Learning Czech at UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is one of 11 American universities where students can study Czech language, literature and culture. Small but dedicated groups of students grapple with the challenges of Czech grammar and pronunciation in up to three classes per week. Despite budget cuts throughout all departments of public universities in California, Czech, a niche central European language, still has its place at the Department of Slavic Languages and maintains enthusiasm amongst those eager to learn it.
"Jmenuji se Vilém Jenkins, jsem student na Berkeley, jsem postraguální student na historické fakultě a studuju české dějiny. I have been studying here about six months, and the hardest part is the cases, I think. And actually being able to follow the grammar and use it with some sort of functional utility. I started learning it because I was interested in Czech literature, originally, and Czech film. I love Jiří Menzel and Jaromil Jireš. And originally, I just wanted to read novels in Czech and that's why I wanted to learn it. But as an undergraduate, I majored in cultural history of the Slavic world essentially, and focused mostly on Czech history. And so now I am in a PhD program here learning about Czech history and I would like to be able to actually interview people who were around in the fifties and sixties so speaking Czech is going to be a necessity."
"I use a lot of Czech novels, Czech histories, I direct people toward the Czech Wikipedia sometimes. And I use a fair number of elementary school textbooks when I teach. I have a number of the Vlastivěda and some little science book, Prvouka type of things. I do a lot with either recipes or articles about food online. Sometimes I just send my students and say: find a department store and look at all the furniture. Find an office supply store and look at all the office supplies and bring me a list of what you would buy. "
Are there any particular websites that you use?
Aside from the regular class schedule the students meet at the so-called Czech club approximately once a month. Professor Langer screens Czech films, hosts native speakers and prepares events that will help broaden students' understanding of Czech life and culture. She aims to provide a global education about the Czech Republic and to offer her students more than just a language skill.
"Following the Czech press is also very useful that way because it says OK, for one thing what do we look like to other people. But also what pieces of our culture get imported, and is that actually what we wanted? And what effect does it have on people, you know. When you go now to a book website, you find so many things in translation and much relatively less of a Czech material. There are many aspects to culture and what's nice is that language covers them all, because they all are talked about with language, so it's easy to bring them in."
Whether as an academic subject, or for personal use, the two year program at UC Berkeley gives the students a good working knowledge of Czech language and culture. Despite decreasing funds at the university the Berkeley students aren't discouraged to continue in their Czech related activities. As William Jenkins says, it is not only the student's motivation, but also the teacher's devotion which plays a significant role in keeping the Czech language alive on the campus.
