The best way to learn Polish is a mix: mostly Polish you can understand, plus review and real conversation, with the balance set by your goal. Polish you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input. Below, you'll see what each way of learning builds and the mix that suits six common goals.
Which Ways of Learning Polish Work Best?
Reading and listening to Polish at your level works best, and each other method adds one skill on top of it.
| Method | What it builds | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and listening at your level | Words, grammar and listening | Most of your time |
| A structured course | An order for the basics | Your first months |
| A tutor or conversation partner | Speaking and quick replies | Using what you know |
| Flashcards or other review | Words that stay with you | A few minutes each session |
| Shows, podcasts and the news | Polish at natural speed | Fun, once you follow most of it |
| Grammar study | Why the end of a word changes | Patterns that confuse you |
Input is the base of the mix: a 2016 review of 49 studies in Reading in a Foreign Language, a University of Hawaii journal, found that reading a lot of easy material improves reading in a new language.
What Is the Best Way to Learn Polish for Your Goal?
For every goal, the best way is the same base of reading and listening, with the rest of your time on the skill that goal needs most.
- Talk With Family or FriendsRead and hear lots of everyday conversations, and spend the rest of your time talking with them or with a tutor.
- Travel to PolandSpend most of your time on short dialogues about ordering food and getting around, and say each one out loud.
- Pass the Polish Language CertificateRead and listen at your level most of the time, and try the sample tests on the official certyfikatpolski.pl site as the test gets close.
- Live in PolandRead and hear Polish about everyday life most of the time, such as shopping and visits to the doctor, and practice those talks with a tutor.
- Read Polish BooksSpend most of your time reading short stories, and move on to the free books on Wolne Lektury once longer stories feel easy to follow.
- Work in PolishRead and hear Polish about your field most of the time, and practice the polite Pan (to a man) and Pani (to a woman) with a tutor.
To see how many hours each stage takes, read how long it takes to learn Polish.
What Are the Best Resources for Each Part?
Each part of the mix has a good free option, such as Storybooks Poland for easy stories or Anki for review, and an app or service for when you want more. Bubblegum, which appears in a few rows, is a language app where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes Polish lessons at your level about things you like.
| Part | Free option | App or service |
|---|---|---|
| A course for the basics | Duolingo's Polish course, which is free | Busuu, whose course goes from A1 to B2, or Pimsleur for audio lessons you answer out loud |
| Reading and listening at your level | Stories with audio on Storybooks Poland, and news in simple Polish on Polish Learner News | Bubblegum, Frazely or LingQ |
| Videos, podcasts and news | Easy Polish for videos, Polish with John for a podcast in simple Polish | Lingopie, which streams Polish shows with subtitles in two languages |
| Review | Anki, free on computers and Android | Bubblegum's Regenerative Review™, which brings saved words back in new lessons |
| Conversation | A language exchange on HelloTalk or Tandem | A tutor on italki or Preply |
| Grammar | Wiktionary's Polish noun appendix, which explains how nouns change their endings | Mango Languages, whose lessons come with grammar notes, or the Hurra!!! Po Polsku textbooks |
What Should You Avoid?
Avoid anything that keeps you away from real Polish sentences you can follow.
- Reading Polish Like EnglishIn Polish, w sounds like an English v, as in woda (water), and ł sounds like an English w, so play the audio as you read.
- Case Tables With No SentencesLearn each ending from lines you have read, such as Idę do domu (I'm going home), so it comes with an example of how it is used.
- Films You Can't Follow YetSave Polish films and series for when you can follow a scene with Polish subtitles on, and watch videos made for learners, such as Easy Polish, before that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to learn Polish with an app or a teacher?
Use an app for the hours of reading and listening, and a teacher for speaking and corrections. Lessons with a tutor on italki or Preply are paid, so spend that time talking, and do your reading and listening on your own. Some italki tutors are trained teachers of Polish as a foreign language.
Should I learn Polish grammar first?
No. Start reading and listening right away, and look a pattern up when it confuses you. A rule is easier to learn once you have seen it a few times: after Mam kota (I have a cat) and Mam siostrę (I have a sister), it is easy to see that a word's ending changes after mam (I have).
Which Polish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Polish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Polish app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Jeon and Day (2016), The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A meta-analysis, Reading in a Foreign Language 28(2), University of Hawaii
- Polish Language Certificate, the official state exams in Polish as a foreign language (FAQs, with sample tests under About the exam)
- Storybooks Poland (free stories with text and audio in Polish)
- Anki, official downloads (free computer version and AnkiDroid)
- HelloTalk, learn Polish (free language exchange)
- Wiktionary, Appendix: Polish nouns (how Polish nouns change their endings)
- Wolne Lektury (free library of Polish e-books and audiobooks)
