About Czechmate
Thank you for stopping by to learn more about Czechmate and its mission. My name is Roman, and I’m a Czech language teacher currently based in Prague.
My teaching journey started in Brno, though. After earning my Master’s degree at Masaryk University, I set out to teach Spanish and Portuguese — and I did, for several years. But living in cities like Brno and Prague, I kept meeting more and more foreigners who wanted to learn Czech, yet found it overwhelming. But those who never manage to learn at least the basics of a language often struggle to connect with local culture and people, which naturally leaves them feeling unwelcome. On the other hand, those of us who can’t speak English may feel scared to approach a person speaking another language. And huge misunderstandings happen then.
That’s when I realized I wanted to help and show students that learning Czech isn’t just about memorizing endless declension tables. When I began teaching my mother tongue, I discovered a passion I hadn’t known was there, and it has stayed with me ever since.
One question I’ve heard countless times from my students is: “What books can I read as a beginner? Everything feels too difficult.” When I looked into it, I found very little available — mostly fairy tales and legends adapted to simplified Czech. They’re beautiful stories, but not exactly useful if you need to order food in a restaurant or talk about what you did yesterday. That’s why I decided to create something different: short books designed for learners who have studied Czech for as little as half a year. And since audiobooks are so popular today, each book also comes with an audio version.
Czechmate is my way of sharing these materials with you — and with teachers who may want to use them in class or even write their own stories. The name Czechmate is, of course, a play on the chess term checkmate. Both chess and the Czech language can seem intimidating at first, but once you grasp the basics, you’ll want to go further. And every small success — whether ordering a coffee, sending a letter at Česká pošta, or telling a colleague about your summer plans — is like winning a game. Checkmate. I hope this site will become your trusted Czech mate — that friend with materials you cannot easily find elsewhere, and a companion on your journey toward fluency.
P.S. The Czechmate logo represents a rook, one of the chess pieces. But it also nods to the Czech Republic itself. Can you guess how?
Support Czechmate
If you find the Czechmate materials useful, I will be extremely grateful for a donation of any size. The time and energy invested in creating the materials is absolutely worth helping every student but your additional support can help me make this project grow and get it to even more learners like yourself. Thank you!