Language Builds Bridges
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.
Is Swedish hard to learn?
Well, it depends, of course. It depends on what your native language is, and whether it is close to Swedish. So for example, if your native language is German, then Swedish will be quite easy to learn. It also depends on the complexity of the language. For an English speaker, Swedish is not that complex, compared to many other languages. Compared to English, the pronunciation may be a bit of a challenge. In this blog post, you’ll get links to pronunciation videos and also an interesting infographics showing the hardest languages to learn and how Swedish compares.
When we talk about the process of language learning with our learners, we often refer to the concept of a plate spinner. We use this metaphor because we think it captures very well the process of language learning.
“All I want for Christmas is you!” When you are learning Swedish, chances are that the course books include everyday language that is very helpful for getting by in Sweden in general. However, you will probably not find intimate and sexy phrases in these types of books. Here are 44 phrases that you can use when getting to know someone, either face-to-face or via a dating app. So let’s get festive and romantic with some useful Swedish phrases for these situations!