This week, I am featuring Walai who is from Thailand. She completed her Prøve i Dansk 3 exam in June 2018 in Århus, with Lærdansk.

Walai is also a very talented freelance graphic designer, make sure to check out her work on walaito.wordpress.com! If you know anyone in your network that needs her skills, make sure to contact her.

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience and tips.

Thank you Walai

About you

Danish classes

I went to Lærdansk Aarhus. After I got my CPR I contacted Job Center to send my document to the school, and a week later I started the school. I attended morning class from 8.30-11.15.

© Photo by Michael Svenningsen

Each modules are just like I am walking up the stairs, at the beginning it would be fun and fine, in the middle of the way it would be tiring and hard, but when I almost saw the end I just wanted to put all of my effort to finish it.

Prøve i Dansk 3 Exam

Prøve i Dansk 3 was not easy to me so I tried attending the class as much as I could, because the teachers helped students a lot to the preparation to PD3. They gave us very useful materials and guided us with what we should further prepare, besides what we learned in the class. For example watching Danish programs from DR or reading articles/news in Danish.

I would recommend to read something about “Danske Samfund”, e.g. Sundhed og livsstil, ligestilling i Danmark. Regarding both written exam and oral exam which tend to be about what happened in Danish society and culture.

Books at school

I used Puls1 in module 1, Puls2 in module 2, and Puls3 in module 3.

In modules 4, there were Det Rykker, At Skrive, Parat Start 1-2-3 and Pæredansk.

In module 5 I used At Skrive, Danske Stemmer, Grammatikken and 3.5’eren Opgaver til Prøve i Dansk 3. I would say that there are some chapters in some books are a bit old fashion, but that does not mean they are not good, they could give an idea and lead us to find something more interesting at the present.

© Photo by Walai

Personally I like Parat Start 1-2-3 because it is very useful to practice my grammar. However there are many online resources and materials, you can start from the school’s website, I believe there are many good stuff on it.

Tips & Practice

As I am married to a Dane, I have a better chance to use my Danish to speak with my husband or my family in law, but some of my classmates do not. So it is not easy for them to apply their Danish in everyday life. In the class we have also talked about getting a chance to speak Danish outside the class. For example, starting from ordering food at the restaurant, talking to a shop assistant when we go shopping or at the school’s library (multi center) with the volunteers who are there to help students with conversations. All we need to do is to be brave.

There are many ways to improve Danish, one of those that I like is watching programs from DR. Some of them have subtitles in Danish even though they speaks Danish so I can hear the pronunciation and the way Danes use the expression.

I also bought a Danish book called “Den lille bog om Hygge” by Meik Wiking. It is a lovely book with pictures and it is not too difficult to read, moreover it helps me with learning and understanding more about Danish Culture.

© Photo by Walai

I hope this would be helpful to everyone who learning Danish and going to take PD3. Pøj Pøj!

Follow Walai and share some love

Follow her blog walaito.wordpress.com and on Instagram: @cartoon_etc

The post Expat feedback – Walai from Thailand appeared first on Learn Danish.

This month, I am very happy to feature a feedback from a fellow French expat, Cécilia, who is studying Danish in Copenhagen (Studieskolen).

If you are new to this blog, make sure to check out all the very inspiring Expat Feedback interviews.

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where he shares her personal experience.

Thank you Cécilia!

About you
I’m Cécilia, 28 years old, from France. I have been living in Denmark for a year and a month, but the first 3 months I was here on and off. My girlfriend is Danish, we’ve been living in France for a bit and decided to move to Copenhagen. I’m educated as nurse and have 3 years of experience. I will be able to work in a few months when my Danish get at a good level, for now I just started a job as a handicap helper in Copenhagen.

School – Registering process
I am learning Danish in Studieskolen in Copenhagen. The registering process at the school is really simple, I got invited for an interview, after I applied for the school online. During the interview, they checked my background and my basic understanding of grammar, but nothing complicated. I had 2 breaks in 14 months, each time I just had to notify the school by mail.

How did you find the various modules at school?
I really liked module 1 and module 2, it was really fun. The focus was on learning everyday vocabulary, making simple sentences, reading and pronunciation.
The modules 3 to 4.1, were the most frustrating for me. Danish has a lot of missing grammar rules, so sometimes I didn’t understand why the sentences were done a certain way. Also during those modules my understanding of Danish became good enough, but I had a hard time making sentence complete, because of my lack of vocabulary. But from module 4.2, I have been feeling more comfortable. I still have a lot of vocabulary to learn and some grammar rule to clarify, but I can feel I progress every day.
The exams for each module were relatively easy. I think we are well prepared at school.
I’ve only been to morning classes 9h00-13h00, 3 times a week. And I really like the rhythm. It’s a bit intense, but at the same time it’s a good way to keep on learning.

Study Books
I think the books are really adapted to the level. Sometimes the topics get a bit boring and repetitive but I guess that is what we need to learn. The grammar exercises are really good and the listening exercises help to understand more and more. I would definitely recommend them as there is a focus (with all of them) on what important to learn regarding to the level you are at.

Danish practice
Do you think it is easy to apply your Danish (that you learned at school) in the everyday life?
I think the Danish we learn at school completely correspond to the Danish that it’s talked outside as our teacher uses everyday vocabulary with us. I think with time it becomes easier and easier to use it. To keep practicing my Danish, I tried to talk it as much as I can with my girlfriend, friends, family and outside. I’m read mostly newspaper, and watch DR TV. They have really good documentary-society program and it helps to build vocabulary.

Do you have any tips to improve in Danish?
If you have someone to speak Danish with, do it as much as you can, even if you get tired of it.
Watch some Danish T.V-shows, it helps for the understanding.
I sometimes try to listen to people conversations, it helps me to get familiar with the words sounds.
And in all occasion, you’re able to practice your Danish, you can try, and if it doesn’t work change to English.

The post Expat feedback – Cécilia from France appeared first on Learn Danish.

Welcome to the first expat feedback of 2018! If you are new to this blog, make sure to check out the Expat Feedback interviews from last year!

This week, I am very happy to feature a feedback from Ioana who studied Danish in Århus with LærDansk and completed her PD3 in 2016. Make sure to follow her on Instagram (@basedindk) to follow her latest news

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where he shares her personal experience.

Thank you Ioana!

About you
My name is Ioana. I am from Romania and have been here for 3,5 years. My first 2 years here I spent on taking my Master’s degree at Aarhus BSS in Corporate Communication, and for the past 1,5 years I’ve been working for BESTSELLER, which is a Danish fashion company. I live in Aarhus, and I have pretty common hobbies, such as spending time with my friends, my boyfriend, going to the gym and eating tons of good food. I am a huge foodie and a party girl at heart. Three exciting things going on in my life right now: I will start going to CrossFit from February, next Wednesday I start taking Danish classes again (this time at FOF Aarhus) and I am now trying to be a pro at InDesign.

Danish classes
As for my Danish learning background, I’ve been pretty dedicated to learning the language from the start, and I still am. I am quite committed to living in Denmark and I my goal is to get a job where I can fully work in Danish in the next 3-4 years. Coming here as a student, you get all the support you need to sign up for Danish classes. I took my Danish classes at Lærdansk in Aarhus, and from what I remember it was just a matter of getting a paper from the job center in order to sign up for the classes.

Day classes vs evening classes?
Because I had university courses during the day, and later on became employed, I took classes in the evening twice a week. I must admit it’s pretty tough to go to class in the evening when you’ve already had a long day, but it helps if you have a cool teacher, some coffee and some snacks. And of course, if you are motivated to stick with it. But if you have a choice and can go in the morning or during the day, I’d really recommend you do so. I also had a 5 months period where I only attended one of the classes as I was going to university full time, had an internship and worked a part time job on the side.
I really appreciated that I had the flexibility in that sense and that I could be able to at least go once a week and be on track with my study. I think a learning from me here and maybe an advice to others is – don’t make excuses for yourself of why you can’t go, but suck it up, find a middle ground solution and keep going. I’ve seen so many who decided to pause their education because they had so many other things to do and never came back. Or came back too late and regretted missing valuable time. The faster you learn Danish, the easier it is to live in Denmark.

How did you find the various modules at school?
I think the modules themselves and what they entail are totally fine. What really makes or breaks a class (at least personally) is the teacher’s way of holding the class and the colleagues in the class – how dedicated they are and how much better or worse they are compared to you. I guess what I am trying to say is that if it really feels wrong, in the sense that the class is way too advanced or on the contrary, try and see if you can change. I’ve also had teachers I could really not connect with and teachers that were so into it, so funny, so energetic, that going to class was instantly a good experience. The good thing about the classes is that if you’re stuck with a teacher you can’t relate to, most likely you’ll get another one for your next module.

How was the Prøve i Dansk 3 examination?
I went to class for 2,5 years and “graduated” from PD3 a year ago, so some of my memories faded away. What I remember clearly is that the talks pre-exam made it sound like such a huge thing, such an important exam. And I’m not saying it’s not, more like take it easy – it’s more difficult than all the other tests you’ve had so far, but you are supposedly better prepared as well. My exam was held in this big hall with tens of tables and people. For those who don’t do good with tests it can be pretty intimidating. You leave your phone in a box at the entrance, you’re given a number – very much like any other official exam. My advice here is: up to the exam try and go to all classes and make an effort to do your homework – because most of the time the homework in the module before the exam is made out of assignments similar to the ones at PD3.

Any comments regarding the exam?
The first part of the exam (the written one if you wish) has a listening, reading and writing part. For the writing part you are allowed to bring a dictionary and if I remember right, a list with verbs. That helps a lot. Also, don’t try to write better than you normally do. Stick with expressions and phrases you know. Don’t try any sophisticated language. It won’t work if you haven’t used it before. For the listening part, if you can’t hear one thing, don’t get stuck, don’t panic, just let it be and focus on the next thing coming. Same for the reading. If you can’t find one answer, move to the next question. Try and get as many answers as possible, and when you’re done, go back and try and figure out what you skipped. The worst mistake you can do is block at one question you can’t answer.

The second part (the oral exam) is held another day. I can’t remember the exercises precisely, but I remember before the exam we had a chance to prepare for all the topics that we could get. Do that, prepare a little speech for all topics beforehand and try and memorize key words and phrases related to each topic. Don’t learn by heart the whole speech though. Again, what worked for me was sticking to the way I expressed in my regular conversations in Danish. In the end, the feedback from my examiner was that my grammar is not 100% perfect but that my natural way of speaking will make it easy for me to figure it out in the world. Which is basically why I took that education so yay me.

Study Books
I studied from Puls and then we always got extra material in class from the teachers for grammar exercises. I really don’t think there’s an issue with the material. I always had some and more to learn from.

Danish practice
Do you think it is easy to apply your Danish (that you learned at school) in the everyday life?
As for applying my Danish in everyday life, I use it from time to time but for sure not every day. At work I have a colleague who knows I understand and speak Danish so she writes and talks to me in Danish most of the time. I also sometime attend meetings in Danish and in general listen to a lot of Danish at work. The most I’ve used Danish is with my boyfriend’s family, and then I also speak Danish when I shop, when I go partying downtown, and when I write emails to authorities, the caretaker, the gym and so on. On top of that, I do listen to music and news in Danish every morning on my way to work, and have Danish subtitles to all movies and series I watch.

Movies, series and Books suggestions
Movies to watch: Underverden – by far the best Danish movie I saw, and it’s from this year. More here.

Series to watch: Forbrydelsen – has 4 seasons but the 1st is by far the best and you can watch it for free on dr.dk here & Broen – I am now watching season 4, also running on dr.dk for free.

Books to read: I barely get myself to read something in English, let alone in Danish, but this Christmas I read a Christmas calendar and I really recommend you start doing that next Christmas. It takes 15 minutes a day and it keeps you motivated to finish it by Christmas. I read Nissebanded i Grønland.

You can read another article on my relationship with Danish here. I wrote it almost 2 years ago and maybe things have changed a bit but I still think it’s relevant.

What do you do outside of school to practice your Danish?
When I was going to Lærdansk, as a student I got a Danish online language partner through one of the school’s programs called Taldansk. We talked once a week through Skype, as she lived in Copenhagen and I lived in Aarhus. That was by far the most helpful thing I did to have the courage to talk Danish with Danes. I strongly recommend it.

I also volunteered at the school and was an advocate for the program, seeing how much it brought me. Lærdansk also has a language cafe down in the basement of the school, if you want face to face conversation, and they always have volunteers happy to talk to you. More about Lærdansk opportunities here.

While I was studying for PD3, to stay motivated with doing my homework in the weekends, I formed a group called Danish and Fun. The International Community in Aarhus jumped in and helped us get a room at Dokk1 in Aarhus to hold our weekly meetings, and soon after when I couldn’t be responsible for the group anymore due to work, they took over and made it part of their programme. If anyone is from Aarhus, do go over. It’s every Sunday from 13:30 to 15:30, there’s language games, Danish volunteers, and internationals to socialize with.

You can find out more info about it here.

One cool thing I did at Lærdansk was being part of a promotional campaign for the school. Here is the picture of me appearing in an ad at a bus stop!

I also took part in a video with Lærdansk, which was after my first year learning Danish

Follow Ioana on Instagram @basedindk

The post Expat feedback – Ioana from Romania appeared first on Learn Danish.

Welcome back to the Expat Feedback interviews, which will be the last one for 2017.

This week, Carlos who goes to the same school as me, accepted to share his experience of learning Danish!
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where he shares his personal experience.

Thank you Carlos!

About you

Hi, I am Carlos, both Brazilian and Portuguese.
I moved from Mexico City to Denmark with my wife and two daughters back in May 2016, as she was transferred to the Nordic branch of her company. The first month we lived in Christianshavn and later we moved to the city centre, near Kongens Nytorv. I spent most of my professional life working as an accountant in advertising agencies both in Brazil and in Mexico, with a few years gap when I worked as a private stock trader in the Brazilan Stock Market. But since I arrived in Denmark, I took a break from my professional life, in order to dedicate myself to my daughters. But I intend to go back to my career next year.

Your school

I am attending Danish classes at Studienskolen, which is really close to my home. The registering process was quite easy, just a small test on grammar and it was done. Actually, I am on module 4.2 and apart from the 6 weeks summer break, I never stopped my studies as I want to finish them as soon as I can. As I am a stay-at-home dad, I am taking daily classes, 3 times a week. The modules were not very hard, except for this one. I am not sure if it is the module that is hard or if it is me who is loosing motivation.

Study Books

In this module, we are using the Pæredansk as a book. Lots of texts and conversation exercises in this book, quite different from the previous ones that were more focused on individual exercises and grammar. What I like in this book is that it has a lot of interesting texts about several aspects of the Danish life.

Danish practice

I rarely use what I learned at school to speak, as you know, Danes always turn to English when they notice you can’t speak very well. But the Danish lessons were quite helpful to read the newspapers, like Metro and BT, to watch Danish TV as DRTV have some really good TV shows as “Billet til kærlighed”.

But also series such as Matador (thumbs up for this one) and Denmark’s history. I am also a big fan of a Youtube channel called “WTF er det?” as they talk about curious topics in a Danish level that is not very hard to understand.

I never listen to Danish podcasts, sometimes I listen to Danish radio. I rarely listen to danish music, apart from the very famous Gulddreng.

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

My tip / suggestion to improve your Danish is: read, read, read, listen, listen, listen and talk, talk, talk. As the Danes have this bad habit to switch to English, I am now pretending that I cannot speak English, only Portuguese and a little Danish. I used it in a Café and it worked quite well!

The post Expat feedback – Carlos from Brazil/Portugal appeared first on Learn Danish.

Let’s continue on the Expat Feedback series with one of my fellow student Carina. I am very pleased to be able to share again a new expat feedback on the blog!

I have been studying Danish with Carina since Module 3.2 and like many of us, she is a very determined student to become a pro at Danish!

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Carina!

About you

Hi, my name is Carina and I am from Germany. I have been living in Denmark since January 2017.

Your school

I started Danish classes in February at VUF (Voksen Uddannelsescenter Frederiksberg). Since I already learned some basic Danish back home in Germany, I skipped module 1 and started right away with module 2.

In May I decided to change my language school, because I wanted to have more intensive and demanding classes. I started with module 3.2 in Studieskolen.

How did you find the registering process at the schools when you enrolled?
In both schools, VUF and Studieskolen, I had no problems with registering. Since I already knew some Danish, my language skills needed to be tested beforehand.

At VUF one of the secretaries talked a few basic sentences in Danish with me and then decided that I should start in module 2. I think this level was too low.  After the first day in class I asked if it was possible to switch to a more advanced class. Unfortunately, this was not possible. That is also one of the reasons, why I decided to change the language school.

At Studieskolen the Danish test seemed more professional. First, I had to write a short text in Danish and then I talked to a Danish teacher. In my opinion this system works much better to assess someone’s Danish skills and to place him or her in the right class.

Have you taken breaks?
No

If you are still studying, which module are you on now?
I am currently in Module 5.1

Day classes vs evening classes?

I attended both, day and evening classes, at Studieskolen. If you have the time to attend day classes, you should do it. There you get more practice than in the evening classes. In my opinion day classes are also more fun, because you get to know the other students better and thus there is a better group feeling in the class.

Which study books have you used at school and your experience with them?

Puls 2 (in Module 2 at VUF): The book has a lot of different exercise types and is well structured (with a grammar section at the end). But in my opinion, there were too many repetitions (regarding the topics).

Det kommer (in Module 3.2): I liked it, because it covers interesting topics and it comes with its own exercise book, which I found very useful.

Pæredansk (in Module 4): There are some topics, that were already covered in earlier modules (such as food and animals), but in this book, there is a stronger focus on new vocabulary. At the end of the book there is a short grammar section, which makes it easier to look up specific questions.

Currently we are working with a new book written by Birte Langgaard. The book is not yet published. I like it, because we get to talk about some new topics, such as health and politics.

Update from August 2018: The book has been published, it is called “Højt til loftet” (Published in 2018).

Do you think it is easy to apply your Danish (that you learned at school) in the everyday life?

At the beginning it is very hard. It happened several times to me, that I asked something in Danish and got the answer in English. This is frustrating, but it is important not to give up too quickly.

What do you do outside of school to practice your Danish?

I have language buddies that I meet regularly. These are Danish native speakers that would like to improve their German.
When we meet, we usually talk one hour in German and then one hour in Danish. This way we both get to practice the language we want to learn. I started meeting with them in February/March and I found it very useful to lose the fear of speaking Danish outside of school.

Have you watched Danish movies that you think are worth seeing for other students?

I have watched Matador, the documentary series “Historien om Danmark” and some Danish movies. Watching movies in Danish is a great practice, that I strongly recommend to all Danish students.

Historien om Danmark – Documentary on DR

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

It is very important to use Danish outside of class. Therefore, I recommend reading Danish books or newspapers, watching Danish movies and getting some Danish friends or language buddies that are patient enough to speak Danish with you even though your Danish is not perfect yet.

The post Expat feedback – Carina from Germany appeared first on Learn Danish.

Last week, my fellow student Iwona, shared her insights about learning Danish! Make sure to check out the many insightful reviews from the Expat Feedback series.

This week, Sacha whom I study with at school, accepted to share her experience of learning Danish!
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Sacha and I hope you get to find a full time job soon (in Danish of course!).

About you

Hey, I’m Sacha, a Dutch girl who has almost been living for a year in Denmark (time really flies). I moved here in October 2016, as I wanted to be with my Danish boyfriend. I graduated in August 2016 from the Research Master Social and Cultural science in the Netherlands.
I started looking for a job in the field of social science/sociology/criminology, when my Danish boyfriend asked me to move in with him and start looking for a job here, in Copenhagen.
And now here I am, still looking for a job in my field, but very happy to be in Copenhagen.

Your school

When moving to another country, it is important to learn the language. So as soon as I had my CPR, I registered for Danish classes at Studieskolen, where I started with module 1 last January. Since then, I have been going strong with learning Danish, as I have not taken any breaks at all!

What is your feedback on the modules that you attended?

A couple of weeks ago, I started module 5.1.

I’ve done all modules except for module 3.1, as I was lucky to skip that one. I think the modules are very well structured and have a good speed level. As I am from the Netherlands it was sometimes a little bit easier for me than for others.
I especially had that feeling with module 2. Therefore, my teacher enrolled me directly into module 3.2 (and so I skipped module 2.2). This was a great opportunity as it made it more challenging, but also made me more motivated. I appreciate how good the teachers are at Studieskolen, and how well they can assess the level of their students.

In module 3, I had the chance to work with a pilot book, which was really really good, but had a huge overlap with my module 4 book. This made module 4 not so exciting for me. Luckily our teacher made us watch Matador, read books, and let us listen to podcasts. That made it a good module anyway.

Day classes vs evening classes?

Since the beginning, I have been following day classes from 09:00-13:00. I’m very glad that I can study in the morning classes. As long as I don’t have a full-time job, I will continue with this. It is intensive and because you are studying Danish almost every day of the week, you basically stand up with it. I think, in this way you learn it faster. I do not have any experience with the evening classes so I am not in a position to compare it to morning classes, but I think the morning classes are the best!

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

Selvfølgelig! I have some tips to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark. In my opinion, what can help you learn a language is to watch series in the language and using Danish subtitles with English series. Furthermore, the key is dare to speak. I must admit, it took me a while to dare to speak Danish.
I would always say: “just speak Danish to me, I will understand, but I will respond in English”.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, it is better to make them than not speaking Danish at all outside of the classroom. Now I’m speaking Danish at Studieskolen, with Danish friends when I’m working in a bar, with my parents in law, etc. I am even at the point now, that my boyfriend and I speak mostly Danish at home!

The post Expat feedback – Sacha from the Netherlands appeared first on Learn Danish.

Let’s continue on the Expat Feedback series with one of my fellow student Iwona. I am very pleased to be able to share again a new expat feedback on the blog!

I have been studying Danish with Iwona since Module 3.2 and like many of us, she is a very determined student to become a pro at Danish!

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Iwona!

About you

Hej! My name is Iwona and I am from Poland. I have been living in Denmark for over 1 year now, happily married to a Dane, and sloooowly getting used to Danish weather! Frankly speaking, Scandinavian languages used to sound to me as some of the weirdest languages to learn and impossible to acquire in the whole world. But here I am: trying to do The Impossible .

Your school

I chose Studieskolen, because it was recommended to me by many. And I do not regret it.

What is your feedback on the modules that you attended?

Module 1
I was nervous, and expected the worst. After my first trip by metro I realized how different they pronounce words from what I could see on the screen. Then I had an interview at Studieskolen which is basically to check your English, I guess. It was nice and smooth but the interviewer warned me from the very beginning, that it is more difficult to learn Danish for people from Eastern Europe. This is because Slavic languages are so much different than Scandinavian ones. But don’t worry, there are so many other factors that count and I’m a living proof that “Yes, we can”.

Module 1 was grammar basics and basic vocabulary. I got the best teacher I have ever had. She greeted us every morning with a big smile and tons of new energy! We were introduced to grammar, which was explained in an approachable and simple way, we were taught basic expressions and engaged in small talk.  Everything with the same amount of unbiased attention to each one of us – perfect way of teaching!

Module 2
Grammar was broadened as well as vocabulary. We talked more or less on the same topics but in a more detailed way. We had fun doing lots of additional stuff: recording videos with interviews with Danes, makings presentations about our own countries. All of it was fun, and most importantly made us use Danish to really communicate with each other.

Module 3
I got the impression that module 3 was about expanding your vocabulary, as much as possible. Here we started using a real dictionary, Google translate is not enough. We also listened a lot. That was the point I really started to believe that I CAN understand the Danes! We were talking more and more. If you enjoy learning languages, I think this can be your “Paradise” because you get to know many new words and expressions. Grammar is expanded and more details added.

Module 4
Here it is! You really start speaking Danish now! During the classes and beyond! The classes are really relaxed and it was talking talking talking! If the grammar was introduced, it is usually as a reminder.

Day classes vs evening classes?
I think it is better to fully focus on learning the language. So if you only have such possibility, take daily classes.

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

I know both from my education and experience that for most people the most difficult part in learning a foreign language, is to start speaking it. It does demand courage and humility. For me it is hard to let myself make mistakes. But that is actually what the process of learning is all about – making mistakes.

So allow yourself to make mistakes, laugh at them and learn from them! On the other hand, make use of opportunities.
For example I would recommend pronunciation classes in Studieskolen (free of charge). It helps me to pronounce Danish sounds correctly and in this way, I am less scared to speak Danish. Studieskolen has also numerous events like movie watching or board games.
Try also to use Danish in everyday situations. Whenever people say something in English, reply in Danish.
Finally, your brain will be tricked to respond in Danish as your first choice.
Hold on, you are on the right path
Held og lykke!

The post Expat feedback – Iwona from Poland appeared first on Learn Danish.

This week I am featuring Paula, who studied with me at Studieskolen during modules 3.2 and 4.1.

Paula has shared a very insightful article with a thorough analysis, which is a great addition to the “Expat Feedback” series.
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Paula and best of luck with your move to Jylland!

About you
I am Paula. I am originally from Romania. I’ve been living in Denmark since August 2016. I am a special education teacher who has many hobbies suited to the Danish weather, such as knitting socks and shawls, reading novels, drinking tea (and beer), watching murder mysteries series, YouTubing, and taking care of two shared house cats

Your school
I started studying Danish at Studieskolen in November 2016. I completed Module 3.2 at Studieskolen and will be soon enrolling at a new language school in Jylland.

How did you find out about your language school? Why did you decide to study there?
I attended the Language school Fair at the International House in Copenhagen in September 2016. I didn’t get a good impression about Studieskolen at this fair and I had decided to sign up at another school, however upon going to that school’s website I could not find any information in English. In spite of the bad first impression, l decided to sign up a Studieskolen because I came across the school’s name on several universities’ websites in regards to Studieproven.

I contacted Studieskolen by mail for an entry interview. and had to wait one month to meet with a counselor and be assigned to a class. There was only one spot left for day classes at the time.

A few weeks ago, while I was waiting in the office, a prospective student came in to inquire about Danish classes. She was given an appointment with a counselor within two days. My suggestion would be to take the time to come into the office in order to make an in person appointment (Danish culture runs on in person contact!).

Your experience and feedback on the modules
Module 1 focuses on memorization and oral production of typical Danish phrases, such as:
Hi! How are you?
Where are you from?
When did you come here?
What do you do?
I would like to order, etc.

Module 2 expands on the Danish phrases adding a written component and a few grammar elements related to sentence structure, word order, verbs, and tenses.

Module 3 presents a more structured approach to grammar and focuses on vocabulary development.

I completed 2 weeks in Module 4.1. I quite enjoyed this level. The teacher focused on remediation and refinement of pronunciation and on vocabulary and idiomatic phrase development.

Each new module builds on the previous module. The topics repeat each module (food, vacation, work, hobbies, etc.), but your knowledge and understanding of the language expands and deepens with each iteration. It may seem boring at first, but hang in there, it’s worth it!

Day classes vs evening classes?
I attended day classes exclusively. In the beginning, the classes were really crowded (19-20 students). In later modules, although enrollment was high (16 or more)  only half of students would show up.

Students in day classes are typically unemployed people looking for jobs, stay at home moms, sometimes college students, or people who take time off from work to focus on learning Danish. It’s mainly women. Most men tend to find jobs early on and they transfer to evening classes. Be prepared to hear many interesting, exciting, and often discouraging stories about unemployment, underemployment, culture shock, etc… briefly, the challenges of being a foreigner in Denmark. Keep in mind that it is not a representative group of foreigners. There are many successful and happy foreigners living and working in Denmark, hopefully, you will join them soon!

Lastly, I understand that educational programming is regulated/mandated by the appropriate ministerial entity and that there is a common educational philosophy and approach to teaching methods and curriculum. However, I think that it would be good to have more information about teachers, materials, and classes available. It’s not fun being stuck with a teacher that is not inspiring, and it’s even worse bouncing around from class to class until you find an effective teacher. I am old school and an old timer that prefers a more structured and organized teaching style and I sometimes struggled to stay engaged during classes and as a consequence, I sometimes lacked the motivation to attend classes daily.

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips on how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark?

I would say that it depends on your learning style, personally I am predominantly a visual learner.
I started with watching English language movies with Danish subtitles and later watched Danish movies with Danish subtitles. Besides, I enjoy reading comic books such as Tintin and Peanuts in Danish. My boyfriend is Danish and he recorded some of them for me so I could listen and follow along. I also like listening to Danish music with written lyrics so I can follow/sing along.

My boyfriend and his family have been very supportive and they try to speak Danish to me as much as possible. If available, find a Danish conversation partner.

Lastly, some of the students in my class participated in weekly Danish book club. We read self-selected materials and meet once per week to discuss.

More on the bookish side, I enjoy making flash cards/vocabulary cards to learn new vocabulary. I tape new words that I want to remember in the kitchen so that I can see and read them often. There is also Quizlet an online resource where you can make your own flashcards for practice. I started a running list of regular and irregular verbs. and I also try to group irregular verbs according to their different forms. I keep hoping there is a logic to this language!

Connect with Paula on Facebook or LinkedIn

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I am very pleased to be able to share again a new expat feedback on the blog! If you have not read the expat feedback yet, have a look here at the “Expat Feedback” page.

This week, Alex from Cyprus is sharing her feedback. I have been studying Danish in Module 4.1 with her. She is very determined to learn and speak Danish!

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Alex!

About you
Hej! My name is Alex. I have been living in Denmark for a year now.
I have completed my first year as a Masters student at the University of Copenhagen.

Your school
I am learning Danish at Studieskolen.

What is your feedback on the modules that you attended?
Module 1 begins with the basics, namely the numbers, alphabet, pronouns as well as other information that is the cornerstone of Danish small talk. For example, the weather, jobs and where you live, as well as ordering at restaurants.

Get ready to build on your conversational skills in Module 2.
It introduces you to topics such as traveling, music, education, as well as other important grammar exercises, such as comparative and superlative adjectives. By the end of this module, you will be expected to be able to write an informal, page long email to a friend.

In Module 3 we worked on food, life experiences, pleasantries, hobbies, job interviews and even child rearing. Expect to be able to hold a longer and more interesting, off-script conversation by this module. Speaking becomes more spontaneous and more entertaining as your vocabulary increases! The book material in this Module was my favorite by far; it was called “Og så videre”.

In Module 4.1, we returned to topics we had previously covered, but with a richer vocabulary. We were also introduced to animals.We also were encouraged to read a lot of books provided to us by Studieskolen’s library and write page long reports on them.

Content may differ compared to what books are used by the teachers, but I assume the modules follow some basic common topics. You may even feel as if you repeat the same topics again in the different modules, which might be frustrating, but I think the point of this is to enrich your vocabulary slowly.

All the teachers I have had have tried to give us a taste of Denmark’s culture. My personal favorite is when they play some (sometimes wonderfully weird) Danish songs.

Expect to meet very interesting classmates from all over the world. Even if you get tired of the classes sometimes, for example after a long day at work, good relations with your classmates will make time go by in a more entertaining way. Attending Studieskolen is a good way to meet new friends and to strengthen your social circle in Copenhagen.

That’s as far as I have got until now, and I am looking forward to whatever remains!

Day classes vs evening classes?
In regards to the day/evening classes dilemma, I would undoubtedly suggest day classes, if one has the time. Day classes mean more time to practice and classmates who are more advanced in Danish. This is due to the fact that they of course spend more time practicing and also because many of them have Danish partners. Students in the evening classes usually work during the day and are sometimes tired by the time they come to school.

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

Speak as much Danish as possible, by surrounding yourself with Danes. However, expect to be spoken to in English, as Danes are very good at English. That means that you usually have to break the cycle and try to answer in Danish even if they speak to you in English. Slowly they will also turn to Danish.
Friends who speak fluent Danish may be hard to make. Therefore, if you have spare time on your hands, you may want to volunteer. I would recommend places such as WeFood or join sports clubs, for example KSI, which is a student organization but is also open to people outside the university, at an extra fee.

Watching television in Danish is very helpful. You can start off with Danish movies with English subtitles, then move on to simple Danish TV shows with Danish subtitles. An example is “Kære Dagbog”, where Danes read out loud from their, sometimes embarrassing and usually funny, teenage diaries.

Finally, I have found it interesting to read books in Danish that I already know the story of quite well from childhood, such as the Harry Potter series. This means I can focus on the language, as I already know the plot. But that may be for more advanced stages.

The post Expat feedback – Alex from Cyprus appeared first on Learn Danish.

Let’s continue on the “Expat feedback” series, which started with two of my fellow expat students, Maria from Greece and Emilie from France.
This time, I got feedback from another expat whom I also go to Studieskolen with, Mimi (who was born in China and grew up in Japan).
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading this post, where she shares her personal experience of learning Danish.

Thank you Mimi!

About you
My name is Mimi and I am Chinese.
I have been living in Denmark since May 2016.

Your school
I have been at Studieskolen since September 2016.

What is your feedback on the modules that you attended?
I am in currently in module 4.1.
Looking back, I actually found Module 1 was very helpful for me to have a grasp of Danish language. My teacher was at his 70 and asked us to memorize some very common/frequent short conversations by heart, and use these every day when we met. I know it sounds old-school, but I think that he planted seeds in our head before we start to question Danish grammar.
On the other hand, Module 2 was full of grammar, and provided more in-depth knowledge than module 1. It felt very familiar but with more variety of Danish expressions and vocabulary.
Module 3 – This was when the announcement in the metro/trains started to make some sense…

Day classes vs evening classes?
Luckily I am able to take morning classes. I like to absorb new information in the morning, and use them in the rest of the day.

Tips/Suggestions
Do you have any tips about how to improve your Danish while studying and being in Denmark

I try to get myself used to the language little by little everyday. It is very random but I decided to use Danish, whenever I need to count numbers. I also try to say things like “of course”, “Yes/No”, “It’s ok” etc in Danish as much as I can during the day.
I hope my brain will eventually pick Danish as the first choice to speak with the others someday.

The post Expat feedback – Mimi from China appeared first on Learn Danish.