Turn half of your lunch break into your personal classroom – learn Swedish with me via Skype, and spare yourself the evening trip to the language course. 30 minutes of communication, tips and pointers goes a long way when it comes to becoming a part of Sweden.
E-mail me for details. Tell me a little bit about why you are learning / want to learn Swedish, where you are from and where you currently live. Start studying Swedish with support.
https://learnswedish.globatris.se/swedish-lessons/
Did you know the moon is actually made of ice cream? At least in this Swedish story about Krakel Spektakel by Lennart Hellsing; Glassmånen (the ice cream moon). Listen to this 5 minute tale to practice understanding Swedish. If you are a beginner don’t worry about understanding or not; simply listen to the rhythm of the language as well as the stress and intonation of it (the prosody). This will help you get acquainted with the Swedish language.
Practice listening to Swedish!
glass = ice cream
en måne = a moon
ett moln = a cloud
note: måndag means Monday. However in this text the author is playing with words and måndag in the story refers to “moonday” – the day of the Moon. Pronunciation is different from the day of the week “måndag”. Listen to pronunciation here.
If you are learning Swedish a dictionary is a must. Online or as a book. However I suggest that you also try to get used to a thesaurus. The thesaurus will provide “explanations” by listing a few synonyms in – in this case – Swedish. Sometimes you will find antonyms too. No translations; immersion in Swedish language; a great way to expand the vocabulary.
If you know Swedish already you need one too :). We are never fully educated.
You can use Svenska Akademiens Ordlista – the link takes you to its online Swedish thesaurus. It also comes as a book, of course. With the help of this Swedish thesaurus you also conveniently check spelling, whether it is “en” or “ett“, conjugations of verbs, inflection and declension. And here is the good news – it comes as an app. A free one. Gratis! (means “free”) Grattis! (means “congratulations”). Links at bottom of post. It is far more lighter to carry around in your pocket than the real thing. Promise.
A few pictures to illustrate how it operates.
Svenska Akademiens Ordlista iTunes
Svenska Akademiens Ordlista Google Play
Thinking about taking a Swedish class? Don’t worry if you haven’t yet mastered such delicate planning skills as presented in the photo below. There is still time to sign up for individual Swedish classes, via Skype. Just drop me an email at charlotta@globatris.se
Since my classes are individual you decide when to start and how often you would like to have them.
Planning ahead for spring glory! Photo taken in Gothenburg Botanical Garden
New year, new challenges! Some people plan way ahead, some don’t. Perhaps this is the year you are going to treat yourself to learning something new, or to kick things up a notch when it comes to something you have basic knowledge in. There is just something so fulfilling to acquiring new knowledge. It can be small or it can be big, but it usually opens up new doors and worlds!
I for one have signed up for tennis lessons starting this week. Yes I can play tennis, but I want to get better at it, and to have more fun playing it. I am looking forward to have a personal trainer to surprise me with exercises I never would have thought of on my own; to provide tips and tricks to make learning and playing fun; to challenge and correct me, and to suggest enhancements and areas of improvement. Not to mention just the actual playing! I am sure this will raise my confidence when playing with others, and also make it happen on a frequent basis!
What about your Swedish language? Are you currently learning or hoping to start soon? Do you have a plan for the first half of 2014 set up already? Perhaps you are already in a program but don’t really feel you are learning the right things. Speaking – or using the language – for instance. Look again at the paragraph above describing my tennis lessons. Now think of it as a private Swedish language class, via Skype! This is what I am providing! Contact me at charlotta@globatris.se if you would like to know more. You can also read on here – Swedish lessons via Skype
Interested in learning what others think? Check out the testimonials!
You have probably heard of Lucia; the Queen of Light who brightens the dark morning of December 13 in Sweden. Even if the 13th this year coincides with a Friday, “dark” refers only to the lack of light.
In short the Lucia tradition consists of a procession with a Lucia up front, followed by handmaidens (tärnor), star boys (stjärngossar), brownies and elves (pepparkaksgubbar och tomtenissar). All but the brownies and elves wear white gowns. Lucia wears a light crown/wreath whereas the handmaidens each carry a candle. Lights are normally battery operated. There is beautiful singing. Either it really is, or you are a parent. These Lucia processions can be enjoyed at every preschool and school, and sometimes even at workplaces. Most towns have an official Lucia procession visiting hospitals and elderly, malls and libraries. There is also a national broadcast.
Being an “outsider” to this enchanting Swedish tradition, what you may not have heard of are the small battles leading up to this event.
What can I say; I love traditions. I am so glad that we have Lucia!
Now I just need to schedule the baking of the saffron buns I was appointed to do for 80 parents, grandparents and kids celebrating in one of my children’s classes. Right; the celebration which I will only attend for a short while – remember the double booking?
Want to learn more?
Another Lucia battle – comedian Robert Gustafsson
The Lucia song “Sankta Lucia”
More words to learn:
ett luciatåg – a Lucia procession
ett tåg – a train; a procession; a rope
ett luciafirande – a Lucia celebration
att fira – to celebrate; to lower
lusse – slang for Lucia
en lussebulle = en saffransbulle – a saffron bun
att lussa – to walk in a Lucia procession, singing and spreading the joy of Lucia to people
Gingerbread Day
December 9 is apparently Gingerbread Day in Sweden. As I’ve said before – keeping track of all days in Sweden dedicated to Swedish pastries, cakes and cookies is probably a full time job. At least if you’re supposed to keep up with the baking yourself. Luckily there are bakeries and supermarkets more than eager to profit from these appointed days. In fact, they are part of the industry coming up with the days in the first place.
Well, I must say I thought all days in December were Gingerbread Days. At least when it comes to eating them.
essential vocabulary of the day:
en pepparkaka – a gingerbread biscuit
med kristyr – with icing (icing that hardens)
utan – without
even more essential:
många pepparkakor – lots of gingerbread biscuits
mums – yum, yummy
Photo shows result from multicultural gingerbread project last year. Kids and moms in my international network had fun while decorating for local exhibition at the library.
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The Swedish TV show “Så mycket bättre” (So much better) gathers Swedish musicians/artists and have them interpreting each other’s songs. The most interesting combinations usually occur when artists of totally different genres and musical eras are mixed.
Here is an example; rap artist Ken Ring remakes iconic Lill Lindfors. Swedish music, in Swedish.
Check the lyrics via Tunewiki.
“slå klackarna i taket” in Swedish means to have fun, to party.
Did you know that September the 26th is European Day of Languages?
To celebrate I am giving away one set of 2 Swedish Conversation Classes via Skype!
Learning another language is an excellent way to achieve a greater understanding of cultures that are not yet (fully) familiar to us. So, we do not only understand each other better in terms of the languages we are speaking but also because we develop our cultural competence. The Council of Europe wants to promote multilingualism, and on its initiative the European Day of Languages are celebrated on Sept 26th every year.
A Swedish Conversation Class is perfect for you who might know at least a little bit of Swedish/have studied Swedish 😉 but are not really used to speaking the language. It also suits you if you do speak some Swedish but want to work on vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and fluency.
All you need to do to enter the giveaway for a chance to win Swedish Conversation Classes is to
One winner will be selected, at random. If you are the winner you will be contacted via the information you have provided in the comments (e-mail, Twitter, Facebook etc.). Together we will then schedule the lessons, which must have been taken by end of Nov 2013.
Giveaway open for entries until Oct 3, 2013.
Read more on Swedish classes here
Only one entry per person. Lessons cannot be substituted for money.
You can read more about the European Day of Languages here.
Well – test it in this quiz app! Quite advanced level, but you can always learn from it! Try the version without time limit first.
Great quiz for native speaking Swedes too 😉 – race against time!
I find this app from Norstedts highly user friendly. Avoid competing against time if you feel the infamous stress! I usually recommend this app to my Swedish students, for fun and for learning.
