Taking a Czech class is often the first step people take when they decide it's important to know the local language. So why do we have it listed as Step 6?
Most language learners make the mistake of thinking that the more courses they pay for, the more they will learn the language. Courses, especially with good instructors, are really valuable. But they should not comprise the bulk of your language learning.
I'd even say that the time you spend in class should comprise no more than 20% of your weekly language learning time.
That means, if you sign up for a standard 2 x per week Czech course (1.5 hours each) you should be studying for a total of 15 hours per week. That's really good news, because at that rate, in theory, you'll hit the "professional fluency" mark in about a year and a half!
Okay, this time commitment might seem like a long shot. Who has that time to devote to ANY hobby these days?
(Speaking of which, how many hours is your Screen Time logging these days? Hmm?)
Even if 15 hours a week is asking too much, the point here is that your money is better spent on a course or a private teacher when you are supporting that expensive and valuable class time with other methods of learning. It's like buying a gym membership while refusing cut back on french fries, pizza and two-liter cokes. Why bother?
There are some great Czech language schools and great Czech online teachers, and we'll get to them in a moment. But first let's look at why it's so important to make a Czech language course comprise only part of your language learning plan, and not the entirety of it.
Why a course should only be 20% of your weekly plan:
- Mastery: If you only study 3 hours a week in a course, you'll hit your 1100 hours in 7 years. And let's be honest, you'll probably never get there, because three hours a week does not lead to mastery of anything.
- Cost: Private teachers in Prague will run you anywhere from $15 - 40 USD per 60 minute session. Group courses cost around $10 per hour. Flashcards, TV watching, reading, and writing Czech emails are all free.
- Progress: When you don't reinforce what you've learned in a class by studying it at home, you spend the next class making the same mistakes over and over again.
- Linguists say you need you need to encounter a foreign word 9 times before you make it your own. Why not encounter that word you learned in class 8 times in between classes so you can move on to the next level of vocabulary instead of asking "Co znamená to slovo?" (what does that word mean?) again and again.
So when should you start taking a class or hire a private teacher?
Get started now
There's no reason to delay. If you've signed up for a TEFL course, 4-10 hours of language instruction are often included in the course. That's a nice light schedule considering the focus that a TEFL course takes. (We'll go over moving to Prague with a Teaching English as a Foreign Language program in the TEFL module.)
Where most expats fall off their Czech studies is the week after a TEFL course. They're busy starting a new job and don't have time for "hobbies".
Ask any expat and they'll tell you they wished they'd taken their Czech studies more seriously form the start.
One way to stay motivated after TEFL is to start studying a few months before you arrive. All the resources we've talked about are available online. And you can hire an online teacher who specializes in beginners like Eliška, or another Czech teacher of your choosing from iTalki.
Here are some resources for language courses / private lessons. We have personal experience with these, and can highly recommend them.
Resources
Because Czech is Cool - Eliska is an online teacher who specializes in Beginners. You can book with her here.
iTalki - online tutors
Czech Courses in Prague 2
CZLT in Prague 3
Immigration Center Prague in Prague 2 has free courses, but they book up REAL fast (like minutes) so set a calendar date for their online registration time and date.
ACTION STEP:
- Decide how much you can afford to spend each month on a course. Decide how much time you're willing to devote to your Czech studies.
- Research your options and commit to a course / teacher. Add that hour or more to your weekly schedule and multiply it by 5 to account for your personal study time. Make a plan to work it into your schedule. You can always devote more time in the future.
- Avoid the expat trap of thinking "I'll get to it someday" and commit to a course.