Our Czech teachers
Jana
Teaching Czech language since: 2005
Education and Certificates: Czech Philology and Teaching at Secondary Schools, Baltic Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title). Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking – intensive course for teachers. International House Certificate in teaching 1-2-1 (individual courses). Experiential Learning Methods – methodology course, Prázdninová škola Lipnice. Member of the Czech as A foreign Language Teachers’ Association.
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
I like showing foreigners the beauties of the Czech language, which we can be really proud of. Thanks to teaching, I have learnt a lot about my native language.
What is your favourite activity in class?
I like working with texts, especially with short stories and tales. It may seem boring to some people but text activities can be very interactive and a student can really enjoy them!
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
“Děkuji” because this short word makes other people feel appreciated and respected.
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
The progress of the student. It is a great feeling when you have a new student who can’t say anything in Czech and after a few months he/she speaks only Czech with me. There are many myths about how difficult Czech is but I don’t agree with them. Of course, it depends which level you want to master but if your goal is just to communicate in Czech, with good motivation and good learning methods you can manage it quite quickly.
What do you like doing in your free time?
I love Scandinavia and the best relaxation for me is to disappear for a week or two to a Finnish forest. I also like reading books or blogs, walking my dog and flying:)
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
I would be a teacher:). I must teach, at least a few hours per week.
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
Stop learning about the Czech language with others, learn the Czech language with us!
Staňka
Teaching Czech language since: 2002
Education and Certificates: Czech and English Philology and Teaching at Secondary Schools, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title). Teacher’s Training Methodology course modeled on CELTA. International House Certificate in teaching 1-2-1 (individual courses). International House Certificate in teaching Young Learners. International House Certificate for teaching Business courses.
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
It’s wonderful to see foreigners interested in the Czech language and it’s great that they don’t insist on using their mother tongue or English here, but they make an effort to learn about the culture and the language of the country they are staying in.
What is your favourite activity in class?
Eliciting words and phrases students know. And stories about how they got to know the words (e.g. one of my beginner students came to the first lesson with knowledge of: mrož/walrus, liška/fox, šiška/pinecone etc.)
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
I was trying to come up with some fabulous word, but I’ll go for the obvious one: “pivo”. Not only because we are called the nation of “beer-drinkers” , but also because it’s practical for further learning. Meeting in pubs and starting a conversation is probably the best way to bring the language to life. (But students usually know this word by the time they get to the first lesson; they usually don’t have to be taught that.)
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
The enthusiasm of students.
What do you like doing in your free time?
Dancing, meeting friends, walking in the woods, ikebana flower arrangements.
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
A florist, a dancer or an actress.
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
Forget about boring lessons. We bring real life to class!
Eva
Teaching Czech language since: 2010
Education and Certificates: Czech Philology, Baltic Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title, Ph.D. studies continues). General methodology courses where special attention was paid to teaching of languages, Pedagogical Faculty, Masaryk University. Qualification courses for teachers of Lithuanian.
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
I like the work with foreigners, because they are open-minded, talkative, friendly and enthusiastic learners and I am satisfied when I am making progress with them. I like my country and my language very much and I am happy when I can show others all of its beauties.
What is your favourite activity in class?
I like talking (and not only in my work:)). I like working with short interesting texts and talking about them and about students’ opinions and experiences after reading.
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
I think that everything starts with a smile and that is similar in every language:)
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
The satisfaction of students that they can speak with Czechs:)
What do you like doing in your free time?
I like dancing, Pilates, going to the theatre, talking with my friends and family, travelling (especially to my beloved Lithuania).
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
I have three favourite jobs – teaching, interpreting and translating. I can’t imagine my life without them. But, it would be nice to have my own café as well and every day drink a tasty coffee and talk with friends:)
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
Good choice. You will speak Czech very soon!:)
Barbora
Teaching Czech language since: 2009
Education and Certificates: Czech Philology and Teaching at Secondary Schools, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title, Ph.D. studies continues). Member of the Czech as A foreign Language Teachers’ Association.
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
I had always dreamed about teaching languages. Finally I chose language which I like and know best – mother tongue. In 2009 I stopped just dreaming of it and started to teach.
What is your favourite activity in class?
My favorite activity in the class is listening, but I do not mean listening to CDs or making up a dialog or a monolog, but to the stories of my students. Thanks to this I can notice their progress, I can meet their needs, find out what they like and then I have ideas for next lessons and for new vocabulary.
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
One of my students told me that the most useful words in Czech are “no” and “jo”, even the combination “no jo”. You can respond this to every question. I agree, but if I could choose only one, it would be a phrase Promiň, promiňte. In English excuse me, I am sorry.
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
There is not only one thing. It is a combination of interest, enthusiasm of students, their progress, atmosphere in the classroom. Meeting people from different countries around the world of different ages with different reasons for studying Czech, willing to speak or speaking Czech without help of any other language are the most important reasons why I teach. It makes me think there are no borders, you just have to want, you just have to find the will and then you can do anything. This motivates me not only in my job, but even in my personal life.
What do you like doing in your free time?
My free time consists of meeting friends, doing sports, participating in culture events in Brno and learning languages. But the best way to relax for me is to spend a couple of days in the mountains!
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
I would love to work as a tourist guide. In my point of view the job of a guide and a language teacher has a lot in common. In both fields you have something beautiful, such as historical places for travelling, some set phrases for teaching, and your job is to show it to the people who are motivated to listen. Such a great job, isn´t it?
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
With us you will definitely make the right decision, because we encourage our students to speak Czech, and they really do!
Martina
Teaching Czech language since: 2009
Education and Certificates: Czech language and literature and History, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title). Portuguese language and literature, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the Bc. title). History – Phd studies, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Brazil (completed with the Mestre title).
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
I teach Czech for foreigners, because I like teaching itself. The added value is a cultural and social interaction of a foreign student and a teacher in this case.
What is your favourite activity in class?
I like working with cultural events programmes, not only from Brno but from the whole Czech Republic. I am happy when I also can show social and cultural life of Brno. And I am really excited when a student watches the recommended film, visits the exhibition or a flea market and check his/her Czech there.
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
“Děkuji” (thank you), because it helps you open many doors.
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
I am motivated by the students progress. When they learn the first words, first sentences and then, they are able to communicate in Czech after some time. It is really nice.
What do you like doing in your free time?
I like films, I like visiting film festivals. I enjoy playing volleyball, in the hall in winter and beach volleyball in summer. I like reading and travelling. I have my heart set on Brazil, where I was living for many years.
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
I would work with people, maybe I would be a guide again.
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
Come to Study Czech, you will appreciate our individual approach and you will master the Czech language.
Petra
is a teacher at university in Napoli, Italy. She helps us during summer. If you are interested, you can read an interview with Petra.
Lucie
Teaching Czech language since: 2014
Education and Certificates: Czech language and literature and Teaching Czech language and literature, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno (completed with the M.A. title, Ph.D. studies continues).
Why are you teaching Czech for foreigners?
Languages are my lifelong love and I want to learn as much as possible. And there’s no other place to learn more about my native language like in a classroom, because students make me think about stuff that I would normally not – native speakers do take most of it for granted. Moreover, I enjoy meeting people from all over the globe because it’s exciting to see how they live and think elsewhere.
What is your favourite activity in class?
Anything to practice (and broaden) student’s vocab. I think proper practising of new words sometimes tends to be underestimated and most of the attention goes to grammar. So be it a reading, dominoes, storytelling, charades and different kinds of competitions – I always try to incorporate it into every lesson and to add more and more useful words.
If you could teach a foreigner one Czech word/phrase, which one would you choose and why?
“Můžete se mnou mluvit česky, prosím?” Lessons with a good lecturer who guides you are important. However, if you are serious about your learning, you should take advantage of every possible situation to practise your skills – e.g. in the street looking for a tram station!
What motivates you to do your best as a teacher?
Seeing how my students get excited more and more when they are slowly discovering that Czech is actually not as hard as they initially though and that it actually is rather regular (and beautiful :)).
What do you like doing in your free time?
I read a lot. A lot a lot. Basically, I can read anything I get my hands on. I like to move – I run, swim, play squash and go for walks. In summer, me and my friends do summer camps. I also enjoy good meals, so I cook a lot. And when I have some spare time, I also try to learn new languages. I’m on the quest to learn Serbian right now.
What would you do if you weren’t a teacher?
Perpetual student, in a good sense. I don’t think I will ever be able to leave school. I’m in a linguistics PhD programme now, but I know that later in life I would also love to study computer science or anthropology. And possibly some other fields as well.
What would you tell those who hesitate to choose Study Czech Language school?
Study Czech has everything you might want or need from a language school. It has a pleasant environment, nice, enthusiastic lecturers who love to teach and above all – Study Czech has results. Oh, and also delicious home-roast coffee!