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A few weeks ago, one of my clients couldn’t join any live sessions because of the time difference and a busy schedule ... you probably know how it goes. So we said: ok, let’s try something different. We started working together asynchronously on WhatsApp. At the beginning, she told me, "I’m too shy to speak when I’m in Czechia. And when my English-speaking cousin leaves the room, I panic.” (If this sounds familiar… you’re definitely not the only one.) But she had a very c

In this article, I’m not going to show you any endings or tables. Instead, I’ll show you the logic behind the instrumental case. I’ll show you what the instrumental actually means , so you can start feeling it, not just studying it. The following explanation is based on the amazing Casebook for Czech . And one more note before we start. Understanding Czech cases — the logic, the rules, the endings — that’s all great. It really helps. But honestly, that’s maybe only 20% of t

In this article, I’m not going to show you any endings or tables. Instead, I’ll show you the logic behind the dative case. I’ll show you what the dative actually means , so you can start feeling it, not just studying it. The following explanation is based on the amazing Casebook for Czech . And one more note before we start. Understanding Czech cases — the logic, the rules, the endings — that’s all great. It really helps. But honestly, that’s maybe only 20% of the whole pr

In this article, I’m not going to show you any endings or tables. Instead, I’ll show you the logic behind the genitive case. I’ll show you what the genitive actually means , so you can start feeling it, not just studying it. The following explanation is based on the amazing Casebook for Czech . And one more note before we start. Understanding Czech cases — the logic, the rules, the endings — that’s all great. It really helps. But honestly, that’s maybe only 20% of the whole

In this article, I’m not going to show you any endings or tables. Instead, I’ll show you the logic behind the locative case. I’ll show you what the locative actually means , so you can start feeling it, not just studying it. The following explanation is based on the amazing Casebook for Czech . And one more note before we start. Understanding Czech cases — the logic, the rules, the endings — that’s all great. It really helps. But honestly, that’s maybe only 20% of the whole

In this article, I’m not going to show you any endings or tables. Instead, I’ll show you the logic behind the accusative case. I’ll show you what the accusative case actually means , so you can start feeling it, not just studying it. And don’t worry, I’m not going to bombard you with grammar terminology either. We’ll manage just fine without it 🙂 The following explanation is based on the amazing Casebook for Czech . Let's start. 🎥 Prefer watching instead of reading? Watch

If you’re learning Czech, you’ve probably heard about cases — and maybe they feel a bit confusing or intimidating at first. So let’s make it simple. What are cases? In theory, cases show the role of a word in a sentence . But what does that actually mean? Let’s look at a simple sentence: Anna is writing a letter with a pen. There are three important words (nouns): Anna → the person doing the action letter → the thing receiving the action pen → the tool used Each of these

I’m Eliška, a Czech language teacher and coach based in Prague. I’ve been working with expats for almost 10 years now, and I don’t really see myself as a “traditional” teacher. I also speak English, German, and Spanish, and I spent almost three years living in Mexico, so I’ve experienced learning a foreign language and building a life as an expat in a different country myself. I’m a certified Neurolanguage Coach®, and over time, I’ve realised that learning a language is much

Recently, I suggested to one of my clients that she could use ChatGPT to turn our practice sentences into flashcards for Anki. She told me she's not familiar with ChatGPT and that learning it would feel like another project, so for now she prefers making her flashcards one by one. Do you feel the same? Are you learning Czech and sometimes feel like there are a billion-and-one apps, tools, websites, podcasts, textbooks, teachers, and YouTube channels for learning Czech? Do yo

My new clients often say things like: “I'm smart in English, but in Czech, I feel like a small child.” “Everything disappears when I try to speak.” “When I get stuck, I panic and switch to English.” The problem usually isn’t grammar. It’s the stress, it's the pressure. It's not knowing what to do in the moment when communication breaks down. For the past two months, I’ve been working with one client, and the progress he’s made is honestly incredible. He now speaks Czech with

Over the years, I’ve noticed something interesting about many people who are learning Czech. They’ve taken courses, worked with textbooks, maybe tried apps or watched videos. Slowly, their knowledge grows. And yet when the moment comes to actually say something in Czech, many people suddenly hesitate. Very often, it’s simply because everyday life doesn’t create many safe moments to try. So many learners keep studying Czech for years… but speaking never really becomes a re

Recently, I had a call with one of my wonderful clients, and she said something that made me write this post: “I recently bought a couple of Czech textbooks… and they’re still in the plastic.” She also said: – I know there are a lot of resources. – But I just don’t know how to organize myself. Maybe you have a similar stack of Czech textbooks at home. Maybe you’ve told yourself more than once: “I’ll start properly next week.” But the reason textbooks don’t work for yo u (

One of my wonderful clients has been learning Czech for years. But whenever she visits Prague, she becomes so shy that she simply doesn’t speak. “Whenever I’m in Prague, I’m so shy to speak that I just never get to practice.” Part of the reason is that when she tries to speak Czech, people in her Czech family sometimes look confused or even laugh, and that makes her even more nervous to try again. So when she joined my WhatsApp speaking group, her goal wasn’t perfect grammar.

Recently, in my Speaking Group for Women , we had a mastermind session. That means the structure of the lesson was different. Each woman had 20 minutes of space first to present a topic or problem she is currently dealing with, and the others offered advice, questions, their perspective, and support. I introduced this format into my lessons because I am part of a mastermind group myself. Under the guidance of my wonderful mentor Nina, I meet every month with other teacher

My little boy is slowly starting to speak. He's 2. For now, he mostly babbles, mixes sounds, and completely reshapes words. But that doesn’t stop him from talking. Constantly. 😄 What fascinates me is this: Even though he makes mistakes, he uses Czech declension endings almost perfectly. Recently, we went by metro. It was clearly a huge experience for him, because the whole evening he kept repeating: “Tletlem. Tletlem.” (His version of "metrem" – “by metro.”) He has no idea t

But this weekend reminded me why community matters so much. Recently, one of my wonderful clients wrote in our WhatsApp group that he was going to Prague and asked if anyone wanted to meet for a coffee or a beer. I mentioned it to a few other clients…, and before I knew it, we were fifteen people sitting together in the centre of Prague. People were coming and going, some already knew each other, some were meeting for the first time. But everybody was talking, networking, a

When this client came to me for the first time three years ago, he could only say a few basic sentences. After one year of studying Czech, his routine consisted of using a textbook, doing what he thought he should do, but he didn’t enjoy it much, and he didn’t feel like it was really working. He felt a bit stuck. When we started working together, he wrote to me after just one month: “𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒

The other day, my daughter found my bike helmet. She came to ask me what it was, and I told her, “That’s my bike helmet.” She went to our Peruvian nanny and wanted to say the same thing in Spanish because that's the language they use. But there was one problem: she didn’t know the Spanish word for “bike.” So she said: “Es de mamá y es para kolo.” (It’s mommy’s and it’s for a “kolo“) Our nanny replied: “Aa, para una bicicleta?” (Oh, for a bicycle?) And my daughter: “Sí, para u

I recently started working with two new clients. They are completely different people, and yet they have so much in common. We’ve only had two lessons so far, but I can already see something I see with my clients again and again. 1. Both of them have been learning Czech for years. They’ve tried courses, textbooks, apps, and podcasts. And still, they feel like none of it really fits together. 2. Real conversations with Czechs feel frustrating and scary. They freeze, the conver

I see this all the time. Expats in the Czech Republic want to learn Czech, but they have no system. They jump between textbooks, podcasts, courses, homework…and instead of actually learning Czech, they spend most of their energy deciding what to do next. They don’t move forward. And they get frustrated. One of the first things I do with my clients is help them set up a simple, daily routine they can follow between lessons, so Czech doesn’t exist only once a week. This routine