“It’s like familiar music in my brain.” Czech summer course students on learning the language
As every year, dozens of students from all over the world arrived in Czechia to take part in this year’s edition of the annual Summer Czech Course for Expats organised by Charles University's Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies. For the past few years, the course has been held in the charming spa town of Poděbrady in Central Bohemia. We caught up with some of them to find out about their motivation to study Czech.
Now in its 31st year, the Summer Czech Course for Expats is primarily designed for members of the Czech expat communities abroad, but it is open to anyone interested in learning Czech or getting to know Czech culture and history, whatever their motivations may be. This year, the course has brought together people from 22 different countries, including the United States, Brazil and Taiwan.
Hanan Bloch, whose parents were both born in Plzeň, arrived for his very first Czech course from Israel:
“My father is the only one who came back from Auschwitz. The rest of the family was killed by the Nazis. My mom also lost her mother to the Nazis when she was only 14. There were 20,000 Jews before the war in Pilsen and only 100 people came back.”
When you were growing up in Israel, did your parents speak Czech between themselves?
“I wish they did, but they only spoke Czech when they wanted to keep something secret from us.”
When did you yourself start learning Czech?
“I decided to study Czech via Duolingo about half a year ago and then I heard about this programme and decided to come. I am the director of Beit Terezín, which is near Hadera. It was established by people who came in 1949, like my parents. It works as sort of museum, organizes classes and teaches about Czech culture and history.”
I guess this is not your first time here in Czechia…
“This is my 11th time. I really like the Czech Republic and its culture and food. When I hear the language, it’s like familiar music in my brain. And now, I can actually understand some of the words.”
Michael Resler from Winnipeg, British Columbia, is also a first-time participant in the summer school of Czech, although he has visited the country many times before:
“I was born here. I was born in Most and I was put in an orphanage. I had Czech-Roma birth parents. My adoptive parents are also Czech, from Prague and Trutnov, so I have a family here because of that. I come here to visit them, to travel around the country, to really understand the culture and understand my own identity. That’s also one of the reasons why I am here, to explore my identity further.”
So your adoptive parents are also Czech but you have been living in Canada…
“Yes, they live in Winnipeg and I am studying in Victoria. But when they first came to Canada, they lived in Calgary.”
Did you speak Czech with them when you were growing up?
“I spoke Czech when I was a child but when I started school, it was a little bit harder to keep up, so we spoke mostly English. It is good to freshen up my Czech when I am here.”
Not all the participants of the Summer Czech Course for Expats have Czech roots. The course is also attended by people who have decided to learn the language for different reasons. One of them is Pedro Zupo, a young Brazilian who discovered Czech through his love of music.
“I was asked by a friend to write an article about bands that don’t sing in English. When I was doing my research I came across some bands from the Czech Republic, like Citron or Arakain, and I really enjoyed listening to them. I thought: Wow, this language is really great. So I searched for a course and I found this one.”
So is this your first time attending?
“Yes, it is my first time here and my first time in the Czech Republic and I really love it here.”
How do you find Czech? How easy is it to learn?
“As we speak Portuguese and it’s a Latin language, it is very different. You have a different structure. You have the declinations that we don’t have, but you don’t have the articles that we do have. So it took some time to get used to the language. But the language sounds really beautiful to us so I really enjoy it. I love it and that makes it easier to learn.”
Do you want to continue with your studies after you return to Brazil?
“I am sure that I will continue. I love learning the language and also the culture. I really have the goal to promote Czech culture in Brazil.”
Marika Constable, a coordinator of the Summer Czech Course for Expats, says the most difficult thing for her as a teacher is to accommodate everyone’s language development needs:
“Because they come from different backgrounds, they are not from Slavonic countries, they speak different languages and they are of different ages. The youngest are barely 18, but we also have people born in 1939. They are all in the same group and they need to learn to coexist to be able to learn as much as possible.”
While the primary goal of the four-week course is the language, it also offers creative workshops and lectures on Czech history and culture, says Mrs. Constable:
“We try to show them as much as possible. We take them to places. We do culture evenings. We try to introduce them to local culture. Poděbrady is quite a quiet town, so they are safe.
“For example we don’t organize meals for them anymore. They get food vouchers and they have to fend for themselves.
“By the time they leave the course, they should be able to survive on their own and they also should want to come back. We try to create a very safe environment, so they know they can always come back and explore a little bit more of their roots.”
Indeed, many of the students do return. One such example is Margaret Supik. The veteran student is taking part in the course for the 23rd time this summer:
“My husband heard about the scholarship and applied in 2001. He was of Czech background, I do not have Czech roots. So he got the scholarship and I decided that I would come with him, because I didn’t want to stay at home by myself. So I did and we both were put into a Czech class for beginners. I became fascinated with the language and with the whole process of how one builds a language and it was also a good exercise for the aging brain.
“We returned the following year, and in 2002 and 2003 we came back together, and then my husband said: I can’t do this. He had a great deal of problem with the grammar. But by that time, I was hooked. So I have come back every year ever since except for 2020, with the pandemic, and that was also the year when my husband passed away.”
Where do you live, by the way?
“I live in Baltimore. It is perhaps the oldest city in our country, quite close to Washington DC. I should also mention that Baltimore has a very large Czech ancestry population. Baltimore was one of the ports of entry before Ellis Island. Most of the Czech immigrants came from northern Europe, Hamburg and places like that, and they came directly to Baltimore.
“It was very convenient for those who wanted to go further west, because the train came right down to the piers and people could literally step off the ship and step on the train and be headed for the Midwest. But many of them also stayed in Baltimore, which is what my husband’s ancestors did.”
How do you keep up your Czech in between the courses?
“Our Czech association has a school for adults and children, so we have weekly Czech lessons. I also have Czech conversations with my dog as we walk. When she hears Czech, she knows it’s time for a walk, so she goes to the front door and waits.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Summer Czech Course for Czech Expats, you can find out the details on its website: https://ujop.cuni.cz/UJOPEN-74.html?ujopcmsid=61:summer-czech-course-for-czech-expatriates
