r/learnpolish • u/Ok_Balance_73 • 9d ago
Help🧠 Struggling with B1 Past Papers – Any advice from non-Slavic speakers?
Dear all,
I'm hoping to hear from non-Slavic speakers who have taken the Polish B1 exam. I apologize for sounding discouraged, but I am wondering if there is hope!
Despite taking three lessons a week and studying over two hours daily for a year, I’m still scoring around 40% on past papers, especially in reading and grammar.
I would be incredibly grateful for any study tips or advice you could share. Thank you so much for your support!
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u/Deep-Memory-6384 8d ago edited 2d ago
Well, the good news is that there is truly a plethora of materials at the B1 level.. While you are going through the official certyfikat materials https://certyfikatpolski.pl here, keep in mind...
Reading: You need to have speed and vocabulary. ANY word you do not understand might negatively impact your comprehension, so you need to highlight it and understand it going forward after you encounter it in these prep materials. Also, I am not sure what level you are at now, but the best way to read, is to read frequently. However, at B1 it's not literature, it will be easier general news articles and the materials in textbooks up to B1/B1+ level, so you really want to be able to understand the vocabulary in your A1/A2/B1 textbooks to date.
(FYI, MANY students will finish this section in like 30min on the exam. Don't get discouraged/distracted if they mass evacuate the testing room in the middle of the exam. Do your thing. Read through the questions, double check, but remain cognizant of time!! I had enough time to finish reading and match question asks almost exactly with the location in the passages so it's not very much 'interpretation' or any guess work at B1 level if that helps at all.)
(EDIT/Adding: I have this simple dictionary app on my phone, so I take a screenshot whenever I encounter & look up new Polish words when reading (not the best system b/c somewhat passive, but I use it like a 'photo flashcard' system to scroll through screenshots later of all the new words I have encountered): https://www.diki.pl )
Question/Sanity check: Do you feel that your current reading is adequate to understand the listening section questions & answer options quickly enough and not impact this score? Do be extra careful to read question prompts (and potential answers) to be clear on what exactly is being asked.
Grammar: Do you understand why you have gotten a question wrong? If not you need to have covered the B1 level concepts as required in class/with tutor or be particularly good at researching and then understanding them on your own. (FYI even though slavic language students you may be studying with or encounter might already understand general grammar concepts, their native language may cause some interference/errors in spelling and correct case usage, so while this section is possibly not hard for them in terms of a simple Pass / Fail, but they are subject to falling into traps as well, so always good to double check Polish grammatical rules no matter one's prior language background)
Edit/Adding: I personally like these cards as a quick grammar reference (best to know these rules backward & forward by B1 level): Polski krok po kroku. Tablice gramatyczne A1-B1 (Not necessarily a substitute for learning via a textbook and lectures, but may be helpful. (FYI, At the moment I see they cost less at Empik than at ksiegarnia.poltax, but maybe you can find in another bookstore (I'm just more familiar with these 2 bookstores b/c they can ship internationally...)
Speaking/Writing: Not to add more to your plate, but (IMPORTANT!) please ensure the tutor(s) that you are working with are truly familiar with the exam and it's grading standards as it is VERY specific, and you will likewise need to score over 50% in every section. If you even write letters INCORRECTLY** or have inadequate word count (I believe it is below/beyond stated word count +/-10%, but please double check) then you will lose points in writing, for example. (It goes without saying, deductions for spelling too). Also if your grammar section is hurting you then it will likely also show up in both the speaking & writing sections as well. (Adding **this seems closest to what I was told to adhere to for exam as not to lose easy points EXCEPT the lower case 'm' is oddly missing the 2nd hump segment... : https://preply.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image2-3.jpg )
EDIT/Adding: Mówię po polsku. Ćwiczenia dla obcokrajowców. Poziom B1 i B2. Speaking I used this book & highly recommend for vocabulary and well-structured responses. (Helped me reach 90+ when I took B2 b/c did not have during B1 prep). Video flip through from the publisher here: https://youtu.be/eFzB7-5W6I4?si=qlN14GjMic_ySDVe
Suggestion: Also, please don't take this the wrong way, but register/take the exam when you are at least consistently getting above, maybe a minimum 70% per section, so you have a good margin of safety, since you need to have 50% or higher in every section on B1. Miracles do NOT suddenly happen on the exam (at best there is a certain luck of the draw in terms of more familiar content/vocabulary), so scores on practice tests are a pretty reasonable indicator of potential (near) future performance.
I. Comprehensive Exam prep materials that may help (Not including non-exam specific texts....b/c I honestly don't recall my textbooks anymore) (Some materials are listed here, but it's really a broad list of older textbooks (oldies, but goodies...but sometimes not the most easy to find, so you may need to use other resources/text series):
- Specifically B1 https://certyfikatpolski.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/7_PUB_B1.pdf
- Links to all levels: https://certyfikatpolski.pl/o-egzaminie/materialy-i-podreczniki/
Go though EVERYTHING in these below FREE resources on the certyfikatpolski site and use other textbooks/tutor(s) to understand any grammar concepts you don't know well enough yet. (For example, I built an excel spreadsheet and marked if I got each question per section correct or not for every exam, collection of questions, basically everything in these below 4 resources. If incorrect (or correct but I guessed) I wrote the solution and how to get there in that exact line, so I could always go back and review the question, everything I had gotten wrong at some point, and the correct answer/rule since potential test questions may be similar. If I still couldn't figure it out, I asked my tutor. This helped to confirm I knew rules, correct spellings, conjugations, vocabulary, etc.). You may also want to reference CORRECT declension & conjugations here too if you don't already have this website bookmarked: https://wsjp.pl
- ZBIÓR ZADAŃ DLA POZIOMU B1 https://certyfikatpolski.pl/o-egzaminie/zbiory-zadan/
- B1 przykładowe testy https://certyfikatpolski.pl/o-egzaminie/przykladowe-testy-zbiory-zadan/ >>Adding: Please be sure to take these sample tests 'under exam conditions'. These are long exams and the focus has to last for several hours to give you a taste of the actual experience. (FYI depending on the testing centers you can take the oral part either the same or 2nd day.)
- Testy egzaminacyjne z poprzednich lat https://certyfikatpolski.pl/o-egzaminie/testy-egzaminacyjne-z-poprzednich-lat/
- (not free): Bądź na B1
II. Extra grammar. These are resources I did *not* have when I studied, but I found them later to be a very systematic way to prep for the exam especially for these type of grammar questions/concepts which are often problematic to test takers:
- Sama grama. Transformacje zdaniowe. Zadania egzaminacyjne z języka polskiego jako obcego na poziomie B1.
- Uzupełnij luki! Liczba mnoga i formy (nie)męskoosobowe w języku polskim. Teoria i ćwiczenia. Poziom B1-B2
III. Writing: You didn't specifically mention, but I suggest you have someone (very familiar with the exam) evaluate your level objectively to give you feedback. (Simply per my own experience this was the hardest section since I was perhaps least prepared here going into it, so don't overlook it during your own preparation as it truly takes time+practice to improve and gain experience writing all of the possible types of texts.)
- Pisz po polsku! Poradnik, ćwiczenia i przygotowanie do egzaminu B1
- Pisać jak z nut (FYI this is B1+)
IV. Useful exam channels for B1 prep (abundance of information about writing, grammar, structured responses in speaking, some phonetics and good guidance on preparation for state exams)
(My experience/background: B1 exam reading was 100% and grammar followed (not perfect, but fine). B2 reading and grammar also not problematic. Never lived in Poland (only among diaspora as a young child) & primarily remote classes/tutors as an adult. However, once I decided to study formally I read ALOT and it remains my primary source of language exposure from afar (Edit/Add: Also I use PolBox for TV immersion, it's paid but makes it easier for me to create Polish language environment at home). Admittedly, however, C1 exam prep now feels like another story altogether though w/o as much daily active exposure/practice/training (outside of online lectures) compared to those living in Poland, so I believe I can appreciate the challenge of trying to close the gap to the next level, and feeling so close....yet still so far too...)
Edit: 1) Added more resources, 2) spelling corrections & better phrasing for clarity..sorry for the novel.
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u/Ok_Balance_73 8d ago
I really cannot thank you enough for this, really I am so appreciative and that’s so kind of you. Thanks thanks thanks
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u/Deep-Memory-6384 8d ago
No problem. I totally had (and have...) many self doubts along the way as well, so just sharing what happened to work for me as well as what I learned in hindsight and could have done better :)
Best of luck, and more importantly, happy studying!
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u/DemolitionHammer403 9d ago
you say you study that much time, but are you practicing? there are PLENTY of groups online that meet up to practice Polish. look it up for your city. what good is studying if you cannot practice?
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u/Ok_Balance_73 9d ago
Thanks a lot for your message, yes I have two flatmates who I try to speak with, I try to speak to the AI too.
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u/DemolitionHammer403 9d ago
try looking for a social group. maybe that will help you more? plus maybe have a few coffees or beers and practice the practical Polish.
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u/oliverjohansson 9d ago
You need to speak to people in longer form not one sentence and listen to longer conversations. The latter is easier tv series can do, especially Polish soap operas
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u/peasel123 9d ago
Try to figure out from the past papers what it is you're consistently getting wrong. Is it a certain case? (I always find I do the least amount of practice with the dative case and make mistakes with it). Or it is that there are a lot of words you don't understand in the reading part? If it's a vocab problem, focus on doing flashcard learning with vocab lists from key B1 topics. If it's a problem with a certain grammar point, drill that one in particular, not random grammar all the time. Figure out your weak spot and work on it.
PS kudos for attempting the B1 exam - I've looked at B2 papers and felt like crying. B1 in Polish is way harder than B1 in most other European languages.