There is method in the madness!
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I may be a little biased, the author of this textbook also happens to be my Polish teacher. However, I feel that previous reviewers of this text have been harsh. Admittedly, this may not be the bext textbook for those who have no knowledge of any Slavonic languages but there is method in the madness. The seemingly random vocabulary sometimes used helps you to remember sometimes awkward grammar points, as the sheer ridiculousness of some phrases (i.e. the ultra-modern shoehorn example listed above) adds a touch of humour which aids in the learning process. Although grammar is introduced in a somehwat sporadic manner, communication is achieved rapidly and the details are explained later. I believe this to be of more use to a general beginner, as some points of Slavonic linguistics are baffling to the non-specialist. All in all, give this book some time, and you will see the method, promise!
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Teach Yourself Polish
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I have just purchased a copy of this book and i was not particularly impressed by it. For a person like myself who has never learned polish, i thought that the 'Teach Yourself' series was the best option for me to learn from. In fact, in the comments about the book it was indicated as being the ideal book for complete beginners. however, when i started the course i was rather let down. As from the first chapter it is taken for granted by the authors that the persons following the course have some knowledge about the language. The exercises are too advanced for beginners and the grammatical explanations throughout the chapters are not sufficiently clear. Due to these two factors, it is impossible to progress to the following chapters without first having understood the very basics. Chapter after chapter i just keep getting more compused, rather than learning. On the other hand, i would like to give credit where it is rightly due. And i was very satisfied and learned a lot from the very first pages of the book dealing with the polish alphabet and Polish pronounciation. I must say that i learned the pronounciation of the various letters and combination of letters from there very easily. and also the cassette for the part of the pronounciation was very helpful.
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On a whim
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That's how I decided to learn Polish, and my friends all thought I was crazy. But three months later, with the help of this little book I really feel like I've made a lot of progress. Perhaps I should have bought the book/cassette pack to help with the almost impossible pronunciation, but generally the book is very good. There are the usual sprinkling of completely bizarre phrases such as you would never dream of using ("That, Madam, is an ultra-modern shoe-horn"!!!), and the grammar explanations could perhaps be clearer, but generally I'm quite impressed. Not an easy language to teach yourself, so the book must be doing something right.
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