Testimonials

„I was studying Czech for 9 months when I contacted Denisa for individual lessons. Although I had acquired a good basic knowledge of grammar during my previous studies of Czech, I was not much understandable for my workmates. The problem was that I built the sentences in Spanish and after I translated into Czech. Also, I had a lack of vocabulary and fluency. So Denisa and me focused on oral expression. In a few months my Czech became a lot more natural and fluent, and I felt a lot more comfortable with Czechs.“

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Leo Argote(Spain)
Food Process Engineer

„Even though I knew that Czech will not be easy to learn, I had a big motivation to prove the opposite when I started my Czech lessons at Active Czech. From the first moment I felt very comfortable in the language class. We were a mixed group of people from all over the world who all had the same wish: Learning Czech. Denisa showed from the beginning that she has a long experience with teaching and surprised us each lesson with new methods, games or creative tasks. We all improved fast our reading-, writing- and especially oral skills. Denisa created a fantastic atmosphere during the lessons which made us forget that we actually came to learn and not only once we continued our lesson with a beer in a nearby pub – because also Czech culture is part of the course :)“

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Vanessa Hofeditz (Germany)
Volunteer
International Young Naturefriends

„Denisa was the very first Czech teacher I ever studied with. Her knowledge, patience, and teaching methods were all instrumental in my learning the fundamentals of the language. Even more importantly, she helped me to overcome the psychological barrier that most non-Slavic natives face when first tackling the Czech language. Denisa helped me to believe that I could actually do it – and I did.“

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Andrew Winkel (USA)
Manager of Interactive Media Department
Telefonica O2

More testimonials

Denisa Šmejkalová

Czech Language Tutor/Translator

Denisa Šmejkalová

My name is Denisa and I have been working as a teacher of Czech for foreigners since my graduation in 1998. I studied Czech language and literature at Charles University in Prague and at Silesian University in Opava and I have also participated in a number of methodological workshops. As a member of the Association of Teachers of Czech as a Secondary Language I keep apace of all developments within Czech language teaching methodology and I am well informed about newly published textbooks and other materials for teaching Czech. I have experience both with group and one-to-one classes of all levels. In addition to providing private lessons, I have worked for language schools such as Akcent International House (2001 – 2008), The European Management Institute (2000 – 2001) and Berlitz (1999) and I also regularly teach in intensive courses of Czech language and culture at New York University in Prague. In 2009, I launched my own Czech language courses in the centre of Prague.

Translations

Besides tutoring I also translate from English into Czech. These are some of my published translations:

  • Swift, A. Politická filozofie (Political Philosophy), Praha: Portál 2005 – a textbook for students of politics.
  • McRobbie, A. Aktuální témata kulturálních studií (The Uses of Cultural Studies). Praha: Portál 2006 – a textbook for students of media and communication studies.
  • Polan, D. Pulp Fiction. Praha: Casablanca 2007 – a theoretical study on the famous film.
  • Niven, D. Tajemství pohody a zdraví (Simple Secrets for Becoming Healthy, Wealthy and Wise). Praha: Portál 2008 – practical advice based on scientific research and presented by an experienced psychologist.
  • Fanning, K. Hrozba z vesmíru (Curse of the Cocroach). Praha: Portál 2009 – a playfull book for children aged 8 to 13, who like to solve puzzles.
  • Benson, Nigel C. Psychiatrie (Psychiatry). Praha: Portál 2010 – a brief history of psychiatry in an accessible and entertaining form.
  • Moore, T. A psal prstem do písku (Writing in the Sand). Praha: Portál 2010 – an inspirational interpretation of the Gospels.
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Learning Czech with Active Czech – what is it like?/What can you expect when you enroll in any of my courses?

  • In all the courses, communicative method is used, which – in short – means: a focus on the usefulness of everything you learn, the systematic development of all four main communication skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing), with respect shown to the individual needs of each student/group of students.
  • The same attention is paid both to vocabulary and grammar.
  • I try to teach my students to speak Czech accurately and therefore great stress is put also on pronunciation.
  • I prefer to teach Czech without any mediative language. However, in the courses for beginners, grammar explanations are usually provided in English or also in English.
  • All the Czech lessons are thoroughly prepared and have a clear aim. They build on what you have learnt in previous parts of the course, so that you can develop your communication skills step by step without forgetting the old for the new.
  • To keep students active and alert during the whole lesson, I use techniques which involve all the students in the class. „Students talking time should always be longer than teacher talking time“ is a rule which applies to every lesson.
  • Motivation is a key to success and therefore I do my best to keep students motivated through interesting and stimulating materials and a wide range of enjoyable activities such as language games, role-plays and many more.
  • When you study a foreign language, it is absolutely essential – especially in the initial phase – to be in touch with the language as often as possible. And this is the reason for the considerable (but manageable) amount of homework.
  • My aim is to provide courses that are effective. According to the latest research, we remember 10 % of what we read, 20 % of what we hear, 30 % of what we see, 50 % of what we see and hear, 70 % of what we say ourselves, 90 % of what we say and do and 95 % of what we teach others. As a teacher, I always keep this in mind.
  • I am always open to students´ opinions about the pace and content of the course, the choice of activities and materials used or the amount of homework given. At the beginning of the course I always try to find out why the students have decided to study Czech and what their aims are; I take this into account when preparing the programme of the lessons.
  • If a student cannot be present at the lesson, he/she is sent an informative e-mail to explain what we were doing and what is for homework.
  • Czech culture is an integral part of all the courses I offer.
  • And last but not least: My lessons always start on time :-)

Worthwile links:

zone trek www.zonetrek.com – Czech Outdoor Tours

fine arts www.finearts.cz – Creative workshops for children and adults