Teach Yourself Polish

One is not going to learn Polish best with any one book. However, the approach used by Nigel Gotteri and Joanna Michalak-Gray is very good in my opinion. I have an earlier copy of this book (1997), but I assume it is still the same one. (I don't have any CDs.) They start with simple conversations at the airport, using important words you will get the maximum usage from. They don't overpower you with needless details, but do explain when the word takes a different form from the one found in your dictionary. (You need a dictionary for learning any language.) Every word in the conversation is defined. I am only making this review because I think this book deserves more stars than it has received. I have lived and worked in Poland, and this is one of the few of my, maybe two dozen Polish books, that I bothered to take along with me. Polish is a great and beautiful language. Good luck in your studies. P.S. If you can also afford the Pimsleur CDs, they are very good too.

Polish is most definately not the easiest language to learn, but this book is a great aid in learning the basics, and beyond. It starts with helping you throung the pronunciation of polish letters like cz, dz, cd, sz, rz, etc. Sometimes this might bring you close to despair, but once you get the hang of it, the rest of the book only becomes that much easier. I couldn't wish for a better book, that makes it possible for me to learn polish at my own pace.

Teach Yourself has been revising its language books lately, and the improvements have been remarkable. You are now given practical vocabulary and dialogues with which to learn the language, and the series is especially good for tourists or business persons intending to visit the countries where the language is spoken.Truth be told, however, Polish can be intimidating at first with its unique orthography and pronunciation. The first unit of Teach Yourself Polish will definitely be a challenge unless you've had some Polish before. But, if you're patient, what seems insurmountable at first will eventually become second nature.The grammar notes are excellent, introducing points in a logical and consistent fashion. Certain points are introduced early and developed more thoroughly later. However, it is sometimes difficult to locate a point that was covered early in the text without thumbing page-by-page through the book since it contains NO index. If you order this book, you should try to obtain the version containing cassettes. Though they are fairly Spartan (presenting, as it were, only half the dialogues covered in the text), they are helpful for pronunciation and intonation.By the way, this book contains twenty units, not eighteen, as the editorial review indicates.

This book is clearly written, and easy to understand. Instead of overwhelming you with huge amounts of grammar to MEMORIZE, it takes a more conversational approach, and explains cases and conjugations as they come up. The chapters are short enough and varying. If you haven't already noticed, there are few decent books on Polish. This is a beginner course, but I am pleased with it so far.