Web resources for Introductory Czech

Here is a list of resources that I have collected for our first year Czech course at UCLA, using the textbook Èestina hrou by Susan C. Kresin, Ilona Koranova, Hope Subak-Kaspar and Filip Kaspar.  After a brief list of general resources, they are listed by chapter. 

If you’d like to make any additional suggestions, please contact me at kresin@humnet.ucla.edu.

 

General resources

1. Basic information about the Czech Republic

www.czech.cz

 

www.mzv.cz/washington/ (Czech embassy in Washington, D.C.)

 

2. Sites with a general focus on the Czech language

www.bohemica.com

www.czech-language.cz

www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language

www.seelrc.org/grammars/

www.seelrc.org/langres/czech.php

www.slavic.ohio-state.edu/people/holdeman/czech/

 

3. Internet directories, fonts, newspapers

Czech internet directory:  www.seznam.cz

 

Installing a Czech font

Windows:  clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/fonts/wineelatin.html

 

Macintosh:  clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/fonts/maceelatin.html

 

Online English language newspaper:  www.praguepost.cz

 

Online Czech newspaper: lidovky.cz

 

 

Unit 1:     Introductions and greetings

·        The Czech alphabet, pronunciation

·        Czech names

·        The verb “to be”

·        Grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)

·        Adjectives

·        The vocative case

 

Supplementary web resources

1. Pronunciation

www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language à Pronunciation guide

 

Detailed explanation of Czech phonetics, especially useful for linguists

www.ff.cuni.cz/departments/fu/jh/jh-czndx.html

 

 

2. Vocabulary

Greetings, with audio files

www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language à Phrasebook à Greetings

Brief article about Czech greetings:  www.radio.cz à Living Czech à April 23, 1999

 

Colors, with audio files

www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language à Phrasebook à Colors

 

3. Czech names

Brief articles about Czech names

www.radio.cz à Living Czech à       July 30, 1999 (names)

                                              August 6, 1999 (surnames)

 

Name days, listed monthly; alphabetical listing of dimunitives

www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_name_days/index.html

 

4. Grammar:  The vocative case

Vocative case overview:  www.seelrc.org/casebooks/CzechVocative.pdf

 

Brief article about the vocative case:  www.radio.cz ---> Living Czech ---> April 30, 1999

 

 

Unit 2:  Nationalities and languages

·        Talking about your ethnic background and the languages you speak

·        Verbs:  The present tense

·        Demonstrative modifiers ten, ta, to

·        Nominative plural

·        Readings: Slavic languages

                    Languages that Czech typically speak

                    Czech and Slovak movies

 

Supplementary web resources

1. Vocabulary:  nationalities

Brief article about words for various nationalities in Czech

www.radio.cz à Living Czech language (June 18, 1999)

 

Self-correcting vocabulary exercise (nationalities):  bama.ua.edu/~adrozd/czech/index.htm

2. Grammar:  Verb conjugation

Self-correcting exercise:  bama.ua.edu/~adrozd/czech/index.htm

 

3. Grammar:  Nominative plural

Song by Vltava, with audio file (“Všichni lžou”)

http://polyesterday.cz/vltava-beat/frame-audio.htm à Vzpomínka na mládí, Všichni lžou

 

4. Czech film: www.cfn.cz

Animated film: www.animation.cz

 

 

Chapter 3:  Food

·        Talking about food, cooking, and eating in restaurants

·        The accusative case

·        Verbs of knowing

·        Negation

·        Time expressions (days of the week, parts of a day)

·        Readings: Czech meals

                    Czech families

                    In a Czech pub

 

Supplementary web resources

1. Vocabulary

a. Food

Self-correcting exercises:  bama.ua.edu/~adrozd/czech/index.htm

 

Bohemica.com à Games à Food Pexeso (Concentration)

 

www.seelrc.org/langres/czech.php à Games for language practice à Menu fun

 

Article on Czech cuisine:  www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_cuisine.html

 

Brief articles on Czech cuisine, desserts, beer: www.radio.cz à Living Czech (August 13, 1999, September 10, 1999, May 21, 1999)

 

Some Czech restaurants:  www.pruvodce.com/restaurace

 

b. Family (self-correcting exercise):  bama.ua.edu/~adrozd/czech/index.htm

 

c. Days of the week (self-correcting exercise):  http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/week_page.htm

 

2.  Grammar:  The accusative case

Verbs that take the accusative case (self-correcting exercises)

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/matchingverbs_page.htm

 

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/perceptionverbs_page.htm

 

Accusative case personal pronouns (self-correcting exercise)

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/accusativepronouns_page.htm

 

Accusative case overview:  www.seelrc.org/casebooks/CzechAccusative.pdf

 

 

Chapter 4:  Cities

·        Talking about where you live

·        The locative case

·        Verbs:  The past tense

·        Readings: Prague

                    Brno

 

Supplementary web resources

1. Websites relating to Prague: www.pis.cz/c/index.html  (Prague Information Service)      

                                              www.net-cities.com/virtual/praha/ (virtual tour)

                                              www.prague-city.cz

                                              www.praha-mesto.cz

                                              www.pragueiguide.com

                                              lava.ds.arch.tue.nl/gallery/praha/

 

2. City of Brno website:  www.brno-city.cz

 

3. Vocabulary

Sites in Prague, other city vocabulary, with audio files

www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language/lessons/sightseeing.html

 

4. Grammar:  The locative case

Singular nouns in the locative case (self-correcting exercise)

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/czechlocative_page.htm

 

Singular nouns and adjectives in the locative case (self-correcting exercise)

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/czechlocadj_page.htm

 

Locative versus accusative (self-correcting exercise)

http://fol4930-02.sp01.fsu.edu/locaccex_page.htm

 

Locative case overview:  www.seelrc.org/casebooks/CzechLocative.pdf

 

 

Chapter 5:  Free time

·        Talking about how you spend your free time

·        Aspect

·        The future tense

·        Modal verbs:  Expressing wants, needs and obligations

·        Verbs of liking

·        Readings: Two Czech folktales

 

Supplementary web resources

1. Sports in the Czech Republic

www.czech.cz à Leisure à Sport

          Texts in English about popular Czech sports, Sokol, Czech participation in the Olympics

          Information about where to do sports in the Czech Republic (focus on Prague) and on

          sports organizations in the Czech Republic

www.olympic.cz à Historie