⁨Zdaj się na polski!⁩ review — a complete B1 exam course in one book

What this book is

Zdaj się na polski! — a pun on "rely on Polish" and zdać, "to pass an exam" — is a coursebook written to prepare adults for the state certificate exam in Polish at level B1. It is not a collection of practice tests: it is a full course of 22 lessons with the same structure, designed for at least 120 hours of study. Each lesson works on vocabulary, reading, listening, grammar, speaking and writing, in the order and in the task types the exam uses.

The audio is a free MP3 download from the publisher. A separate B1 workbook (Zeszyt ćwiczeń, 164 pages, 2nd edition 2024) adds lexical and grammar exercises and contains a complete mock exam modelled on the official sample papers. The textbook and workbook are also sold as a set.

Who it suits best

• Learners who already have a solid A2 and want a structured route to B1, not just a pile of tests.
• People taking a course or lessons with a tutor: the book is built for a group or a teacher who can correct your writing and speaking.
• Anyone whose problem is the writing part of the exam: this is the only one of the three B1 writing-oriented books compared in an academic study (Grochala, 2022) that covers all the written forms the exam asks for, including formal letters and e-mails.

Who should pick something else

• Beginners. The book is written entirely in Polish and assumes A2. Start with a general coursebook first.
• People who only want timed mock tests a few weeks before the exam: the free official sample papers and Bądź na B1 do that job more cheaply.
• Strict self-learners without anyone to check their texts: the writing and speaking tasks are open, and the book cannot mark them for you.

What's inside

• 22 lessons of uniform structure, alternating reading, listening, speaking, writing and grammar.
• Sections that mirror the exam modules: vocabulary (with listening and reading), grammar, speaking, writing, and spelling and punctuation.
• Writing: every lesson ends with a free-writing task of the kind the exam sets — for example a 150-word letter to a former neighbour about life abroad. Information about each genre is given as a gap-fill task.
• Workbook: vocabulary openers for every lesson, grammar drills of the type found in the exam's grammar module (conjugation, pronouns, sentence transformations), short notes on well-known Poles, and the mock exam.
• Format: 223 pages, A4, softcover. A digital flipbook edition also exists.

What learners and teachers say

Public opinions about this book are still few. On Empik it has 5.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings (checked October 2026); the only written review says: "A nice textbook for learning Polish: everything clearly explained, lots of exercises and real-life examples. Recommended!" Polish schools and teachers include it in their recommended B1 materials, but without a detailed review.

The most detailed independent assessment is an academic comparison of B1 writing materials (Grochala, University of Łódź, 2022). It describes the book as a genuine coursebook rather than a test collection and notes that all the exam's written forms are presented only in this book among the titles compared. Its caveat applies to every book of this kind: free writing still needs a teacher to correct it. We found no criticism from learners — but with so few reviews, that is not proof of anything.

Our verdict

If you want one book that teaches you the whole B1 exam rather than only testing you, this is the strongest choice on our list. It works best with a teacher or a study group. Add the free official sample papers for timed practice in the last weeks, and use our free B1 practice tests to check each module separately — remember that the exam requires a pass in every part, not just a good average.