Study Czech Online at UT Austin
Faculty in the University's College of Liberal Arts teach more than three dozen global languages. Through the Texas Language Gateway (TLG) partnership with University Extension, many of those languages are now available to learners everywhere.
Jak se máš?
University Extension (UEX) offers a sequence of two first-year Czech courses each year designed to prepare students for intermediate-level Czech language study. UEX courses follow the University’s semester-based academic calendar, with Czech courses being offered each fall and spring, starting August and January respectively.
Why learn Czech?
Czech is a Slavic language related to Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and several other regional languages. It is spoken by about 12 million people residing in the Czech Republic as well as many countries throughout the world. Texas is home to over 200,000 people who can trace their ancestry back to the present-day Czech Republic. If you’ve ever had kolaches in Texas, you are tasting a piece of Texas Czech heritage.
Czech gives you access to a wealth of Czech and European culture. The Czech writer Karel Čapek gave the world the word "robot," Jan Hus fomented a proto-Protestant revolution 100 years before Martin Luther, and the Czechs drink more beer per capita than anyone in the world...a lot more. Other notable Czechs are playwright, president, and dissident Václav Havel, the composers Antonín Dvořák and Leoš Janáček, authors Milan Kundera and Bohumil Hrabal, filmmakers Jiří Menzel and Jan Švankmajer, and the sports personalities Martina Navrátilová and Jaromír Jágr.
Course Sequence
These courses are 100% online and include live-streaming video. Real-time participation is required during scheduled meeting times. Exams must be taken on the assigned dates.
UEX courses are open-enrollment, and everyone pays the same registration fee regardless of residency status.
First-Year Czech I (CZ 506) - $1100
The course is an introduction to Czech language and culture. The course places significant emphasis on listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will learn the fundamentals of Czech grammar and a wide range of everyday vocabulary, in addition to being introduced to Czech culture. No prior coursework in Czech is required.
First-Year Czech II (CZ 507) - $1100
This course is a continuation of the introduction sequence to Czech language and culture. We will use the Reality Czech online textbook, which focuses heavily on learning through real-life situations. To enroll in this course, you must have completed CZ 506 with a grade of at least C or demonstrate completion of the equivalent course at another institution.
Meet the Faculty
Christian Hilchey
Christian Hilchey is a lecturer in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian studies and teaches primarily courses related to Czech language and culture. He received his Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Linguistics from the University of Chicago in Spring 2014 and began his position at The University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2014. His dissertation focused on distributivity in a select class of Czech verbs.
