Proficiency in Slovak is a key factor that can significantly enhance the quality of life for foreigners living in Slovakia. Being able to speak Slovak enables easier and more direct communication in everyday situations, whether it’s visiting a pharmacy, navigating a shop, or managing official matters.
Mastering Slovak is especially crucial in the professional realm, as it opens doors to more attractive and well-paid job opportunities. Employers often prefer candidates who can effectively communicate with colleagues, clients, and customers in Slovak.
There are various ways to learn Slovak from the ground up or to improve your existing language skills. This article aims to present the different options available for learning Slovak, whether through formal courses or self-study.
Slovak language courses
Several organisations offer free Slovak courses. At Mareena, we organise classes twice a week in the evenings in Bratislava, Nitra, and Košice. More information can be found on our website. Improving your language skills in these cities can also be enhanced through informal language cafés, where participants can practice their communication in both Slovak and English, supported by our volunteers. For more detailed information, please visit the Events page on our website.
The Migration Information Centre at the International Migration Centre also provides opportunities to participate in Slovak language courses. These courses are free of charge, typically last 90 minutes, and are held at least twice a week for adult participants, both male and female. More information can be found on the organisation’s website.
In addition, there are several paid courses available. For example, in Bratislava, the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University offers a wide range of courses, while the State Language School provides its own selection of language courses. The State Language School also offers courses in Košice, and language schools in Nitra provide Slovak courses for foreigners.
Online tools
You can also learn the language independently using various online resources. Websites that offer educational materials, videos, exercises, dictionaries, manuals, and audio recordings can be particularly helpful.
This website features exercises, dictionaries, quizzes, games, and information about Slovakia. In addition to Slovak, it offers a total of 15 language variations. Please note that registration is required.
This online educational platform provides courses in Slovak as a foreign language, focusing on essential language skills that are useful in everyday situations.
This e-learning platform offers mini-courses focused on various language topics and grammatical phenomena, as well as the development of communication skills. The free section includes videos with text transcriptions, quizzes, and interactive exercises. Since the portal is primarily in Slovak, it is more suitable for users who already have at least a basic understanding of the language.
Created by Paulína Kožuchová, this channel features various Slovak phrases, interesting facts, and customs illustrated with specific examples. For enhanced comprehension, Slovak subtitles can be activated.
- E- book First aid in Slovak
This language guide from Studio Academic Slovaca is available in Ukrainian. You can download the e-book in PDF format and share it with friends who are interested in learning Slovak.
The Slovak Handbook is designed to help users understand grammatical, lexical, syntactic, and phonetic phenomena, catering to individuals from various countries, regardless of their linguistic background, age, or education level. While it does not cover complete Slovak grammar, it provides a practical foundation for improved understanding and communication.
This article was produced as part of the Pathways initiative supported by UNICEF. For more information about the project, please visit UNICEF’s digital one–stop-shop: https://akodobrezesi.sk/ua/
