Welcome to my first post of 2018! This time, I will cover something we all love to do, which is watching movies and TV series

The environment to practice your Danish understanding is perfect as you can be at home, feeling the hygge vibe with your dictionary and hot chocolate. Alternatively, you can also be commuting and watching it on your phone.

In this post, I will share with you some of the resources I use to watch movies and series. I will also recommend some movies which I personally watched at home or at school, but also movies recommended by Danes. Please note some movies may not be amazing, but because they are available in Danish, this helps practice your Danish.

I will not include so many links without subtitles, as it can be very challenging not to have subtitles. However, by Module 5 you should be able to understand a lot more without subtitles, especially if it is Danish TV news and documentaries.

This post is actually aimed at anyone currently learning Danish, so I would suggest the following:

Module 1 : Use English subtitles and watch in Danish.
Module 2 : Use English subtitles and watch in Danish
Module 3 : Use English subtitles and watch in Danish. If you feel like pushing yourself, switch to Danish subtitles
Module 4: Use Danish subtitles and watch in Danish
Module 5: Use Danish subtitles and watch in Danish. If you feel like pushing yourself, remove all subtitles.

You will be amazed how much you can improve your listening and understanding by simply watching movies, series and documentaries in Danish!
Have fun and challenge yourself

Resources for Danish films, TV series and documentaries

Filmstriben

www.filmstriben.dk

Great website with thousands of films and many series to watch in Danish, but also in other languages. A great alternative to Netflix, that is free of charge. You need to register first at your local library, which will give you a pin code to login.
Based on which library you are assigned to, you may be able to watch a different amount of films on a monthly basis.

I really like this website as the quality is excellent and you can use subtitles in Danish. Please note this may note be so suitable if you have trouble to read Danish, i.e: early modules.

DR website

www.dr.dk/tv/programmer/alle

DR has a huge database to choose from if you want to watch in Danish. Have a look at their website and choose what you like. Their content is not available for an unlimited period, so make sure to double check when it will be removed. I use DR.dk quite a lot, as it is excellent quality, subtitled and easy to find what I am searching for.

DR Bonanza

www.dr.dk/bonanza

DR Bonanza has many old films, documentaries and series available online. They are not so recent programs, therefore the quality is not always the best. However, it is a great way to practice. There are many programs to choose from, the best is for you to just browse the website and search based on your personal interests.

Netflix

www.netflix.com

Even if this one is kind of super obvious, I still need to mention it in this post. Unlike the previous websites, Netflix has a limited amount of Danish material available, however they have Danish and English subtitles all the time, which is a great help for the early modules, all the way up to module 5.

The downside is that you need to pay a subscription, unless you know someone who is super nice and can borrow their account for you to practice Danish!

Dansk Filmskat

https://www.danskfilmskat.dk/

Dansk Filmskat has a nice collection of not so recent Danish movies. It is a subscription based website, but worth a shot if you really want to dive into Danish movies. You can search movies according to various filters in case you want to narrow down a title.

Films, TV series and documentaries to watch

Here is a list that I would recommend, if you want to improve your Danish level and dive deeper into the culture. Some may not be available in the above platforms, so I will let you decide the best way to find them online or offline

This is a work in progress list, which I will update continuously.

The post Watching Danish Movies and TV series appeared first on Learn Danish.

Welcome to the “Prøve I Dansk 3” feedback series!
Last week, I published my personal review about Module 1. This week, we are moving onto Module 2.

Please note that below feedback is based on my personal experience at Studieskolen in Copenhagen. The content of the modules that I describe is obviously subject to change with time (as per the national guidelines) and can vary slightly based on the teacher and the school.

If you feel like sharing your own feedback about your experience in learning Danish in Denmark, you are very welcome to contact me. I will gladly feature you on the blog!

In order to have consistency throughout theses module reviews, I will use the same analytical structure:

• Module expectations
• Module structure
• Module Test
• Book used
• Resources
• Personal feedback

Welcome to Module 2 feedback!

Module Expectations

Congratulations on completing module 1!

Things will start to get a bit more difficult from this module onwards. Module 2 is when the learning of the Danish language will start to get more interesting. Classes are still crowded (at least in the first couple of weeks), which is nice to develop your own network and hear different pronunciations.

This module gets a lot more intense in terms of grammar and vocabulary. Danish grammar can be quite difficult, therefore grammar will be repeated and studied a lot from this module onwards. If you feel lost about some grammar topics, do not stress yourself too much. You will recap it (a lot) in module 3 and module 4 and have plenty of chances to get better at it.
Expect also to write a lot more, compared to module 1. Module 2 is a great kick off to more complex homework, where for example you can write short text copies about:

A celebrity you like, an e-mail to a friend about your weekend, your home country, describing your apartment in Denmark, what do you do on evenings at home, etc.

This module will add a lot more structure to your language, which will allow you to feel a bit more comfortable with talking Danish and understanding Danes.

Module structure

Module 2 is split into 2 levels: Module 2.1 and Module 2.2.

In the module 2 (like module 1), expect the teacher to still write vocabulary on the board. This will really build up your knowledge. As I mentioned in the module 1 review, they do not write as much vocabulary on the white board in the later modules, as you are expected to understand the words (and looked them up in the dictionary upon your own initiative).

What you can expect to learn in this module:

• Pronunciation, vocabulary, expressions, more emphasis on grammar, verbs, more emphasis on tenses (past, present, future, imperative), conjunctions, formulating questions that are more complex and finally expressing a bit more your opinion in Danish
• Teachers will also be talking much more in Danish than in module 1, but still expect to talk English with them as it is normal if you don’t feel ready to talk Danish all the time with them. Your vocabulary and knowledge are still in the process of becoming richer and more varied.

Module Test

As per module 1, if you have studied consistently throughout the module, you should really be fine with the test.
It comprises of three parts: Listening, written exam and an oral exam.
NB: At the time, I didn’t save much information about the duration and details of the test. My apologies but I will not be able to give a thorough overview of the exam.
If you have more details/feedback about the actual module test, please feel free to contact me so that I can update this section and share more details.

Listening

We had a listening test, where you listen to a list of questions which are told in a slow pace. You then have to answer the questions

Written

We had to write an essay, but I really cannot remember what it was.

Oral

Part 1: Oral presentation, follow-up conversation with the examiner
Part 2: Interaction with another student, where you ask each other questions and answer it

Book used

There are many great books used by the various schools to learn Danish. The one my teacher used during module 2 was called “Sådan”, which was in the continuity of “Sådan 1” (we used it in module 1). We also finished this book by the end of module 2.
Same review as module 1, I personally liked the book, it was well balanced between text to read, text to listen, written exercises to practice and grammar explanations. However ,I could feel that I was ready to get a new book including more written exercises (which thankfully comes in module 3). Please note that Sådan did have an online page with grammar exercises.

Resources

During module 1, we were given a list from Sådan which included a full list of verbs, substantives, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjective and conjunctions. I also used it in module 2 (you can download it here).
I also used other materials, which I shared in a previous post about online resources to become a pro at Danish!

Personal feedback

Module 2 definitely felt more difficult than module 1, however manageable because I studied consistently. Grammar is not my strength and I had some troubles with it to be honest. I appreciate that the teachers really take their time to teach it and explain it. We had a lot more exercises, which really helps out.

My talking got a little bit better in module 2, but what improved was my reading. It was still very basic, but I was able to read Danish books for beginners (specially designed for learning Danish of course!). Looking back, I would recommend to go to your local library and borrow books from the kids’ section. Try to read as much as possible as it will really enhance your vocabulary.

In terms of talking, module 2 clearly helps, but don’t expect a huge improvement yet. It starts to get better in module 3. I remember being able to “communicate” with my 3-year old Danish nephew at the time, which thanks to module 2 made me feel more comfortable. But again, my conversations with my Danish family-in-law were very basic and we switched back to English nine times out of ten. Simply because I could not have a complex conversation. This gets really frustrating in module 2 as you want to talk but lack understanding and vocabulary. But be patient, you will see improvements in the later modules and feel good again!

Stay tuned for the next post, which will be my review of Module 3! Coming out next week.

What did you think about module 2? Did it meet your expectations?
Would you recommend it?
What book did you use?
Feel free to share your thoughts and best practices on the comment section below, Facebook or @learndanishblog!

The post Module 2 Feedback – (Prøve i Dansk 3) appeared first on Learn Danish.