Hej everyone,

Another month, another article collaboration with the expat newspaper “The International“.

Every month I share my personal experience about the process of learning Danish in Denmark. This is a really cool free newspaper with a lot of insights from various expats in Denmark. You can find the newspaper at these locations all over the country.

Make sure to follow them on Instagram: @theinternationaldenmark

Here is my article in case you didn’t read it yet

When I enrolled at my Danish school, I had one goal: learning Danish. Little did I knew that the journey would be a lot richer than expected. Denmark is poised with great schools and patient teachers for expats to learn Danish. Not only do you learn the language, but you can expect to discover a lot more about Denmark. Let’s look at the top three unexpected discoveries that changed my learning journey.

DANISH HISTORY

Learning a language also comes with understanding its history and roots. While at school, we were often challenged to learn more about Danish history, by reading books from important people who shaped the way Denmark is today. For example, N.F.S Grundtvig who influenced the Danish school system or also H.C Ørsted who was and still is, one of the most famous Danish scientist. If you pay close attention when walking in the streets or in the bus, you may see Grundtvig’s name popping up on a sign. Learning the basics of Danish History at school helped me understanding better Den-mark and Danes. Besides, it gave me more material to talk and contribute in conversations with my Danish network. In other words, to practice every day and get better at Danish.

DANISH CULTURE

We are exposed to Danish culture on a daily basis and school helped a lot in better understanding this aspect. We got the fantastic opportunity to go outside the classroom, explore Danish culture and dive into it. Among many experiences, we attended a session at the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) in Christiansborg Palace (Copenhagen). That day I realized that understanding politicians debating was a true challenge. We visited various museums with guided tours in Danish and even got to study the Little Mermaid in Danish! Being given the chance to do all of this, certainly impacts a lot on the way you will integrate in Denmark. If you have time, make sure to go out there and experience Danish culture.

DANISH SOCIETY

Throughout my journey at school, we studied various topics that were directly linked to Danish society. We discussed themes such as the Danish liberalism in the past and now, child education, school system in Denmark, medias in Den-mark (traditional and new forms), Finance (real estate, saving money, the tax system, welfare state). We live in a country that does a lot for the environment, we therefore discussed environmental challenges, pollution, urban design in Copenhagen, Odense and Århus and electrical cars. I gained so much insights into the Danish society, that even my wife admits sometimes that I know more about certain aspects of her own country than she does. Understanding the way Danes interact, also helped me appreciate their humour and there-fore optimized my integration in this society, which I now consider home.

Even though I am now finished learning Danish at school, the journey has actually just started. The learning system for expats in Denmark gives you enough tools and knowledge to go explore and get the most out of your integration. I think we are very fortunate to be surrounded by such dedicated teachers who want to share the best of their country. Let’s give back to the land of Denmark who is welcoming us and show that we all want to be integrated. It is a long and hard journey, so don’t give up and keep challenging yourself.

Speaking Danish will be an invaluable skill you can carry with you anywhere !

You can also download the full newspaper here.

The post Discover Denmark through its language appeared first on Learn Danish.

Hej everyone,

Another month, another article collaboration with the expat newspaper “The International“.

Every month I share my personal experience about the process of learning Danish in Denmark. This is a really cool free newspaper with a lot of insights from various expats in Denmark. You can find the newspaper at these locations all over the country.

Make sure to follow them on Instagram: @theinternationaldenmark

Here is my article in case you didn’t read it yet

It is very likely that you’ve heard about DR. In case you are still wondering, DR is Denmark’s oldest and largest electronic media enterprise. It was founded in 1925 as a public service organisation. Nowadays, it is an independent, licence-financed public institution comprising television, radio and online services. Their content is very geared towards expats wanting to engage better with the Danish language.

When I was studying Danish, I used to listen to the radio a lot. There are many stations aside from DR, but I always found DR to be helpful with interesting topics.Currently, I mainly listen to the radio in the car when driving or in the morning to hear the news. I find it fun to start my day with some Danish words and thoughts. Songs played during the radio programmes are also a great way to improve and practice Danish. If you get a chance to study the lyrics at home, you’ll definitely be ready when the songs comes on.

Have a look at the many radio stations featured by DR, here: dr.dk/radio.

Podcasts have proven to be a great learning tool in addition to reading, listening to Danish music and watching Danish movies. It is great for the simple fact that you have to really focus on what is being said. We used to study and follow podcasts when I was learning Danish at school. I’ve since kept up with it and really enjoy getting my weekly dose of podcasts. It is so easy to listen to when you are traveling, at home, or just walking. DR has a very large selection of podcasts to choose from with various themes, based on your preferences. Personally, I find it very easy to navigate their website to find new inspiration.Obviously, your level of understanding will progress as you go along. I am finally able to listen to podcasts that I really enjoy, simply because I am able to understand what the hosts are saying. Back in my school days, this was a real challenge that frustrated me a lot. Use this resource as much as you can, it will absolutely elevate your skills and make you more comfortable in your Danish life.

For more info, visit dr.dk/allepodcast.

DR also has many television channels which you can watch on your various screens, around the clock. When I found it challenging to watch and understand a programme on actual television, I would use their website where I could replay all the programmes, including many series and documentaries. The great part is that many of them are subtitled in Danish. This is so valuable when you are trying to understand what is being said. Using subtitles not only improved my vocabulary and listening, but it improved my daily life. I rapidly noticed a change when trying to understand conversations in the street or at family dinners. If you focus a lot on this, you can expect to watch television without any problem. What seemed like an impossible challenge a few years back, feels a lot more natural now.

For TV programmes you can enjoy with DR, visit dr.dk/tv.

Remember to have fun with all of these resources, they will definitely make your learning a memorable experience.

You can also download the full newspaper here.

The post Learning Danish with DR appeared first on Learn Danish.

If you feel like taking on a personal challenge and watch a Danish series, then I got the perfect exercise for you:

Matador (DR) – Danish challenge

A bit of background about “Matador”

In June 2017, Lise Nørgaard, who is by far one of the most respected Danish journalist and writer known for her humorous portrayals of Danish cultural life, turned 100 years old!
She is also the author behind one of the most classical Danish TV series (“Matador”), that was filmed between 1978 and 1982. More about her here.
Earlier in May 2017, DR has restored some of the first episodes of Matador with the addition of subtitles. This was a 3-year project for DR and they restored and shared the entire series made of 24 episodes. This is obviously a very good news for us, students of the Danish language.

How does Matador come into learning Danish?

Matador takes place between the 1920s and 1940s, which will give you more insights about the Danish society at that time.
The actors also speak in a “clearer” Danish, a bit more articulate than the recent series. I admit that some expressions used may not be so relevant today, nonetheless, it is a great starting point to dive into Danish society.

The Matador Challenge

This was obviously not a straight up challenge as it was part of our study programme at Studieskolen. We were given weekly assignments to watch episodes and analyse them.
Our teacher advised that it was the first time for him using Matador as a learning tool, since it has just been restored and subtitled in Danish.

If you feel like challenging yourself (like we did) and improving your understanding of Danish, then I definitely invite you to follow the next steps.

Good to know:

• Understanding: It has personally been a challenge as I did not understand everything perfectly, but this is part of the learning curve.
• Getting into it: You should be accustomed to the characters after episode 2. It takes a bit of time to get into the series, but it gets addictive from episode 3.
• Subtitles: Unless your oral understanding is excellent already, you will most likely read all the subtitles. I personally read a lot more the subtitles to understand what they are saying. Either way, watching it will improve your skills.
• Translation: Expect to pause (quite) a lot, to translate words that you do not know.
• DR: If you try to watch DR from outside of Denmark, this may not work due to your IP address not being in Denmark. Try with a VPN, you should definitely be able to watch it!

Get started

Based on my personal experience, I would suggest that you try to take on the Matador Challenge with other students. This will motivate you, but you can also discuss it with them after each episode.
Alternatively, you can watch it and discuss with Danes that you may know.

Go for it:

• Watch one episode at a time
• Find 5 new words or expressions that you didn’t know and write them down
• Find 5 questions about the episode that you will ask the other students
• Explain your 5 new words/expressions in Danish to your fellow students or friends
• Ask your 5 questions and give some context for the answers
• Learn about the new words/expressions that others found
• Answer the questions from the others

#thematadorchallenge

If you take this challenge, feel free to hashtag it on social media #thematadorchallenge
Do not hesitate to share your feedback in the comments section below.

What was your favourite character?
Did you feel an improvement with understanding the series?
Did you learn anything about what the Danish society could have been like in the 1930s?
Would you recommend this series?

My feedback on this exercise

I think it was difficult at the beginning, but after the 3^rd episode, I really started to enjoy watching Matador and could understand better all the actors. This means, I had to focus a lot at the beginning (some episodes are over 55min), but it definitely got better.
Finally, I really enjoyed sharing my opinion about Matador with my fellow students.

Watching Matador online

You can watch all Matador episodes in Danish with subtitles in DR’s website.

If you want to watch the episodes in an older quality, I suggest the following website from DR “Bonanza”. You will only find the originals, meaning no subtitles: http://www.dr.dk/bonanza/serie/154/matador

You can also check out below links if you feel like reading more about Matador:
http://www.matadoronline.dk: this page which features recap of each episodes and plenty of other useful information.
https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matador_(tv-serie): Wikipedia page that gives you a very good overview of Matador

Enjoy the Matador Challenge!

The post Danish TV series “Matador” appeared first on Learn Danish.