Lesson 6: Resources to make learning-stick

So much of what we have covered so far doesn't really need to be learnt, you just need to remember the rules that allow you to flip English words into Polish. But as we've seen in the previous lesson there is some vocab which you are going to have to learn

With a few tips and tricks you've got hundreds of Polish words under your belt. But as we move forward and deeper into the language how are you going to make it all stick?

The thinking method - say, looking for patterns like "does the English word end 'tion' and them flipping them into Polish - helps you think out new words without learning them parrot fashion. But how else can you keep practicing and remebering words and phrases.

In this lesson I'm going to introduce you to several resources that you can use in every day life if you are not lucky enough to be surrounded by Polish speakers where you can iisten and practice speaking.

Tok FM

Tok FM is a Polish radio station which is free to listen to and where, as the name suggests, they do a lot of talking! You can listen to it on your laptop or via the internet on your smartphone.

Start by literally listening to 5 minutes every day. On your way to work, on the bus, on the sofa with your eyes closed. Wherever you like, but just five minutes.

Simply listen out for words you know like "Nie" and "Tak". Perhaps you might even spot a "normalny" or an "akcja"! Most of it you won't understand but ignore that and just listen out for certain words.

Open the website and you will get one of those annoying cookie warning popups. Click "Akceptuję". Yes, you've just learnt the Polish for "I accept" - wasn't that hard was it?

At the bottom of the screen hover over the red button "Włącz Radio". "Włącz" means "Turn on" and "Radio" is .... well ... "Radio"

You'll see two options:

• TOK FM
• TOK FM + MUZYKA

Can you guess what "Muzyka" is? Absolutely, "Music". And what gender is "Muzyka"? It ends in an 'a' like "kobieta" so its feminine.

So now you know how to say "Good Music"!

TOK FM + MUZYKA is the paid version where you hear music instead of adverts but actually adverts are exactly what we want to hear because it's more spoken Polish.

TOK FM is the free service. Click on this and start listening!

Listen and Repeat MP3 files

In the resources of this lesson I've included an MP3 file with all the words and phrases from the lessons up to this point.

I download these onto an MP3 flashcard which I can plug into my car radio and just listen and repeat as I'm driving. You can do the same or download them onto your phone for when you are out and about or play them from your laptop while you are cooking or washing the dishes.

Listen-and-repeat are great mempory joggers and keep past words and phrases that you have already learnt fresh in your mind when you are not using the language every day.

Anki Cards

Anki cards are "Flash" cards that work on your computer.

A card flashes up and you have to type in the Polish or English translation. The system randomly selects the words or phrases and you can choose how many to add to your revision each day. I recommend you start with 5 in the first month

You can download the Anki Package from here; https://apps.ankiweb.net/

Install Anki on your computer and open it.

At the bottom of the screen click 'Get Shared' which will open the website where you can download decks. Search "Polish on a Plate" and find the deck marked "Lessons 1-4"

Click on this to open the deck information and look for, and click on, the download button.

Now go back to Anki on your computer and choose File -> Import. Locate the file you just downloaded and import it into Anki.

That's it, you're ready to go.

Anki needs to be a daily activity (or at least every other day) otherwise the number of cards it will present builds up and becames almost impossible to manage. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes a day so make some time to jog that memory!