Learn Polish from the person who wrote the coursebook.
A complete Polish course from absolute beginner to C2. It now begins with Polish A1 to B2 for English Speakers — every explanation in English, no Polish assumed — six coursebooks I wrote myself, and one-to-one lessons that follow them. Not a phrasebook, not an app. An actual syllabus with an end point.
Lessons by Zoom or Google Meet · books on Amazon in paperback and Kindle
Agnieszka WargośAuthor of 27 language coursebooks · Lecturer, University of Northampton · 20+ years teaching · reviews & all books on Amazon →
Why most people give up on Polish
The problem is not that Polish is hard. It is that the material runs out.
Polish has a reputation for difficulty, and seven cases certainly take work. But that is rarely what stops people. What stops people is reaching a plateau somewhere around A2, finding that every available course covers the same greetings, numbers and restaurant orders they already know, and having nowhere to go next.
At that point most learners switch to an app, collect a streak, and quietly stop progressing. Not because they lack discipline — because nobody has laid out what comes after the basics, in what order, with exercises that actually build on each other.
That gap is the reason I wrote the books. There is a continuous path here from your first sentence to genuine C2 precision, and each level assumes exactly what the level before it taught. You always know where you are and what comes next. For an adult learner, that alone is worth more than any amount of enthusiasm.
Who learns with me
Four kinds of people, four different routes
The books are the same; the order and the emphasis are not. In the first lesson we work out which of these you are, because it changes everything about how we spend your time.
You have a Polish partner, or Polish in-laws. The goal is not an exam — it is being able to sit at a family table and follow what is happening. We work on listening and everyday speech first, and leave formal writing for much later.
You moved to Poland for work. You need functional Polish quickly: the office, the landlord, the doctor, the paperwork. There is a separate Business Polish course for exactly this, and we usually run it alongside the general track.
Your family is Polish and you want the language back. Very common, and very different from starting at zero. You often understand far more than you can say, so we start by turning passive knowledge into active use rather than teaching you the alphabet again.
You need a certificate. Citizenship, university entry, or your employer. Here the plan is built backwards from the exam date and the level required, and written accuracy becomes the priority from week one.
The coursebooks
Six levels. One continuous course.
Each book is a full course for its level, with explanations, exercises, model answers and a key. You can work through them alone, or use them as the spine of our lessons — the material is identical either way.
| Level | Book | What you can do by the end | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 New |
Polish A1: A Complete Course for English Speakers | The same A1 course with every explanation, instruction and grammar note in English. No Polish assumed anywhere — start here if you do not speak a word yet. Paperback and Kindle. | Amazon → |
| A2 New |
Polish A2: A Complete Course for English Speakers | The A2 level with the same English-language explanations — past and future tenses, describing people and places, and routine conversation without preparing it first. | Amazon → |
| B1 New |
Polish B1: A Complete Course for English Speakers | The intermediate level, still explained in English: verbal aspect used deliberately, opinions defended in an argument, a coherent letter written from scratch. | Amazon → |
| B2 New |
Polish B2: A Complete Course for English Speakers | The level employers and universities ask for, still with English explanations: working in Polish, reading the press unassisted, and writing formally. | Amazon → |
| C1 New |
Polish C1: A Complete Course for English Speakers | Advanced Polish, still explained in English: abstract and specialist discussion, register changed on purpose, and writing with a real command of style. 404 pages. | Amazon → |
| C2 New |
Polish C2: A Complete Course for English Speakers | The last level — precision, intention and synthesis. The difference between fluent Polish and Polish that reads as though a Pole wrote it. 568 pages. | Amazon → |
| A1 | Polski jako Drugi: A1 — Zaczynamy od zera | Introduce yourself, handle shops and transport, read simple signs, and use the present tense with confidence. | Amazon → |
| A2 | Polski jako Drugi: A2 | Talk about the past and the future, describe people and places, and cope with routine conversations without preparation. | Amazon → |
| B1 | Polski jako Drugi: B1 | Hold an opinion in an argument, follow a news item, write a coherent letter, and handle the aspect system deliberately. | Amazon → |
| B2 | Język polski jako obcy B2 | Work in Polish, read the press without a dictionary, and write formally — the level most employers and universities ask for. | Amazon → |
| C1 | Język polski jako obcy C1 | Follow abstract and specialist discussion, adjust register at will, and write with a real command of style. | Amazon → |
| C2 | Język polski jako obcy C2: Mistrzostwo języka | Precision, intention and synthesis — the difference between fluent Polish and Polish that sounds like it was written by a Pole. | Amazon → |
Working in Polish? There is a separate book for that.
Business Polish A1 covers the language of the office from zero: e-mail, meetings, telephone calls and the formal register that general courses skip entirely.
Sitting GCSE Polish? That is a different exam with its own books — see the GCSE Polish (AQA 8688) guide.
All titles are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. If you are not sure which level you are, the honest answer is usually one below where you think — and the first lesson settles it properly.
How the lessons work
One-to-one, online, on your timetable
No group classes and no fixed course start dates. Lessons run by Zoom or Google Meet, wherever you are — students currently join from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and across Europe.
The first lesson is a diagnosis
You do real tasks, not a self-assessment questionnaire. I tell you your actual level, what is missing, and how long the next step realistically takes.
Written work is marked
Not ticked — marked, with the rule written next to each correction. This is the single fastest way to stop repeating the same mistake for years.
You speak from lesson one
Even at A1. Understanding a rule and being able to use it under pressure are different skills, and only one of them is tested by real life.
You always know where you are
Because the lessons follow a published book, you can see the whole path — what you have covered, what is next, and how far the level goes.
Questions between lessons
If something comes up during the week, write to me. I answer, and I do not charge separately for it.
Rates
From £35 per hour, lower in packages, with a £30 diagnostic first lesson. Full rates are on the pricing page; the cost of the first diagnostic lesson comes off your first package.
Before you choose a teacher — test me
Write eight to ten sentences in Polish, at whatever level you are, and send them to me. You get them back with every mistake marked, the rule beside each one, and one honest sentence about where you actually sit on the CEFR scale.
No fee and no sign-up. One paragraph tells me more than an hour of conversation about your goals — and it shows you exactly how I work before you commit to anything.
- Every mistake markedUnderlined, with the correction.
- The rule beside each oneNot just „wrong” — why.
- Your real levelWhere you sit on the CEFR scale.
- What to do nextWhere to start to actually move.
Common questions
Before you start
Is Polish really as difficult as people say?
I have never learned a language as an adult. Is that a problem?
Can I just use the books without lessons?
Are the books written in English or in Polish?
I am not in the UK. Does that matter?
How long until I can hold a conversation?
Who will be teaching you
I do not recommend other people’s coursebooks
For twenty years I taught from whatever was available, and for twenty years the same thing happened: the material ran out at A2, or it taught a Polish nobody actually speaks. So I wrote the course I had been missing — six levels, A1 to C2, built to the Common European Framework, each one assuming exactly what the previous one taught.
That is the whole argument for learning here rather than somewhere else. Not that I am the only person who can teach Polish, but that the book, the exercises, the marking and the teacher are one and the same — so nothing is lost in translation between them.
- Teaching
- Over 20 years with adults and teenagers — Polish, English and Russian.
- University
- Lecturer at the University of Northampton, teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
- Coursebooks
- 27 titles: Polish A1–C2, Business Polish, English A1–C2, Russian A1–B2 and GCSE Polish.
- Research
- Peer-reviewed work on second language acquisition, Polish–English bilingualism and online language pedagogy.
- Non-fiction
- Twenty Years in England — memoir, published in English and Polish.
Selected publications
- 2024Bilingual Mastery in 2024: Innovative Approaches to Polish-English Language Learning
- 2023Impact of AI and Immersive Technology on Adult Business English Learning
- 2023Utilizing Google Meet for Foreign Language Teaching: Pedagogical Methods and Strategies
- 2023Teaching Methods at Universities: Contemporary Approaches to Learning
Also teaching English and Russian
The same approach, the same authorship: English Start runs A1 to C2 for adult learners, and the Russian course covers A1 to B2 with TORFL exam preparation.
Start where you actually are
The first lesson is a diagnosis, and its cost comes off your first package. You leave with a real level, a plan measured in weeks, and the book that matches it.
Chmura słownictwa
24 słowa, od których zaczyna się polski. Kliknij dowolne słowo w chmurze — odwróci się i pokaże tłumaczenie, przykładowe zdanie oraz przycisk wymowy.
Rozmiar słowa pokazuje, jak często go użyjesz — zacznij od największych.
Pełny kurs A1 prowadzi dalej: gramatyka, dialogi i ćwiczenia z kluczem odpowiedzi.
Agnieszka Wargoś — ponad 20 lat nauczania języka polskiego i angielskiego, wykładowczyni University of Northampton, autorka kursu „Polish for English Speakers”.
Zacznij od dźwięków: alfabet polski dla obcokrajowców
Losowe karty z literami i głoskami — świetny punkt startowy przed nauką pierwszych słów z chmury powyżej.