Now, have any friends who speak Czech? Doubtful. But it's an equally beautiful language, and the Czech Republic, particularly its capital city of Prague, is becoming increasingly important to this ever more globalized world.

So, for those of you who would like to learn a language abroad but don't want to take the beaten path, learning Czech in the Czech Republic may just be the right move for you.

The Times They Are ah...Well, You Know the Rest
With the country receiving more tourism than ever before, and seemingly every other big-time Hollywood movie being filmed there, it's an exciting time to learn the Czech language in the Czech Republic. The country has been experiencing a great revival since separating from Slovakia in 1993, and thousands of international students choose to study Czech each year in cities such as Prague. Whereas places like France, Italy and Spain have been the go-to study abroad destinations in the past, these days the world is growing too close to limit yourself to the "usual suspects" of foreign language.

But just because the Czech Republic is experiencing a boom doesn't mean the language hasn't been around for centuries. In fact, Czech literature stretches back to as long ago as the ninth century. Though it is the official language only of the Czech Republic, plenty of people around the world (12 million to be exact) speak Czech:

• 1.4 million in the United States;
• 28,000 in Canada;
• 21,000 in the Ukraine.

• The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union and of NATO;
• During the past 15 years, the Czech standard of living has doubled;
• Czechs are proud of the fact that their country is playing a larger role in the world economy.

Should you choose to study Czech in the Czech Republic, you're likely to run into a lot of people from all corners of the world. The Czech Republic, especially Prague, has been attracting thousands of foreigners who decide they like it so much they're never leaving!

Czech vs. English-Not Even Close!
We'll be perfectly honest-Czech isn't the easiest language to learn, but mostly because it's so different from English. Once you realize that you shouldn't look too hard for similarities between the two, you'll be much better off. Just looking at Czech can be intimidating, but it really isn't that bad, especially if you study Czech in the Czech Republic, and can therefore surround yourself with it.

To ease your mind, however, you can at least breathe a sigh of relief when you see the Czech alphabet. Like the English one, it is based on the Latin alphabet, except for these few additions:

• Long vowels "à," "é," "í," "ó," "ú"/"ů," and "ý;"
• The softening vowel "ĕ;"
• Soft consonants "ď," "ť," "ň," "ž," "š," "č," and "ř."

There's some other good news too: Czech words are pronounced the way they're written. So, once you learn how to say each letter, it'll be easy to say any Czech word. There's another big difference between English and Czech, but you can decide whether it's good or bad: English is an analytical language, while Czech is a synthetic language. So what? Well:

• Czech doesn't use supporting verbs, pronouns or adjectives to change words like in English;
• The structure of Czech words change with added endings and prefixes only;
• With Czech, you can use just one word to express a meaning, whereas in English you'd need to use several words to express a meaning.

By the way, you can thank the religious reformer Jan Hus who created much of the rules of the Czech language, including the alphabet and spelling. And as the language continued to develop, people just added more and more rules until it became the language it is now. Study Czech abroad and you'll learn:

• Czech verbs have seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative and instrumental;
• Czech verbs are conjugated in four different classes: "-at" or "-át;" / "-ovat" or "-ýt" / "-ít;" "-it" or "-et" / "ĕt;" "-out" or "-ci;"
• Czech language dialects include Bohemian, Central Moravian, Eastern Moravian and Silesian.

More than Just the Language
If you study Czech abroad, especially in the Czech Republic, you'll get a great education, learn the language and live for a time in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. You'll see landmarks like the famous Charles Bridge and Charles University, which was established back in the 1300s (Czechs have taken higher education seriously for a long time!).

In the city of Prague, students studying Czech abroad can meet up with friends at a pub and try some of the country's famous beer, or take advantage of the hot nightlife in the city's bars, clubs and discos. Those interested in architecture will be in awe of the stunning structures-there's at least one building to represent nearly every architectural period in history. And there are thousands of castles and ruins to explore across the country.

An adventurer will love studying Czech in the Czech Republic, as the country is extremely mountainous. You can ski, hike and explore one of the many mountain ranges in the area, or be brave and check out the Czech Republic's underground, with its caves, caverns and rivers.

Those who study Czech will also be able to enjoy thousands of years of Czech literature and discover the country's Golden Age of literature, which took place in the early to mid 1900s. You'll read authors such as Karel Capek, Jaroslav Hašek and Vladislav Vančura. Also of this era was Nobel Prize-winning poet Jaroslav Seifert. Students may delve into the works of Milan Kundera and Franz Kafka, the Czech author who wrote The Metamorphosis.