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Title: Czech: A Complete Course for Beginner (Teach Yourself (Book and Cassette)) by W. R. Lee, Teach Yourself Publishing, David Short ISBN: 0844238554 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: December, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.55
Rating: 4
Summary: Not the best, but functional
Comment: If you're just planning to visit the Czech Republic as a tourist, there's really no reason to buy this book. Most Czechs you'll run into in a tourist kind of situation will speak some English anyway (and in any case, Czechs are all so unused to foreigners trying to learn their language that they'll invariably think you very ridiculous!). If you just want to travel, buy a cheap phrase book instead and don't bother with any grammar.
If you're more serious about the language, though, this book isn't a bad place to start. Although I think "Colloquial Czech" by James Naughton is better, this is a fairly functional introduction to the language. Each lesson starts with a situational dialogue (which you can listen to if you buy the cassettes). The rest of the lesson then presents some of the grammar included in the dialogue. The final lessons include some advanced grammar rules, so by the time you finish, you ought to be able to get the gist of most conversations in Czech and read stuff with the help of a dictionary.
The book has two main drawbacks. The vocabulary is often pretty abstruse (you learn how to say "Be sure to call in on that bookshop" before you even know the past tense). Plus, it puts too much emphasis on the dialogue in each lesson and less on grammar. Grammar rules aren't really explained all that thoroughly, and overall the book doesn't have enough examples. Most people who use this book will probably have studied a foreign language before and will be able to work out the grammar rules on their own, but if you've haven't I recommend "Colloquial Czech" instead.
Rating: 4
Summary: For serious learners.
Comment: Czech is a very beautiful language, but it's also a very inflected one, and hence, it's very diffucult. Everything changes in this language, not just verb endings, but adjectives, nouns; every word. There's probably 15 different variations for the words 'this' or 'that'. So for the casual tourist this book isn't for you, you'd do better with Lonely Planet's Czech Phrasebook. But for those intent on learning more, then this book will suffice. The chapter topics are interesting for a language book; they are very abstract, they even teach you how to argue! I just wish it had shorter chapters to keep me motivated.
Rating: 3
Summary: Second Place
Comment: There are pretty much two popular czech language book courses (not just phrase books). I reccomend the other one because it is easier to follow and learn from. Glossary in this book is also only czech-english.
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Title: Czech-English/English-Czech Concise Dictionary by Nina Trnka ISBN: 0870529811 Publisher: Hippocrene Books Pub. Date: September, 1991 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Lonely Planet Czech Phrasebook: With Two-Way Dictionary (Lonely Planet Language Survival Kit) by Eugenia Mocnay ISBN: 1864501847 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Czech: Pimsleur Language Program by Pimsleur Language Programs ISBN: 0671579126 Publisher: Pimsleur Intl Inc Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $95.00 |
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Title: Practical Czech Simplified by Gary Evans ISBN: 0963923447 Publisher: 2000 Publishing Co., Inc. Pub. Date: 15 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Colloquial Czech: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series (Multimedia)) by James Naughton ISBN: 0415161363 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $37.99 |
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