Polish Language

I started in the north and found more English the further south I went. Warsaw and Krakow no problem. What I also found was that people didn’t seem to mind working on communication - even if they didn’t speak English., You know that isn’t a given.

I had about 5 words, so I’m no help on language resources, though.

Thanks, that's good to know.

Polish pronunciation is difficult. However, I have become an "expert" with Google Translate.

I use the free version of Duolingo and see Polish is available; I'm guessing the format will be similar to that of other languages offered. The app is easy to use. I like that there are stories available-you can listen to them to get accustomed to the sounds of the language.

Lots of people you’ll come across speak English. The people in train stations may not speak much, but they know enough to communicate and tell you which button to push to pay in złoty, and people like bus drivers may be iffy. But otherwise you’ll be fine. I think they know how hard it is to learn Polish.

My experiences in Poland involved just using two languages: English and German but primarily English when dealing with those in the service industry. If the person spoke both equally well , ie they let me know as much, then I used only German. Or, I used which ever language the interlocutor was comfortable in, not my intention to talk English if s/he was not all that comfortable with it.

This was the experience in the big cities, Warsaw, Krakow , Gdansk or small towns , Torun, Malbork or Chelmno.

Where I was also often in Poland were the border places just across from the Oder, ie, opposite of Frankfurt an der Oder and Küstrin. In cafes and restaurants there I used German.

Never had problems communicating with the pleasant Polish service staff, the exception were the two old ladies running the Pension in Gdansk's Old Town who spoke only Polish, Russian and German. Disposition-wise they weren't even perfunctorily friendly. Never asked about English since they saw our US passports (so what?), We did all communicating with them in German.

You might be surprised, Poland actually has quite a high level of English proficiency, just slightly behind Germany and much better than Spain, France, or Italy. Many Poles have immigrated and later returned to Poland from countries like the US or UK in the last decade or so. I'd say outside the big cities it might be more difficult to find English more widely spoken

I think you'll be pleased at the ease with which you can manage with just English. I spent over six weeks in Poland in 2018. I'm sure I encountered some bus drivers with no English (that's par for the course almost everywhere in Europe outside the Nordic countries), but the only place I remember being surprised at the lack of English was the tourist office in one of the smaller cities. I don't remember where it was, but it was a place not on American tourists' radar. Neither of the staff folks there (past middle age) spoke any English.

Anyone under 30 (40?) probably grew up watching US television shows. A young man working at a bakery in Romania told me his excellent English came from watching US cartoons without subtitles as a child.

Warsaw was the impetus for me to work on Google Translate voice. None of my Uber drivers spoke English OR Polish, but they all knew how to use Google Translate!

My sister is using iTalki to learn Polish for her citizenship exam. She likes it a lot and the prices are very reasonable. Maybe you'd like to try a few lessons just to work on pronunciation.

In the larger cities, you will have a few problems. I speak only 5 nice words in Polish and have no problems. I've been there five times in the last eight years.
That said: your taxi driver may not be able to communicate since many are really Ukrainians who don't know English. Use your cell phone translator or carry around a few index cars for places like bus stations. I said "bus," but he had no clue. When we figured out the word was pronounced "Boose," all was right with the world. The vendors at the markets also have minimal English.
Once you get into small towns or villages, you usually need to find a younger person.

Also, when purchasing something with a person who doesn't understand English, use that index card for them to write down how many zlotys. I don't understand numbers...
I traveled solo last time and had a great time!

You will find that most young people, especially in service industryies will speak English. That is definately true in big big and medium size cities, but less likely in the country unless you are in the tourist stop. You will also find that as you are trying to tackle Polish pronounciation, the people will respond in English as they want to practice the language.