| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Learning Swedish Thread poster: Sergio Paris
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Sergio Paris 
Italy
Local time: 15:35
German to Italian
+ ...
Dear all,
for some time I've been thinking about studying Swedish on my own. I don't have any particular purpose and I don't even aim at working with this language one day. I just love it, its melody, its sound. I'd like to travel to Sweden one day, who knows? I've already been to Norway...simply fantastic. I’m an Italian native speaker and my working languages are German and English, so let's say I'm quite acquainted with Germanic languages in general, even if I'm perfectly aware... See more Dear all,
for some time I've been thinking about studying Swedish on my own. I don't have any particular purpose and I don't even aim at working with this language one day. I just love it, its melody, its sound. I'd like to travel to Sweden one day, who knows? I've already been to Norway...simply fantastic. I’m an Italian native speaker and my working languages are German and English, so let's say I'm quite acquainted with Germanic languages in general, even if I'm perfectly aware that any single language has its own peculiarities. Can you just recommend any good learning material for this language? On the web I've always heard about “Assimil” and “Rosetta Stone”. Well, they're quite expensive but I guess they're useful and well structured, aren't they? I' d really appreciate any kind of suggestion.
Thank you in advance !!!
Sergio
[Edited at 2010-11-26 17:45 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I highly recommend Rosetta Stone. | Nov 26, 2010 |
I worked for the company for a short time, and before I started they asked me to try out a language which was new to me. I chose Greek, and it was a really excellent and thoroughly enjoyable product. It replicates the way children learn language, which is by gently bombarding you with unfamiliar words and showing you pictures at the same time. It's expensive, as you say, and you need to be quite highly motivated to stick at it, but if you're going the self-teaching route it's very good.
... See more I worked for the company for a short time, and before I started they asked me to try out a language which was new to me. I chose Greek, and it was a really excellent and thoroughly enjoyable product. It replicates the way children learn language, which is by gently bombarding you with unfamiliar words and showing you pictures at the same time. It's expensive, as you say, and you need to be quite highly motivated to stick at it, but if you're going the self-teaching route it's very good.
I did Swedish for a year at evening classes, and enjoyed that very much too. One big motivating factor was that the teacher was an extremely goodlooking Swedish woman! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Try something cheaper | Nov 26, 2010 |
Even though I never learned Swedish, nor did I use Rosetta stone, I think I have enough language learning experience to give an advice.
Language learning need not cost a fortune. "Teach yourself" and "Colloquial" series are reasonably priced and have a good reputation, which, in my opinion, they deserve.
I have used "Teach Yourself Brazilian Portuguese", "Teach Yourself Italian", "Teach Yourself Hindi", as well as "Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil", and I love them al... See more Even though I never learned Swedish, nor did I use Rosetta stone, I think I have enough language learning experience to give an advice.
Language learning need not cost a fortune. "Teach yourself" and "Colloquial" series are reasonably priced and have a good reputation, which, in my opinion, they deserve.
I have used "Teach Yourself Brazilian Portuguese", "Teach Yourself Italian", "Teach Yourself Hindi", as well as "Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil", and I love them all.
I don't know how good are public libraries in Italy. The beauty of living in Los Angeles is that you can find language learning materials in the library for free for most major languages (Swedish included). I rarely spend any money on my language-learning hobby (otherwise, it would become a very expensive hobby, even if I don't get Rosetta stone!)
Good luck in you language learning. I have no doubt you will succeed in this, and it will make your life better. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Andrea Piu
Italy
Local time: 15:35
English to Italian
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| FSI Language Courses website | Nov 26, 2010 |
Have a look here: http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Swedish
The site has tons of courses, along with audio, exercises, etc. It is probably a bit outdated, as this kind of courses were used by American diplomats and military in the 60s and 70s, but I think it is a valid resource. Moreover, it is all free of charge and in public domain.
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http://www.livemocha.com/pages/about
Livemocha is a neat, FREE language learning site that has some similarities with Proz.com in that it matches natural speakers of any language for a free, mutual learning experience. Points are allotted for studying, but also for teaching, i.e., correcting assignments written by other learners. Each language is divided into courses (various levels), un... See more http://www.livemocha.com/pages/about
Livemocha is a neat, FREE language learning site that has some similarities with Proz.com in that it matches natural speakers of any language for a free, mutual learning experience. Points are allotted for studying, but also for teaching, i.e., correcting assignments written by other learners. Each language is divided into courses (various levels), units, and lessons. Each lesson, in turn, is divided into four types of activities: learning, reviewing, writing, and speaking.
After you submit your work in the writing or speaking sections, you're presented with another learner's work to be corrected in your own language.
Livemocha puts in you touch with native speakers who correct your written and spoken submissions. You can also text chat, audio chat, and video chat. (There are many tutors, and after some time you will have figured out the ones you feel most comfortable with).
I used to be fluent in Russian (and Serbo-Croat, and had a fairly good command of Polish), but since my relocation to Canada some 26 years ago I simply lost touch with the Slavic languages; I would often wistfully recall the fun times I used to have, reading Russian literature, chatting with my Serbian friends... Then I found Livemocha! I signed up for a course in Serbo-Croat to brush up my skills and was amazed how much of that dormant knowledge was reactivated within just one week! To “give back”, I am tutoring German language learners.
Give it a try and see if you like it!
Cheers,
johanna ▲ Collapse
| | | | JaneD
Sweden
Local time: 15:35
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
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| Practice material recommendation | Nov 27, 2010 |
Dear Sergio,
I learned Swedish myself a few years back, and it's is quite a nice language to learn in some ways; the grammar is relatively simple and the word order is very like English, for example, which made it easy for me. But to get the vocabulary to stick can be hard.
I found that the only way I could get beyond the basics was to read fiction, and start to make connections between the words in that way, so I began with a children's book in one hand and a dictio... See more Dear Sergio,
I learned Swedish myself a few years back, and it's is quite a nice language to learn in some ways; the grammar is relatively simple and the word order is very like English, for example, which made it easy for me. But to get the vocabulary to stick can be hard.
I found that the only way I could get beyond the basics was to read fiction, and start to make connections between the words in that way, so I began with a children's book in one hand and a dictionary in the other. It's a great way to learn a language, because it gives you complete justification for reading all sorts of exciting kid's books!
I can highly recommend two series. These will both be a bit advanced for you to start with, but if you buy them after a few weeks' practice with the grammar you will understand bits, and you can work out a lot of the story from the pictures - just like children do.
1. The LasseMaja detective series by Martin Widmark (Lasse-Majas detektivbyrå). 6-9 years.
2. The Findus and Petsson series, written and wonderfully illustrated by Sven Nordqvist. 3-6 years.
These are my favourite! Findus is a cat, and Petsson is his elderly Swedish owner, and they have a lot of very funny adventures in the Swedish countryside. You can get these on CD books as well, and it's really good practice to listen to the CDs and read the books at the same time (you won't be able to follow a word to begin with!) Only one word of warning - if you have kids yourself, you will have to fight them for the books as the illustrations are so great.
Wishing you luck with it!
Jane ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sergio Paris
Italy
Local time: 15:35
German to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I thank you all very much for the useful suggestions !!! Have a nice weekend !!!
Sergio
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Why not move to Sweden?
As an immigrant you will probably be eligible for free classes - 'Swedish for immigrants'.
Janed's advice about reading Petsson and Findus is excellent. When my oldest grandchildren were young they suggested those books for bedtime reading, 'Because granddad likes them!'
I arrived in Sweden fifty years ago, on holiday. Still enjoying it.
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Sergio Paris
Italy
Local time: 15:35
German to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | That would be great | Dec 4, 2010 |
George Hopkins wrote:
Why not move to Sweden?
As an immigrant you will probably be eligible for free classes - 'Swedish for immigrants'.
Janed's advice about reading Petsson and Findus is excellent. When my oldest grandchildren were young they suggested those books for bedtime reading, 'Because granddad likes them!'
I arrived in Sweden fifty years ago, on holiday. Still enjoying it.
...but I can't afford it now. Who knows? Maybe in the future. The best way to learn a language is just living it in the country where it is spoken.
Have a nice weekend
Sergio
| | | | | Swedish is a great choice! | Jun 2, 2011 |
Tjänare Sergio and all of you eager to learn Scandinavian Languages!
I think Swedish is a great language to choose for a bunch of reasons. 1st: it has a beautiful melody (I agree with you); 2nd Ingmar Bergman's movies are best to watch in original and understand what the characters are talking about; 3rd - Swedish will be a (very !) easy language to learn if you know German and English + you can easily switch to Norwegian and even Danish after you master Swedish.
I m... See more Tjänare Sergio and all of you eager to learn Scandinavian Languages!
I think Swedish is a great language to choose for a bunch of reasons. 1st: it has a beautiful melody (I agree with you); 2nd Ingmar Bergman's movies are best to watch in original and understand what the characters are talking about; 3rd - Swedish will be a (very !) easy language to learn if you know German and English + you can easily switch to Norwegian and even Danish after you master Swedish.
I myself learn Swedish at the moment and would love to share wit my "swedish inspiration" that I found on this site - http://speakswedishstupid.com/ where you can download a free eBook and sing up for an effective inspiring program Find Your Flow in Swedish.
If you have any doubts you can check this guy out on youtube on his channel SpeakSwedishStupid -http://www.youtube.com/user/SpeakSwedishStupid
He has quite creative approach to learn Swedish and is pretty encouraging, inspiring and effective!
I hope you will enjoy his course!
Lycka till! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sergio Paris
Italy
Local time: 15:35
German to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you very much... | Jun 4, 2011 |
for this useful suggestion!!!
Best regards
Sergio
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SummerChaser wrote:
Tjänare Sergio
Not sure about SummerChaser's recommendation as he started by referring to you as his servant (tjänare) rather than saying "hi" using Stockholm specific slang (tjenare).
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| After you know the basics | Jun 5, 2011 |
Hi Sergio!
I've studied Swedish at University, for about two years (no literature), so I had its grammar explained to me by teachers and was motivated by the exams. I graduated two years ago, and in the meanwhile I tried to keep my Swedish up to date on my own with a few tools:
- iTunes podcasts: they're free, high quality, and interesting. If you search for the ones by "SVT", their main TV channel, you'll find plenty of real Swedish video and audio podcasts to hear rea... See more Hi Sergio!
I've studied Swedish at University, for about two years (no literature), so I had its grammar explained to me by teachers and was motivated by the exams. I graduated two years ago, and in the meanwhile I tried to keep my Swedish up to date on my own with a few tools:
- iTunes podcasts: they're free, high quality, and interesting. If you search for the ones by "SVT", their main TV channel, you'll find plenty of real Swedish video and audio podcasts to hear real, correct Swedish. It's a bit complicated to understand the spoken language, but even just playing these in the background without paying much attention might help you get the sound of the language. You need to listen to them every day though, especially if you never took lessons!
There are language-related podcasts, too, and a great radio programme: Klartext, news in simple, slow Swedish. That's a must-have
- If you have a good Internet connection: play the Swedish web radio at home as much as you can. I have a slow Internet Key now, so I haven't tried this in a while.
- Find books you like, in Swedish. My favourite book of all times is by Astrid Lindgren, and I know the Italian version by heart, so when I was at Uni I bought the original version online. It's great because I can learn new words just by reading the Swedish text, without even looking at the dictionary, because I already know how that translates into Italian.
- A very useful tip if you begin from scratch: buy comics in Swedish! It's really useful, because you won't get bored as the pictures help you understand the story, and the pictures themselves help you learn words fast. In a comic, the character will say: "Look, he's sleeping!" while pointing at a sleeping figure, and that's it: you know what it means without having to open a dictionary.
I always buy my Swedish books at Bokus.se, they have great prices and fast shipping. Plus, the comics are really unexpensive: I usually buy "Kalle Ankas pocket" (= Donald Duck's Pocket) which are about 250 pages each and cost from 2 to 5 euros each. I have four and they make great reading
- Find Swedish blogs or websites about your passions. They must have no English equivalent, because you need to be motivated to go just there! So, no Swedish versions of multi-language websites - just genuine Swedish. Blogs are ideal: I follow two English blogs by Swedish girls (with Swedish words sometimes, and I read their Swedish twits from there), and a very simple Swedish blog.
That's what I've been doing right now. Plus, you can use Internet language sites to find a Swedish speaking person who wants to learn Italian, and do an exchange over Skype and e-mail (30 minutes in Swedish, 30 in Italian, and you correct each other). It's a bit time consuming to find someone that suits you, and it might just stop after a couple of mails, especially if you work full-time.
I read somewhere that a great tip is to buy a book + its audio book, and to read it while playing the audio. I still have to try this; I will probably buy the same Astrid Lindgren book from Bokus.se.
Last tip: one thing that worked for me was studying German Philology at Uni. If you didn't, try to get a book, it will be worth it! You will be able to make connections between Swedish, English and any other German language you might know, thus finding a reason behind those rules that most students just learn by heart. If you can put a language into more general patterns, it will be easier and quicker to learn, and more difficult to forget.
Oh and try to visit Sweden even just for a weekend It will be worth it! ▲ Collapse
| | | | IrimiConsulting
Sweden
Local time: 15:35
Member (2010)
English to Swedish
+ ...
| Nice to know about Swedish learners out there | Jun 5, 2011 |
So many nice things to read about Swedish! As a native speaker I don't think often about it.
I'm not a teacher, just a native speaker so I can't give you too many learning tips -- but feel free to send me a PM for specific questions about the Swedish language. I'll do my best to answer.
| | | | | Try finding Swedish people on Busuu | Jun 5, 2011 |
On the Open language Programme at Londonmet, we recommend and train our students to use Busuu (http://www.busuu.com) even for languages not taught on it.
It is pedagogically far superior to Rosetta Stone or Live Mocha and has the very prestigious European Label for languages...
As you learn from whatever other sources, go and find Swedish people to speak with - and swap language learning practice!
... See more On the Open language Programme at Londonmet, we recommend and train our students to use Busuu (http://www.busuu.com) even for languages not taught on it.
It is pedagogically far superior to Rosetta Stone or Live Mocha and has the very prestigious European Label for languages...
As you learn from whatever other sources, go and find Swedish people to speak with - and swap language learning practice!
Good luck ▲ Collapse
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