Is 2023 the year you learn Czech? Make your resolutions stick with winter intensives

The start of a new year is a time for making resolutions. Why not put achieving fluency in Czech at the top of your priorities for this year? If you live in Prague, the oldest university in central and southeastern Europe offers programs that are tailored to help you make learning Czech stick.

Charles University has been teaching Czech as a foreign language for more than six decades, making them leading experts in the field. Enrolling into one of their courses offers access to professional lecturers, interactive courses, and modern classrooms. 

Additionally, the courses on offer come with a variety of lengths, levels of intensity and focus, covering fluency levels from A1 to C1. Prospective students take a placement test whose results ensure that they are placed in appropriate groups. 

The courses are available both in person at the language center located in the heart of Prague (only evening courses are available online) making them easy to fit with various schedules and lifestyles, and most of all fun. The online courses come with all the needed tools for a successful process. 

They also have added benefits, such as sharing the language-learning experience with other students with diverse backgrounds and countries of origin, in groups of between six and ten students for an in-person class. The school also hosts cultural events, which are a good opportunity to get to know fellow classmates better. 

Not speaking the language of the country you live in restricts the activities you can enjoy in your daily life. These language courses can ease your immersion in Czech cultural life through activities such as cultural events, trips, and organizing a recital and an amateur theater stage together with fellow students and teachers. For those with a love of writing, an essay competition that takes place throughout their course can help them hone their writing skills in Czech. 

If you're looking for fast results in a short period of time, the six-week course might be the best option, as its frequency is 25 hours per week. 

The six-week course is the best option for the fastest results. Registration for courses is open year round, and the closest starting date is Jan. 30 for a course that lasts until Mar. 10. 

Evening courses are a good option for people with hectic work lives, who can only find time to study Czech at the end of the work day. While offline courses take place in classrooms located in the Prague center, the online courses are free of geographical barriers, as participants can join from anywhere in the world.

The one and two-semester language courses go in more depth towards the improvement of productive skills like speaking and writing, as well as receptive skills like listening and reading, through a focus on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. In addition to being in an interactive learning environment, students receive regular feedback and are continuously tested in order to monitor their progress. 

Enrollment and payment are possible on a monthly basis and all the courses are open all year round.

Being able to speak the language of the place you live has a beneficial impact on all areas of life, so a quality language-learning program can prove a long-term investment towards a more fulfilled life.