Reviews
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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Pimsleur Polish
Polish, Audio Lessons
My only complaint about Pimsleur Polish is that there just isn’t enough of it—a mere 30 lessons’ worth. Such a shame. A Pimsleur lesson is a miracle of audio interactivity, with constant prompting that gets you speaking in your…
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Polish, Neighborhoods
For a slew of Polish stores and restaurants and people, go to Greenpoint! The sheer volume of Polish is stunning. I have been there multiple times, but on one of my favorite visits, I enjoyed a lovely walk down…
Oxford Essential Polish Dictionary
Polish, Books, Dictionaries
The Oxford Essential Polish Dictionary is extremely usable and useful. I am picky about dictionaries. I like the aesthetics of this one: the readability of the print, the weight of the book (light), and its dimensions (small-purse…
Polonia Bookstore
Polish, Bookstores/Libraries
This Greenpoint bookstore has many books for native and fluent Polish speakers, as well as materials for Polish language learners. I went there looking for language books for beginners, and the employees were very helpful. There were indeed a…
Café Riviera
Polish, Food and Drink
Café Riviera in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has Polish employees and Polish desserts and Polish customers. I traveled here in search of people to speak Polish to, and it was a highly effective strategy. I took my grammar book with me, studied…
Jackson Heights, Queens, for Many Languages
General, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Neighborhoods
This is a fantastically polyglottal community in northwestern Queens. Take the subway to Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street and you will find yourself in possibly the most diverse community in the world. You can hear massive amounts of Spanish along…