Language Builds Bridges
Hej! I am very excited to finally be able to tell you what I have been working hard at for the past month. I have been creating a new course for you guys that will be opening very soon! If you have read my emails the previous week, you have probably noticed that I am on a … Read moreNew online course coming up!
In this blog post, I wanted to talk a little bit more in detail about what prepositions and time expressions actually are. This follows on from the last text about why prepositions are so difficult to learn (if you haven’t read it, you can find it here). Prepositions are a word category You probably know this … Read moreWhat are prepositions and time expressions?
Should I use ‘i’ or ‘på’ with days of the week? Am I sitting ‘i’ or ‘på’ the sofa? If you have ever asked yourself these types of questions, you are like most other Swedish learners. 🙂 When asking students what they struggle most with in terms of their Swedish, almost everyone says the same … Read moreWhy are prepositions so hard to learn?
Happy Valborg! Valborg is the name of the 30th of April in Sweden. In Sweden, this is celebrated by lighting bonfires (majbrasor) all around the country in the evening, and people gather to watch the bonfires. Some places have fireworks (fyrverkerier). Once the bonfire is lit, it is traditional for a men’s choir (manskör) to … Read moreIt’s Valborg today!
One thing that many learners find difficult is to set up realistic language learning goals. When we ask what our students’ goals are, many learners say things like “get better at Swedish”, “become fluent in Swedish”, or “being able to speak Swedish”. While these goals are understandable, they are problematic. Learn how to set realistic, smart language goals and download our free Goal Setter.
During March, we’ll be running a short video series on Youtube about language learning. The series contains of short personal stories about some of the aspects of learning a language. The first video will be out on Youtube this Friday on our channel swedishmadeeasy, and we will post a new video every Friday throughout March.
This Sunday is the day of the annual cross country ski race held in Dalarna, Vasaloppet. The main race is 90 kilometers (56 miles), starting in Sälen and finishing in Mora. It is apparently the oldest cross country ski race in the world.
Free mini course: Swedish letters Å Ä Ö Hej! Would you like to learn or improve how you say those last 3 confusing letters in the Swedish alphabet – Å, Ä and Ö? Would you like to hear how they are being pronounced, and get tips and tricks on how to say them? When you … Read moreSwedish vowels – Å, Ä, Ö
The summer 2018, I was asked to take part in the BBC TV-series Twinstitute as a Swedish teacher. The episode (airing 6th of February 2019 on BBC Two) tested the best way to learn a language by comparing having lessons with a teacher and self-studying. My two students, Tina and Des, studied Swedish with me every evening via Skype for about 4 weeks. Tina and Des had never studied Swedish before, and did not know a single word before they started. It was a lot of fun!
If you find the verbs tycka, tro and tänka difficult to remember, you are NOT alone. The English word think corresponds to three Swedish verbs: tycka, tänka, and tro, something that likely causes confusion for non-native speakers. It can be tricky because the translation of the verbs can sometimes overlap each other. However, it’s not as complex as it might sound, but takes time and practice to get used to. In this post, we will look at when and how to use these words. At the end of this post, we also have a free Cheat Sheet that you can download and keep somewhere handy to remind yourself.