Yesterday was the last exam for me with Prøve i Dansk 3. I can say that I am officially done with it (yay!)! I want to share a feedback about the exam while it is fresh in my mind.

Please note that below feedback is based on my personal experience of the exam. 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!

NB: I will be using the abbreviation PD3 for “Prøve i Dansk 3”.

Welcome to Prøve i Dansk 3 – Oral Exam Review!

Exam expectations

I feel that module 5 prepared me a lot more for the written exam than the oral one. My case is a bit special since I did not attend the oral preparation module (If you can, do it!). Funny enough, I felt that the written exam was the one that stressed me the most. That was before I passed my oral exam. I usually do not feel tension with oral tests, but this one, for some reason, got my attention and played a bit with my nerves before hand.

My recommendation to you is: train as much as possible the oral part. I am not saying that it is super difficult, but it is a lot more spontaneous thinking and argumentation that you have to deliver in front of the examiners. You have to be very focused, calm and show that you can (somehow) “master” the Danish language! Overall a great experience that went extremely fast.

Remember that the grade counts double for the oral, which means it can really boosts your written grade.

Exam on the day

It is recommended to be there 15 min before exam time. Your school will make sure that you get reminders before the exam, so no stress.

Must-have on the day of the exam:

What you can expect in regards to the layout of the exam:

ID Check: you will enter the room, get your ID checked and then sit down.

Phone: I was not asked to switch off/turn on silent my phone when entering the room, but I guess this is common sense to have it in silent!

Who’s there: There is one examiner facing you and talking to you for the whole duration. The focus here, is to ask you relevant questions. The other one is on the side and takes notes about what you say. This provides more consistency when they have to agree on your grade.

Exam overview

The exam was in 2 parts which were as follows:

Once you sat down, the examiner will explain you what to do, give you guidelines and keep an eye on the clock. He/she will tell you when to start talking.

– Part 1 (5 min): At least 10 days before the oral, you will receive the topic that you will have to introduce. You only have 2 min to talk, so your speech needs to be well timed. Following this, you will be asked 3 questions by the examiner, which you need to answer. This part 1 takes approx 5 min. In my case, I had to talk about “alternative straffe – fordele og ulemper“. I must admit that I was not excited at all about this topic when I got it, but no choice here!

– Part 2 (5 min): You have 3 sheets face down in front of you and will have to select one randomly. When you turn the sheet, you will have 2 pictures. You will be given 10s to look at them. Following that, you will have to quickly describe what is happening on the pictures. The examiner will then be asking a series of 3 questions. In my case, I picked one about frivilligt arbejde. I found this part the toughest, because you have no idea what the examiner will come up with. All in all I managed ok, but could have done better if I had trained (a bit) more at home.

Screenshot from an old PD3 oral test about Freedom of speech

Following that, you are thanked and asked to leave the room for a couple of minutes. They will debate and agree on your grade. You will be asked to enter the room again and will be given your grade. This means that you will be over with this exam in 15 min!

Structure of the exam: Same case as the written exam, the structure followed exactly what we trained for in class, so there was no surprise there. The exam pressure and time can play with your nerves and concentration, so this is where you need to stay focused and not be overwhelmed.

My impression of the oral exam

This was a nice challenge, but absolutely doable. Do not put too much stress over yourself, because the 10 min will fly. No need to have a lot of notes for the 2 min presentation, you will barely have time to look at them. Keeping eye contact as much as possible is great. Again, you do not need to learn it all by heart. Actually, we were advised not to learn it this way, for the simple fact that when you answer questions after, your flow and vocabulary may not match what you just introduced by heart.

Keep it to what you know best, this will make you feel good and in control!

Coming up soon..

Following this review, expect a post with a lot of online material to prepare the oral exam! Stay tuned

Have you taken Prøve i Dansk 3 recently and want to share your feedback? I would be delighted to feature you on the blog, feel free to get in touch!

The post Prøve i Dansk 3 – Review of the oral exam appeared first on Learn Danish.

Welcome to the “Prøve I Dansk 3” feedback series!
Last year, I published my personal reviews about the module 1, module 2, module 3 and module 4.

I am nearly finished with module 5, as I am in the final process of preparing Prøve i Dansk 3 exam!
Very pleased to be able to share with you my (very long) review of the Module 5, which has lasted 7 months in a row for me and my fellow students (since end of September 2017)! Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

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
• Resources
• Personal feedback

NB: I will be using the abbreviation PD3 for “Prøve i Dansk 3”.

Welcome to Module 5 feedback!

Module Expectations

Congratulations on making it all the way to Module 5 You should be proud of yourself and all the efforts put in. You are now entering the last phase of Prøve i Dansk 3, hang on tight.

Module 5 brings its challenges, but not as tough as previous modules. Normally you should have reached a comfortable level of talking in Danish with your peers, and should not feel pressure anymore to express yourself. I personally felt such a change with my vocabulary and expressions. It felt a lot more natural and easy to use.  Unlike the modules 3 and 4 where I felt a huge improvement, module 5 has felt like the learning curve was a bit slower. Expect to still add a lot of technical vocabulary which will definitely help you in tough conversations about the Danish society!

I had some very nice personal victories during module 5, which included reading books that are a longer, more complicated and more interesting. The library became a great place to hang out!
I am now able to follow the Danish news on TV without having to check my dictionary every minute. I did let go a bit of my best friend Metro Xpress, which I used a lot in since module 1. Instead, I switched to actual Danish newspapers such as Politiken, Berlingske, etc. I reached a level where I can read and understand complex articles, without having a headache. Module 5 really brings you up to that level.

In terms of grammar, like I mentioned in my review of module 4, expect small amount grammar in module 5. Of course and for obvious reasons the teachers are still going through grammar when needed, but not as intensively. We still reviewed the usual suspects that are causing so much confusion: the prepositions (på, i, for, over, af, med, til). You will naturally start to hear if it sounds right or wrong, based on what you used. About time!

In regards to class attendance, we were a group of approximately 10-15 regular students. It was (pretty much) the same group throughout module 5, and we already knew each other since earlier modules.
Module 5 still included exercises with talks in small groups, which continuously helps improving your talking.

In terms of homework, I felt that the workload got more intense towards PD3, with a lot of pre-assigments to be ready for the exam. We listened to audio files and read newspapers. The vocabulary is more sophisticated than the previous modules.
The topics are a lot more interesting, expect to learn and write a lot more about the Danish society. The exercises prepare you to PD3, with a lot more analysis structure.

Module structure

Module 5 can be split into different levels (5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5), based on when you take Prøve i Dansk 3 (PD3)
In my case, it went up to 5.5. Normally, one would say that you should be ready for PD3 by module 5.3 or 5.4.

What you can expect to learn/review in this module:

• Advanced to very advanced vocabulary, more expressions, grammar, expressing your opinion in a much more detailed manner
• You will be discussing and arguing topics that are a lot more complex and that relate to the Danish society
• The teachers will only speak Danish, at a faster pace, which actually feels totally normal.
• Preparation to PD3 exam (written and talking) – The teachers are doing a great job to get you prepared

Module 5.1

What we covered

We discussed various topics in this module, such as personality characteristics, cycling and other forms of transport in Denmark, the body, health system in Denmark, Politics in Denmark (actually we discuss this just when the municipal elections where happening in November 2017).
We also discussed topics such as the Danish liberalism in the past and now, child education and schools in Denmark. We also started to practice a bit on some PD3 exercises, but it was very evasive, the actual process to learn more about the methodology comes in the later modules.

This module included a lot of listening to audio files and writing a lot more essays. We also had to research information on selected topics and introduce in the classroom in small groups. I don’t think we talked as much as I would have liked to in this module, but again, by module 5.1 you should be in a position where you can easily practice Danish outside of the classroom.
I was expecting this module to be very tough, and it was very manageable. The vocabulary got more complex compare to all the previous modules, but at this stage you are ready to take it in and use it.

Book used

There are many great books used by the various schools to learn Danish. Our teacher wrote a new book which she tested with us, before the final publishing. The book did not have a name yet, but it was really interesting and covered complex topics. I will update this post as soon as the book is published.

Module 5.2

What we covered

Module 5.2 included various topics such as the Danish language in the society, medias in Denmark (traditional and new forms), Finance (Real estate, saving money, Taxes in Denmark, welfare state), personality characteristics (which had been covered in Module 5.1), Environment (challenges, pollution, urban design, electrical cars, etc.).
Same case as 5.1, this module also included listening to audio files and writing essays. We also seriously started to read newspaper articles coming from Politiken, Jyllands Posten, Berlingske, Søndagavisen, etc. I felt that Metro Express was good, but definitely not enough to satisfy my reading craving. I would really encourage you to read these newspapers if you can, as they will definitely step up your game. If you don’t want to pay to read them, you can find them at your local library

© Sisses Dupont

Throughout the modules, expect to review some topics but you will go a lot deeper into them and be able to discuss and argue with a lot more consistency. I like this module, but also started to look forward to PD3.

Book used

During module 5.2, we used the book “Danske Stemmer” by Birte Langaard, who was are actual teacher! It was really nice to have her insights and comments. The book was written in 2008 and updated in 2016. We agreed with my fellow students that the book was more for module 5.1.

The new book that Birte wrote for Module 5.1  is actually a lot better and more challenging. Nonetheless, Danske Stemmer is still useful and covers interesting topics. I personally liked it. Check out her newest book called “Højt til loftet” (Published in 2018).

Module 5.3

What we covered

We started module 5.3 with a new teacher and covered one last topic from the book used in Module 5.2. We talked about the Danish Film industry and also the industry from an international prospective. But we also covered films genres, film festivals, best danish films, Dogme 95 movement for Danish films and the justice system in Denmark.

This module also came at a point in time where it was the right moment to start rehearsing and preparing the Prøve i Dansk 3 exam. This included breaking down the written parts of the exam with an emphasis on statistical analysis and comparison. We also got more articles to read and recap in class, with the aim to synthesize better.

Book used

During module 5.3, we finished the last chapter of the book “Danske Stemmer” by Birte Langaard. We used a lot of material handed by the teacher, such as newspaper articles and grammar exercises.

We also had a copy of a new booklet about the Danish welfare state (“Den Danske Velfærdsstat”), written by Mette Bang Pedersen. The book is not finalized and published yet, but I can say that it was really good and suitable for module 5.

Module 5.4

What we covered

To be honest, from this module I started to get a bit tired of going to school, my motivation wasn’t at its highest point. It was the same for most of my fellow students who had been learning continuously without break since last year. It takes a toll on you, but there are periods throughout the learning curve, so don’t give up. The end result will pay off and is rewarding! During this module, we had to hand 4 written PD3 assignments, and also did a PD3 test in class (written one).

This module focused entirely on preparing Prøve i Dansk 3.

Book used

We had a copy of a new booklet about the Danish workplace (“Det danske arbejdsmarked”), written by Mette Bang Pedersen. The book is not finalized and published yet, but I can say that it was really good and suitable for module 5.

Module 5.5

What we covered

This module has been dedicated to PD3 in its all. We trained a lot, had many written assignments as well as oral presentations to do in front of the class in max 2 min (same time that you have for PD3). I found that we got a lot more homework than in the early modules of module 5. I personally found it tough to keep up because of my motivation not being at its highest! But all in all, the aim is to get us ready for Prøve i Dansk 3. After PD3, you also can continue with an oral training class (“Mundtlig forberedelse”), until you have the final oral exam.

Extract given in class from PD3 exam (2012)

Book used

We continued using “Det danske arbejdsmarked” that we had in module 5.4. But we also got an extract from a book called “Din Dansker“, written by Mads Kirkebæk. We studied the chapter “Jagten på det perfekte liv – farvel til fællesskaberne”. Really nice book with interesting text.

Prøve i Dansk 3 Preparation and Exam
I will post my reviews after the PD3 exam in June 2018 . Stay tuned!

Resources

I used some of the same material as the previous modules, such as these ones . At this stage I had all the material needed to feel comfortable. Again, this was thanks to all the previous modules.

Books

The library at Studieskolen didn’t have as many books for module 5, simply because you are able to read more “normal” books when you reach module 5. It was a lot based on your personal initiative. I pushed myself to borrow as many books as possible from my local library. I will emphasis on this again, but it is SO IMPORTANT to read books if you want to improve in Danish. Go for it! A good alternative if you are not a big fan of reading Danish books, you can read newspapers.

Films/Documentaries

We only watched one movie during module 5, which is fine, since you can watch them home. We watched Olsens Banden which was the overall theme of crime and justice. It was really nice because many of the actors where also lead actors in the Matador Danish TV series!

Extract from the Film “Olsen Banden ser rødt”

This was the introduction to the chapter “Justice in Denmark”. If you want to watch movies, make sure to check out my list of recommendations from a previous post about movies to learn Danish.

Podcasts

I continued to listen to podcasts, but put more emphasis on reading. Check out a past post I wrote about listening to Danish podcasts, in case you want to challenge yourself in Danish

Personal feedback

Module 5 has been a very long journey for me, but seriously rewarding. I must admit that my motivation and energy dropped (quite a bit) towards the last 2 months of Module 5, as it has been very focused on Prøve i Dansk 3 and the technique to succeed at the exam. Most of my fellow students felt the same, but no one gave up!

– Danish family: Danish is not a problem anymore with my Danish family. We converse all the time in Danish, but have fun talking English from time to time. It is the same with all my Danish friends, I talk Danish to them. I am very happy to see the change since last year. What a difference to integrate and not feel lonely during a dinner where everyone talks Danish!

– Danes: I definitely feel a lot more integrated than a year ago, for the “simple” fact that I can now interact in Danish with Danes.

– Work: Since last year, I have been working in a bar, which has been challenging at first (to communicate in Danish), but I finally feel very comfortable using the language at my work place. This makes a major difference when you can talk to your guests and colleagues in Danish! Of course, I still speak some English with them if needed. Being perfectly fluent will take some time

Hang in there, you are nearly finished with module 5 and PD3!

Stay tuned for my upcoming reviews of Prøve i Dansk 3. Coming soon…

What did you think about module 5? Did it meet your expectations?
Would you recommend it?
What books did you use?
Feel free to share your thoughts and best practices on the comment section below, Facebook or @learndanishblog!

The post Module 5 Feedback – (Prøve i Dansk 3) appeared first on Learn Danish.