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!
Over the past month, I published my personal reviews about the module 1, module 2 and module 3.

I just completed module 4 last week and started module 5 this week. Therefore, I am happy to share my (very up-to-date and long) review of module 4!

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 4 feedback!

Module Expectations

Unlike the previous modules, I felt a huge improvement with my Danish level in Module 4. It started outside the class with the other students, where we literally stopped talking English to each other. We instantly switched to Danish, which felt a bit uncomfortable at the beginning, but quickly became natural after a couple of weeks. This made me realize that we all really stepped up our game and finally felt that we had enough vocabulary to talk Danish all the time. Obviously, we still pop up some casual English words that no one knows how to translate in Danish, but that’s fine.
Even if you don’t feel so comfortable with talking Danish to each other, you should definitely force yourself and try to stick to Danish. I can guarantee you that you will be impressed about how much you know and how natural it will feel after some time practicing.

Module 4 is the last module where teachers will still spend (a lot of) time on grammar. By the end of module 4.2, you will understand and apply the grammar better than you ever did. However, expect to probably have remaining struggles with some  grammar topics, especially prepositions (på, i, for, over, af, med, til), irregular verbs in the past (datid) and present perfect (førnutid). We reviewed these over and over during module 4, which really helped.

In terms of class attendance, we were a group of approximately 13 regular students. I could really feel the difference and commitment from all my fellow students. Everyone has a very clear focus, which is to learn Danish. Please note that I am attending day classes which are a great choice if you want to improve faster. I published a comparison post in July 2017 about day/evening classes to learn Danish.

Module 3 started to include more talks in small groups. Expect to talk even more during Module 4, a lot more debates and arguing with each other. The teachers only speak Danish during the class, which is really helpful and forces you to think in Danish and process it faster when wanting to talk.

In terms of homework, the workload is more important, however it is doable if you are consistent. The vocabulary will also be a lot more sophisticated than the previous modules.
You should expect to have more written essays than in the previous modules. The topics are a lot more interesting, expect to learn and write a lot more about the Danish society.
Here are some of the topics we covered:

• Food (cooking food, ingredients, øko food in Denmark, healthy food, food trends)
• Experiences (Accidents, Going out, Aprils fool, Danish weddings, outdoor adventures)
• Animals (naming all animals & insects, Endangered species, the impact of environment on animals and food, their habitat)
• Life style (Childhood, overtime at work, modern families, religion)
• Cities (Culture in cities, festivals, neighborhoods, competition between cities, urban architecture)

Module 4 – Content used

Books

We read also one book every week, which we had to sum up in a resume, as well as introducing it to the other students in the class. Some books were thrillers, drama, biographies of Danish authors, poets or painters, or just everyday stories. Module 4 books definitely got better than in the previous modules. This also meant more complex vocabulary.
I have also borrowed more books from the public library, which added more vocabulary to learn.

Films

We started to watch films in module 3.2, and pushed it also during module 4.1. Our teacher started to have us watching a very famous TV series called Matador. This was online on DR, with subtitles. I wrote a full post about it, which was “The Matador Challenge“! I would definitely recommend you to check it out and try include it in your studies. It really helped us with understanding Danish.

Podcasts

We also started to listen to podcasts during class and were given homework (same idea as “The Matador Challenge“). I will share more insights about podcasts in an upcoming post.

Songs

We also listened to Danish songs, trying to guess the text and get used to it. This really helps your understanding and will add vocabulary (I previously wrote a post about listening to Danish songs, here is the post).

Videos and audio files

During module 4, we had to listen to audio files, answer questions and transcript them. We were already used to do it in module 3, so that felt very natural. My understanding got a lot better during module 4.

Module structure

Module 4 is split into 2 levels: Module 4.1 and Module 4.2.
What you can expect to learn/review in this module:

• Pronunciation, advanced vocabulary, expressions, grammar, verbs, tenses, expressing your opinion
• The teachers will only speak Danish, which is really great!
• You will be discussing and arguing topics that are more complex and that relate to the Danish society.

Practicing Danish during the class

Argumentation Game

For example, we had a 2 on 2 argumentation case, where we were given each a piece of paper with points to defend.
We had to use vocabulary and expressions that were very specific to this context.
We had 5 min to speak and argue with each other.
Student A: Public libraries in Denmark should be free of charge
Student B: Public libraries in Denmark should not be free of charge
I was given the arguments B, which I personally didn’t agree to, but I had to defend it. Great exercise!

Crosswords Game

Another example, where we were each given a sheet with words to explain in Danish and words to guess. This is a really fun exercise to do 2 on 2.

Module Test

Module test 4 includes four parts: reading, listening, writing and oral.
Please note that you are allowed to use a Danish/English dictionary during the test.
You will need to be very consistent throughout the module and make sure to learn all the new vocabulary and expressions between each class. Make sure to read as much as you can, as it will develop your vocabulary and improve your reading speed.

What the module test includes

Listening

You will have three types of listening exercises (33 min). This part is not too difficult as the pace of the audio file is not so fast.
Part 1: Series of 5 questions to answer. You listen to an audio file and answer it (x 5 times)
Part 2: Series of 6 questions. You listen to a full audio file twice and answer the questions
Part 3: You hear stories about people and need to match them description

Reading

It comprises of four parts (55 min) – Some parts can be challenging, but overall you can manage if you have studied consistently before the test.

Part 1: You have to find information from a document (multiple pages)
Part 2: You have to read a text and fill in the blanks by replacing by prewritten sentences.
Part 3: You have to read a text and need to insert the correct words (selected from a list)
Part 4: You have to match people and their own description

Written

There are two written parts, 45 min each (total of 1h30).

Part 1: You can choose between writing an article or a story.
Article – You get an article (or an e-mail) with some questions. You have to write an article/email to answer the questions from the first article.
Story – You have to write a story (using your imagination if you are not inspired!). You will be given the first or the last sentence of the story, which will give you some indications to what you may write.

Part 2: You get a text that you have to comment on and argue about.
You will need to give yourself some time to correct any grammatical mistakes.

Our teacher gave us a very helpful tip, which is:
Structure your checklist to minimize your mistakes: Infinitives, modal verbs, articles, adjectives, prepositions, sentence structure (especially inversion), etc.

In all honesty, the time given is sufficient and you will have many chances to proof read what you will hand over. You only need a minimum of 100 words per written task, so it is not a lot to produce. Do not stress yourself too much for the test.
The module 4 prepares you very well for the exam, thanks to the various written homework.

Oral

There are two parts for the oral part (9 min).

Part 1 (5 min):
This is an individual session with the teacher. You will have to choose 3 topics before the test.
Your teacher will pick one randomly and you will need to talk about it for 2 min.
Then your teacher will ask you a series of approx 3 questions.
Topics need to be related to the Danish society and definitely more complex than where you live, what Danes eat for Christmas or what is your job.

NB: You are allowed to write keywords on a piece of paper and use it during the oral test.
This is something really great about Denmark and the process to learn. It is not just about learning everything by heart, but more about expressing yourself.

You wait then for the other student to do his/her individual session. Please note you will be in the same room together for part 1.

Part 2 (4 min):
You will be talking with another student (like in Module 2).
You will pick up a random topic, discuss it and back up your arguments.

Book used

There are many great books used by the various schools to learn Danish. The one our teachers used during module 4 was called “Pæredansk“. I really liked this book, because it developed my vocabulary and level of reading. But I also learnt a lot more about Danish society. The end of the book includes a grammar/verbs recap, which is super helpful when in doubt during the class or at home. Birte ,who is the author of “Pæredansk“, was our teacher for module 4.2. It was very nice to have her insights on the book and the various articles she wrote. From a student point of view, I would definitely recommend this book for module 4.

Resources

Most of the material I used for module 4 is pretty much the same as the one I posted in previous articles:
Resources and my everyday routine.

Article from the newspaper Politiken, that we had to read at home and sum up in class (2 on 2)

Personal feedback

Module 4 has marked a significant increase for my Danish level. I started to feel a lot more confident talking Danish. As mentioned at the beginning of the post, we started to talk only Danish with my fellow students. But I also noticed a serious change outside the school, where I felt a lot more comfortable talking Danish. Here are a few examples:

– Danish family: I have (finally) switched from English to Danish with my Danish Family, which was a huge step, since we only talked English to each other for the past years. They also talk to me in Danish now and thankfully speak a bit slower so that I can understand. Of course, I still have some moments where I need to use some English, but overall I am able to express myself without (too much) struggle.

– Danes: For the past weeks, I have only been speaking Danish in my everyday life with Danes. During Modules 1-3, when I used to talk to them, they would often switch back to English.
My guess is that they felt my level of Danish wasn’t that good enough, so they considered more appropriate to talk to me in English. However, since module 4 it changed.  When I address them in Danish, they do not switch to English anymore.
I guess they consider that my level is (finally) ok enough for them, to only talk Danish with me. This is only the beginning and I am still far from being fluent in Danish, but at least my way of communicating as changed.
I can only tell you how amazing that feels every time I experience this situation. It makes you realize that all the efforts you put in to learn Danish are finally paying off.
You will experience this change at some stage, so be patient. If not already, then it will come soon!

– Reading: I can read more complicated books without having to take the dictionary every 30s. However, I would not consider myself an “advanced” reader at all. This is still a big challenge to read everyday Danish books.

Hang in there, module 4 is challenging but rewarding!

As I have just started module 5, my personal review of this module and the Prøve i Dansk 3 Exam will be published in April 2018. Stay tuned!

What did you think about module 4? 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 4 Feedback – (Prøve i Dansk 3) appeared first on Learn Danish.