Tuesday, January 14, 2014
I need to learn Swedish FAST! (Im living in Sweden RIGHT NOW) any tips?
I need to learn Swedish FAST! (Im living in Sweden RIGHT NOW) any tips?
Im in Sweden right now as a forgeign exchange student and i speak very little Swedish, but not enough to be able to speak conversational Swedish and its very hard when i do try to speak or listen to it. I'm supposed to have a class but it wont be set up for a while and i need to learn NOW! Please leave a tip or two??
Languages - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You could always get a book or some audio CDs, but the immersion you will get from being there will help you loads in the future.
2 :
I learnt quite a lot of Swedish from downloading the free BYKI program here... http://www.byki.com/fls/FLS.html It will teach you lots of vocab and phrases, but it won't actually teach you why the sentences are structured like that, which is what I found to be the main problem, but for a free program it's very good. I also found a little phrase book that has pronunciations in it, to be very useful. I have this one and I found it to be very good: http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Swedish-Phrase-Book-Dictionary/dp/9812681604/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252097310&sr=1-20 However, most people in Sweden, particularly the younger generations can speak English probably better than you will learn Swedish while on your exchange, as English is taught at most schools there from first grade.
3 :
Add me and I can help you: flickan_kim@hotmail.com It's hard to tell you how to learn swedish, i mean it's like learning any other language right? But it's going to be alot easier since you actually live in sweden and have the language all around you. Lycka Till! :)
4 :
The best way is to pay attention wherever you are and try to start making sense of things, if you hear a word that you dont know, look it up and see what it means. You learn pretty quick through immersion, I've been in Italy for 3 months now and starting to be able to understand the basic gist of a conversation. Good luck!
5 :
You are lucky in having many native speakers around you! DO not allow yourself to fall back to English (even though all Swedes can speak English). Only use Swedish. I even (in Norway), tell people I don't speak English, so they have to use either Norwegian or Bulgarian with me (I don't speak Bulgarian, but am pretty sure they will choose Norwegian to speak to me in, then.) First, I recommend AGAINST buying Rosetta Stone, unless all you want to do it learn vocabulary (good for parrots, not good for humans). It is too costly for what you get. I am a Norwegian teacher, and obviously know more about that than Swedish. However, I'd recommend Scott Mellor's "Beginner's Swedish with 2 Audio CDs (Paperback)" available from Amazon, and elsewhere. I also generally like the Teach Yourself series, and Colloquial series. You can see some Norwegian recommendations on my website, as well as lists of some important vocabulary (below). If you are really interested in learning Swedish, try the U of Minnesota's distance ed course. (second link) I recommend for learners (slightly above beginner's level) to find something to read (something that interests you, not just anything at all... if you are a sports fan read about Swedish sports, if you are nuclear physicist, find something in that field. Thus you have a head-start on the content and vocuablary.) For sure, try to find people to actually USE Swedish with. Speaking is best, writing next best. Let me know (janus005 at umn dot edu) if you have questions.
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