A language school in Polish
A language school desk, a woman is choosing a group in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Chciałabym zapisać się na kurs polskiego.» — I would like to enrol on a Polish course; «Jaki jest pani poziom języka?» — What is your language level?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a language school desk, a woman is choosing a group. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Chciałabym zapisać się na kurs polskiego.I would like to enrol on a Polish course.
- Jaki jest pani poziom języka?What is your language level?
- Jestem początkująca. Gramatyki w ogóle nie znam.I am a beginner. I know no grammar at all.
- Mamy kurs online i kurs na żywo.We have an online course and an in-person one.
- Co lepsze, jeśli szybko się uczę?Which is better if I learn fast?
- Na żywo, bo pani potrzebuje więcej praktyki w wymowie.In person — because you need more pronunciation practice.
- Czy dobrze rozumiem, pierwsza lekcja bezpłatna?Do I understand correctly — the first lesson is free?
- Właśnie tak. Jeśli pani pasuje, panią zapisuję.Exactly so. If it suits you, I will enrol you.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Chciałabym zapisać się na kurs polskiego. | I would like to enrol on a Polish course. |
| Jaki jest pani poziom języka? | What is your language level? |
| Jestem początkująca. Gramatyki w ogóle nie znam. | I am a beginner. I know no grammar at all. |
| Mamy kurs online i kurs na żywo. | We have an online course and an in-person one. |
| Co lepsze, jeśli szybko się uczę? | Which is better if I learn fast? |
| Na żywo, bo pani potrzebuje więcej praktyki w wymowie. | In person — because you need more pronunciation practice. |
| Czy dobrze rozumiem, pierwsza lekcja bezpłatna? | Do I understand correctly — the first lesson is free? |
| Właśnie tak. Jeśli pani pasuje, panią zapisuję. | Exactly so. If it suits you, I will enrol you. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Polish in this situation?
“Chciałabym zapisać się na kurs polskiego.” — I would like to enrol on a Polish course. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.