I majored in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Columbia. I lived in Monaco and in Lausanne prior to moving to New York to go to college. The Slavic languages came easily. My secondary school, Rosey, was excellent for Slavic Languages and Literatures.

This video was very helpful and I have subscribed to your page. Thank you! my goal is to be able to speak to my inlaws who speak no English

Well, my hat down to you, you’re surely mastering the Czech language. Who would like to learn any language that is being spoken by only 10 million people, right? The matter of fact is that no matter which second language you learn, it makes you that much richer. Sadly this is not an attitude of people in North America (including Canada of course) where I now live. As you pointed out it is really hard language to learn and pronounce, all theses ř, š, c, j, ď, ť, ňs tak drive foreigners crazy. I was blessed to have it for my mother tongue and genuinely feel for those learning it. BUT, you’re doing really great, having a definitive plan of attack and it positively shows. Congrats! 👍👍👍

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for the encouragement!

I've been struggling to figure out what these "Zrcadlová texts" were called, as everyone has been recommending them to me. It's really a hustle trying to find Czech as a foreign language resources out there. Thank you for this video!

Hi Jennifer, I have been having a fun afternoon watching your videos about how you explore Prague and Czech Republic! One thing I'd recommend to focus on in your spoken Czech is where the stress is located in words. In Czech its on the first syllable which makes it so different from the English /'a-hoj vs. a-'hoj/. it also applies for phrases like "bez psa" a "se psem" that are considered one word for this rule / ie. 'bes-psa a 'se-psem/.

@MyYTwatcher

4 жыл бұрын

This is the last thing she should focus on. That is only polishing. I dont say that she speaks bad czech (cause I never heard her), but the accent is just the final stage of learning.

@catepilarr

4 жыл бұрын

@@MyYTwatcher Dont agree with that. Thanks.

You are right about TV, being grate teacher, I am Czech living in US and I am not satisfied to be able speak just English in this country ,so after I learned English I wanted to learn Spanish because it is so widely used here in states, and around the world ,plus it is such a beautiful language , and big advantage that Netflix have here in US is that there is lots of shows and movies that you can watch in English with Spanish subtitles, and than you can watch same show in Spanish with English subtitles, and than you can watch it again :D in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, and than again one more time in Spanish without subtitles, it is amazing way to learn language ! I remember when I came in US In 1998 I would be so grateful if I could have Netflix back than when I was learning English, but TV even without Netflix was a grate teacher to me ,it was just limited to English with English subtitles, so I watched lots of Elmo and Sesame Street!!

This was awesome.

I learn English with your videos, I am Spanish-speaking! And yes you should make videos about the Czech language there are very few on KZread about that theme!

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

That's great to hear!!

Good job(dobrá práce)

Quizlet is amazing! I've been using that app for years to learn pretty much anything! I've learned English pretty quickly and now I'm learning Dutch. To learn ALL the grammar should take me approx 3 months with quizlet :P But commitment is important too! I do at least 2 hours of work a day for 10 weeks straight. Recommended!

@catepilarr

4 жыл бұрын

nojo, ale pokud ma clovek jako rodnou rec cestinu, tak neni takovy problem se vyporada s gramatikou holandstiny, jako je u americana, co se uci cesky ;)

Ahoj Nakonec jsem se naučil mluvit šekem a polovina členů rodiny ani neví, jak mluvit česky. Je to pro ně trochu matoucí, co říkám, a pak jim musím říct později a je to opravdu zábavné.

I actually watched a load of Czech soaps (Ulice etc) and that helped me a lot with having the subtitles on (Czech) to learn easy word. Believe me, the words used in soaps are quite easy for most of the time...

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

Great idea, I haven't watched Ulice yet but I hear it's great.

@KokosNaSnehu2

4 жыл бұрын

Oh god no. You may pick up on some words, but you will lose couple IQ points with every episode of that attrocity.

@evka552

4 жыл бұрын

@@KokosNaSnehu2 :D true

This really helped me as I was using Duolingo and it was confusing as I want to learn czech

@pernik180

3 жыл бұрын

Well start beacouse our language have Very rules

Hi Jen, As I am new to your videos and Prague I must tell you that I did seek out a teacher to try and learn the language but dropped out after just a few sessions!! Their language is very tough with things like one ENGLISH word is four CZECH words and how they use their verbs, nouns, how you have to distinguish the words from a man versus a woman, kind of sexist to me but who am, anyway they certainly could take a lesson on how to speak. Also when you listen to a Czech talk they are speaking so fast you do not understand them! Kind of like their walking! Very fast!!! I, personally just decided I would go with the written flashcards and learn as I go and at my speed. I personally am a person that has to learn by practice, practice, practice!! Very much like your videos and hope you do lots more.

I saw a few of your videos in czech language, you are awesome cool. Your voice, ř and pronunciation is amazing, a little more work on the accent, but I realize how hard it must be.:) Because you speak beautifully "formaly/officailly" (spisovně, I do not know how to say it): D, I wonder if you have caught some spoken (hovorová) words. I'm talking about "composing or merging" words (I hope :D), for example. Náklaďák - Nákladový auto -Truck, Osobák - osobní auto - Passenger car (I hope so that this word exist, simply normal car :D), Pojišťovák - pojišťovací poradce - Insurance Consultant. We have a large number of these words and are very much used in conversation. Sorry if you mentioned it or there was a conversation about it, I listened to you while I was cooking. :) and last, ignore the mistakes in English, I'm still learning :) I'm looking forward to the next video. Viděla jsme pár tvých videi v češtině, si strašně super. Tvůj hlas, ř a výslovnost je úžasná, ještě trochu zapracovat na přízvuku, ale uvědomuji si, jak těžké to musí být. Protože mluvíš krásně spisovně, zajímalo by mě jestli si už pochytila nějaké hovorové slova. Mluvím o skládání nebo slučování slov (doufám :D), například. Náklaďák - Nákladní auto, Osobák - Osobní auto, Pojišťovák - Pojišťovací poradce. Máme mnoho těchto slov a velmi se využívají v hovoru.Promiň jestli si to zmiňovala nebo to bylo v konverzaci, poslouchala jsem tě při vaření. A na závěr, chyb v angličtině si nevšímej, stále se učím :) Těším se na další video.

You have a very nice voice!

Very nice

I was so happy/embarrassed listening to the first 5-year reasons not to really learn Czech. I have said them all, down to the Metro paper, I stopped trying when they got rid of the English section. But I was also kinda happy wasn’t just me who thought this way. Thanks for the advice. You make Czech look somewhat less intimidating.

OMG thank you! I live in PIlsen and have been struggling for a year.

@markscheck

4 жыл бұрын

Just started watching MOST OMG that would never be showed in the US.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

@@markscheck I've heard of MOST, is it any good??

@elysium3274

4 жыл бұрын

How long do you live in Pilsen if I can ask?

@jiriconcka3213

4 жыл бұрын

@@DreamPrague www.csfd.cz/film/431912-most/prehled/ :-)

@markscheck

4 жыл бұрын

@@elysium3274 About a year and a half. Just got into A2 class. I need to memorize 50 verbs by Monday.

I wish I could find some of the dual language (mirror) books in the US. I've seen them in Prague but I'd like to work on my Czech before I go back, so being able to find them here would be terrific.

You can also try to find English songs that you know by heart and try to find those songs but in Czech. like some people probably translated some popular American songs in Czech so you can get it in your head and you would already know what the lyrics mean since you already know the song in English very well. I also like to listen to music and is easy for me to pick up some Czech words and sentences by finding Czech music to sing along to.

@hanselvogis5142

3 жыл бұрын

But songs have actually different lyrics. It's not just translated. Sometimes they have very different meaning.

If you want some video to learn Czech, try Cimrman. For example "Vyšetřování ztráty třídní knihy". You will understand lot of our culture :)

You can download languages in Google translate for offline use :)

Hi!! Thanks so much for this! I have two questions: 1. How do you advise to learn the grammar to form your own sentences?? 2. How do you get through the Pimsleur course? I'm stuck on 7 or 8 because they say not to move on until you have 80% learned. Maybe I'm too hard on myself but I feel I'm not grasping 80% and the words are ramping up in difficulty too quickly. My husband is Czech and I want to speak with his family. Thanks 😊❤✌

If I remember correctly you went to see Cimrman’s Záskok in English, but do you watch his plays in Czech too? :) I would say they are awesome for learning Czech and sometimes even Czech puns.

I honestly think czech is the easiest language I've ever tried learning so I'm surprised you say its one of the hardest

Moc hezke.

Ahoj (hi) je hezký že se znažíš nejlíp co de český (Its beautiful you try do best of czech laungae)

I guess that the last step is to think in a foreign language. What I mean is to stop having connections like "a general cat" -> word "cat" -> word "kočka", but have the words "cat" and "kočka" on the same level. It saves a lot of time while speaking. However, there's a downside to it for example to me ( and I noticed that some of me friends who study in English or use English a lot do too) it sometimes happen that I want to describe something and I immediately know how to say it in English/Czech with just a few words or an idiom, but then I have to tediously translate it to Czech/English, a language I am using in a current conversation :D Especially movie and book references like "then I went through this rabbit hole of..." or paradoxically "it was kafkaesque" etc. as many books that went big in the US/UK are not as commonly known in CZ and vice versa.

ahojky. díky za videiko... moje kamarádka z UK tvrdí, že jí čeština zní velmi jako ruština - russian villains :-D jako nevím, ale můj učitel angličtiny (pochází z New Yorku) zase vždycky říkal, že si tak připadal i on sám, když se o češtinu pokoušel.... :-D přijde mi opravdu úžasný, jak cizincům čeština jde a jak se snaží

Your videos always give me a hope that I can move back to Czech with my kids/husband who dont speak czech. Based on your experience how long do you think it would take my son speak fluently if he goes to one of the czech schools? He would be attending 7th grade. He only know around 100 words and can form sentences.

Some prepositions can be used with more cases! Na - 4. pád - Dej to na stůl., 6. pád - Leží to na stole. Etc...

@sptlght9548

4 жыл бұрын

all prepositions are not flexible

@koucka.a.doucka

4 жыл бұрын

@@sptlght9548 I write - some prepositions are and it is important to remember which case they need because the meaning can change.

@sptlght9548

4 жыл бұрын

@@koucka.a.doucka máš druhy ohebné a neohebné: Ohebné: Podstatá Jména Přídavná Jména Zájmena Číslovky Slovesa Neohebné: Příslovce Předložky Spojky Částice Citoslovce Žádné předložky nebo spojky nejdou skloňovat ani časovat

@koucka.a.doucka

4 жыл бұрын

@@sptlght9548 Nemusíte mě poučovat o slovních druzích, jsem učitelka češtiny. Ale uznávám, nedošlo mi, jak myslíte význam slova flexible (protože přece jenom nejsem angličtinář), pochopila jsem to tak, že se předložky dají použít "různě", flexibilně. Ale ve zbytku komentáře vysvětluju, co jsem chtěla říct - ŽE KAŽDÁ PŘEDLOŽKA SE VÁŽE S JINÝM PÁDEM. Což neznamená, ŽE JSOU OHEBNÉ! Předložky JSOU NEOHEBNÉ, samy o sobě význam nemají, jenom dávají význam jiným slovům a POMÁHAJÍ UTVOŘIT TVARY TĚCHTO SLOV V RŮZNÝCH PÁDECH. Ale ta slova, která po nich následují, UŽ OHEBNÁ BÝVAJÍ (podstatná jména, přídavná jména, zájmena, číslovky). A ta slova, která po nich následují, UŽ TEDY MĚNÍ SVŮJ TVAR (protože jsou ohebná!). A každá předložka "vyžaduje" použití tvarů jiného pádu. Takže, jak píšu v prvním komentáři: např. předložka o se používá s 6. pádem (např. mluvil o něm), ale taky s 4. pádem (např. žádal o vodu). TAKŽE SLOVA, KTERÁ PO NÍ NÁSLEDUJÍ, MAJÍ TVAR BUĎ 6., NEBO 4. PÁDU! Proto nestačí naučit se předložku, ale je třeba si zapamatovat, se KTERÝMI PÁDY JI MÁTE POUŽÍVAT! Navíc, Váš první komentář "all prepositions are not flexible" (všechny předložky nejsou ohebné) vlastně odporuje tomu, co jste napsal v komentáři dalším.

@sptlght9548

4 жыл бұрын

@@koucka.a.doucka člověk na internetu si nemůže být nikdy jistý jestli na druhé straně náhodou není učitelka češtiny 😁😁

When I learned English at language school in Malta I was so furious how my Italian and Spanish friends got it easier than me, Russian... Now watching this video I feel like a revanche as I can understand a lot of words and even sentences of Czech without taking any courses.... Don't get me wrong just understand how difficult to us, Slavic people, English language is...

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

That's great! Happy to help with your revenge. ;)

I'm always surprised by how many Czechs speak English in Prague. I live in Vysočina and although there are many English speakers I never start a conversation in English. In fact many conversations I have is me speaking Czech and a Czech speaking English. There are a few ways to pick up more Czech, for example I don't do Netflix, I download movies and tv series from a well known website and I always go for English with Cesky Titulki.

A co teperve věta: Nesnese se se sestrou! Can you translate that one? Great video!

We have the same instructor!!!

@WanderlustingExpat

4 жыл бұрын

Eliška??? She's the best. :)

@StephanieGould

4 жыл бұрын

Jennifer Preston YUP!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Oh nice , could you tell us more how you going on the life there

Thanks for the info. Can you recommend where to find such "zrcadlo" books? Amazon is coming up empty with that search term.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! Here's a link: www.knihydobrovsky.cz/zrcadlove-knihy-2757 and you can also buy them at Luxor Bookstore on Wenceslas Square.

@DrMikero

4 жыл бұрын

@@DreamPrague díky moc

Hi. I married a Phillipino woman and we starting now teaching her Czech . We try to use your way

@catepilarr

4 жыл бұрын

teaching her Czech ;)

@ladislavkratochvil7678

4 жыл бұрын

@@catepilarr yes, you're right 🙂

You can definitely live in Prague and not speak Czech, save for couple of words. True that! However granted you plan on expanding and / or moving out of Prague into the regions, be it on business, to travel, socialize, get to know the people and country, then you need to learn the language, because you will not survive on English. Outside of Prague (maybe in Brno you can also live on English only) people simply do not speak English either at all or just really very basics (couple words or phrases). :) Btw. you shared some really good tips for language self-teaching in general. Very similar to how I learned (years ago), and actually keep deepening and broadening my knowledge of, proper English. ;)

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

Well, your English is very good, so congratulations to you!

Hello Jen, I would like to buy the 'mirror ' books you use but cant find any information on line. Please advise Thank You, Bronia I( I live in Australia)

Where can I find zrcadlo books with Czech on one side and English on the other?

@xianwuxing

3 жыл бұрын

I hope she answers I would like to know also.

@Devon_maloy

3 жыл бұрын

Zrcadlo books in bookstores. I feel they waste my time because they fragment my learning. Women learn languages faster so more useful for them?

@Fluffy-777

2 жыл бұрын

I found some in budget books

Learn by sink or swim in my job/jobs here. I can understan russian now

@annarico8564

3 жыл бұрын

But i speak spanish too

Kinda useful only for English native speakers, I can understand czech in 1 day alr being native Russian / ukrainian but still want to improve

It is "se psem". You need to add a vowel if you have 2 consonants following each other. The reason is that otherwise it is hard to pronounce. :)

@karelmuller6716

4 жыл бұрын

not every single time :-) what about "s blbcem"?

@ladajana

4 жыл бұрын

@@karelmuller6716 you are right. If you have voiced consonant that you don't need to add a vowel and therefore you have "s blbcem" :)

❤❤

One thing I often hear in your Czech (and it is something worthy to improve) is... umm... there are some little changes in voicedness(?) of consonants in the Czech sentence. Some clusters of consonants are too difficult to pronounce for us, so we slightly modify them. You can't see it in the written language, but you can hear it. Typically: You pronounce the preposition "v" very hard, voiced, "v tom" like "v! tom", but it's not common to pronounce v and t together this way. It's reduced to "f" and the pause between words can disappear: "ftom". And that sounds more natural. (It's kinda trap... We usually write things the same way we speak, but there are some exceptions... I had somewhere a book about Czech pronunciation if you'd be interested...)

@jansuser6345

3 жыл бұрын

The same thing: Bez psa = bespsa... And so on... In grammar it's called "spodoba znělosti". See: prirucka.ujc.cas.cz/?id=908

:-) super

Se psem..No: s psem..😉

@vlastimil-furst

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that is how to write that. As for how to say it ... I guess she was pretty close anyway, because without at least a mute E (as used frequently in English) it is hard to pronounce.

Bez psa u psa u auta bez auta Prague is the capital of the Czech city, it's great there I go there at Christmas: D

Kanál "TadyGavin" taky využívá služeb Elišky...

@johnnygomez7063

4 жыл бұрын

No jo ale už víc jak měsíc neudělal žádný nový video.. Nevíte někdo, co s ním je??

Hello! I am from Czech Republic, so i can speak Czech very well. But can i ask you, why do you learning Czech when is it too hard language and is it too small state? Thank you.

I just downloaded the Pimsleur app last month to learn. It's helping me a lot better than Duolingo, which I used partially to learn Spanish

Are you available as a teacher on italki?

Was Forrest Gump idea stolen from Jara Cimrman?

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

I totally think you're right! I've thought the same thing!

@amicz

4 жыл бұрын

Obviously

@molmonlomek6336

4 жыл бұрын

ideas about character like that is quite common basically in every culture every time. even most pagan religions have gods or heroes like that

Thankyou for this valuable information & is this online class is free? Can you please comment below

@DreamPrague

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it’s free!

@irenejaitus9099

3 жыл бұрын

@@DreamPrague 😇 thanks again

I cannot emphasize enough “expanding vocabulary”.

How do i get these mirror reading books in the USA?

Hi Jennnifer, some observations from native speaker of czech - 1) Any course or exam doesn't teach you the language itself, it will only prove, that you are capable to use the vocabulary and grammar in non-realistic sentences, which wouldn't the native speaker use at all... (If I had known that, I wouldn't had come there... = I should've stayed home... F*ck....) 2) I remember my english (B2) exam, which took part at Charles University. I (barely, but) did the exam ... I did learn myself the british way of english (with the american pronunciation of some words, e.g. "neither"). 3) It sounds lovely, when someone taught himself / herself czech properly and is able to use all the gramatical "tools" correctly. Even state media make mistakes in some basic czech grammar rules, and when we hear it correct from non-native speaker, it is more outstanding. E.g. Typical czech would say "ty koťata" (the / those kittens), but it is grammatically incorrect. Correct is "ta koťata"... :-) 4) The declensions and conjugations are hard, but it is great, when you create czech (rhymes and) lyrics for the song or create a poem. But there is a song, called Manuela, sung by Julio Iglesias and every verse is ending with word "Manuela". It is easy to create english, french, spanish or german lyrics for the song, because there are no declensions of the word Manuela, but in czech? It is a HELL! Only one (the first) case ends with "A", in the word Manuela, other endings are "Manuelu", "Manuele", "Manuely" "Manuelou" or "Manuelo". And create a rhyme only with "Manuela", with the first case ... oh my gosh ... :-D 5) The most proper and most beautiful pronunciation of the czech language had two (unfortunately passed away) actors. Find "Boris Rösner" and "Vladimír Ráž". But other actors and actresses are also great. Listen to the czech dubbed movies or interviews with actors, you will learn the czech as it should properly sound. :-) 6) Let me commend your "Ř", sounds great. It is awkward, when someone says "RŽ" instead of "Ř", but this is DEFINITELY NOT your case :-) What you should more focus on, is the difference between "H" and "CH"... E.g. HODIT (to throw) and CHODIT (to walk, to go), they are two different verbs ... I think, that practicing the "CH" is easy - you can find the sound of the letter, when you will start by whistling and you will move your lips in normal (non-oval) shape. The sound becomes from whistling to "CH" :-) 7) "s psem" sounds weird. If we can make czech more convenient, we do it by adding the "E"... "se psem" "se sestrou", "se Zuzanou", but "s Jennifer"... :-) It is the same case, like "a dog" but "an apple" :-) (It is not "a apple".) 8) I have to admit, I don't like the series "Vyprávěj", because it narrates recent history of the Czech republic (and Czechoslovakia), but it is done retrospectively and it doesn't reflect the history as it really happened. It is like having series in U.S., describing the foundation of the U.S.A. (the Indians, the Wild West era, etc...) 9) Judging, what is happening in the scene by the facial expressions is great, that is how I learnt the very basics of (argentinian) spanish :-) 10) You live in lovely flat, Jennifer, but I am quite surprised, that many rooms of your flat are connected just with wall arcs, without doors... :-) Greetings, Sir_Mac

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

Sir_Mac, Thank you so much for your helpful response! I will take all of these tips into consideration. I watched this video numerous times as I was editing and only after I published it did I realize the mistake with "s psem"! And you are totally right, I have to work on my CH vs. H sound. I can't imagine that I will ever be able to speak quickly and fluently in Czech...my Czech is slow and deliberate like a small child. :( Have a lovely day!

@MacGyver5AF

4 жыл бұрын

@@DreamPrague Jennifer, my spoken english suffers the same way, as your spoken czech, it's slow. But the very important thing in communication is one person to talk and the second to listen to you. The czech declensions are, I would say, like the additional extensions, which you can put on your hair dryer. Using the word in its basic form is like using the hair dryer, the result is dry hair (only). Using the proper declension is like making visual effects with your hair using the extension, when drying them. If you use wrong declension, the other person will very probably understand, what you were trying to say, but the result would sound slightly funny, but nothing serious. Like when using wrong extension on your hair dryer :-) What I love about czech language, it doesn't need any articles by default at all. Yes, there is "ten/ta/to or "ti/ty"ta", but it is for the emphasis of the word, if necessary. Also, there are only three verbal tenses in czech, the other tasks are operated by adverbs or "slovesný vid", I believe. Keep up your czech language, Jen. Sir_Mac

@catepilarr

4 жыл бұрын

ad1/ zkouska vas nemuse naucit jazyk nikdy. muze vas naucit nakej dilek, ale ne jazyk. a kdyz si vyberete spatny materialy k priprave, nemuzete se divit, ze vas tam uci vetne konstrukce a fraze, co se uz davno nepouzivaji, nebo si je nejaky cesky chytrak dokonce vymyslel ;)

@catepilarr

4 жыл бұрын

ad5. vyslovnost nemela herce. herci meli vyslovnost ;)

@SuperVeverka1

4 жыл бұрын

Sir Mac Che flaco, vos viviste en Argentina? Pregunto por curiosidad no mas.

I went to the link and its said that the course is closed for enrollment.

ahoj im from czech republic

Pes, se psem, bez psa... After your pointing out these things I got scared just by the idea of starting learning czech again. :-)

Hi! Why are you moved to Czechia? :)

to je můj jazyk

btw, correct form is "se psem" :)

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

Doh!! How embarrassing.😳

@johnnygomez7063

4 жыл бұрын

@@DreamPrague its not embarassing - just tiny correction - because "s psem" is very hard to pronunce even for us - so the gramar made it easier to say "se psem" /// with = is both "v" and "ve". Same with the preposition "in" - also both "v" and "ve". used in stable connections

Could I just speak using Google Translator? Is Google Translator accurate both grammatically and properly? (Would it use the right kind of word I'm supposed to use considering there's many words that could mean one thing depending on situation.) It's a lazy but fun idea and slightly nerve racking, hoping I make sense. Also sometimes my dad does this at work for people who mainly speak Spanish. It works well there.

Congratulations for you Czech green card😀👍, wonder how it looks like.🤔

And by the way... Many czechs themselves dont know how to pronounce the" r"( with the thingy on top) my mom tells me... She's czech 100%

Your Ř i sbetter than the most of Slovakians. Evem some Czech cannot pronounce it :D

ahoj

hi i wanna ask where i can buy mirror text book?

@DreamPrague

Жыл бұрын

Luxor.cz

You are really good you want to learn second hardest language in the world :) Czech language is beautiful but fucking difficult :)

most important part of any language to learn first is how to curse, although smiling at someone that just cursed you out and thanking them profusely will definitely disarm them HA! GOTCHA! it's pes, SE psem, bez(e) psa, ke psovi

That's funny. That's how I learned English.

I want to study in Czech republic and if i study in Czech language then I don't have to pay any tution fees so i want to learn czech language.

I really wish I could get that ř sound. Sounds really odd.

@DreamPrague

4 жыл бұрын

Now apparently I over use it and turn every R into an Ř, even in English! 😩

@braaitongs

3 жыл бұрын

This sound is next to impossible for me!

Ahoj