Comments on: How to Teach Yourself Norwegian

By: Rayke

Rayke — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 12:39:42 +0000

Hi, thank you a lot for the advice!

I’m looking for an easy but good way to learn Norway. I’m interested in fictional books such as ‘the Mystery of Nils’, but I don’t really know if this book is a good manner to learn basic Norwegian. I already know the basic things like the pronunciation, grammar, and a few words, but it’s mostly my Norwegian vocabulary I want to extend. Do you recommend this book in my case?

Thank you!

By: Cavendish

Cavendish — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 21:34:16 +0000

How to pronounce the R easily? That issue has blocked me for years…

By: Tc

Tc — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 03:51:05 +0000

What was said about Duolingo and the speaking out loud was not correct. You can speak with the mobile app as well during exercises. You don’t need the web version to do that. The app has exercises where you click the microphone icon and speak. It checks your pronunciation accordingly.

By: Lorena

Lorena — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 18:57:22 +0000

I’ve been listening to podcasts by karense, they are on spotify and she also has a youtube channel and it has help a lot, but the best it’s to talk as much as you csn and practice the language, see tv shows, listen to the radio etc

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 18:45:30 +0000

I appreciate this post very much. As an American who’s recently moved to Norway, learning Norwegian is a major priority. I am about to begin some Norwegian classes that the government has decided I’m entitled to for free, however I’ve been trying to get a head start. Given that the form I was received states that as a foreigner who doesn’t speak Norwegian, I’m entitled to free Norwegian classes was written entirely in Norwegian, I’m not too sure of the quality of these classes. However, I have found duolingo and will definitely be looking into Norwegian on the Web, as well as The Mystery of Nils. I intend to start working as soon as possible and taking courses for a higher education as well, so the sooner I can master the language, the better.

By: Linda Tiffany

Linda Tiffany — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:56:15 +0000

Thank you so much for this! I have been trying to learn the language with Memrise and a couple of CDs and books from my local library. These resources you mention are very helpful. I’m hoping to move to Norway someday and I want to have a good grasp of the language. I am also from the US, I live in Maine. Not a lot of Norwegian language or culture here in the Northeast, so I appreciate any help I can get. I look forward to reading your blog as well!

By: Kelsey Barnhill

Kelsey Barnhill — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 18:04:30 +0000

In reply to KJasperson. I haven't tried Byki. Glad it worked for you!

By: Kelsey Barnhill

Kelsey Barnhill — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 18:02:56 +0000

In reply to Pete Story. That's great to hear! I hope to advance to more challenging books soon. Glad I'm not the only one who does this!

By: KJasperson

KJasperson — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 13:28:19 +0000

I used Byki for a while and I loved it. Was very simple but thorough.

By: Pete Story

Pete Story — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 21:32:07 +0000

Useful tips, Kelsey. I agree 100% with your childrens’ books approach which I used myself when I moved to Norway and again in Italy. I would add that, as I moved up to books for older children and further, I chose works translated from my native English, which I believe kept the language simpler (especially for Italian, which a native author can make quite complex!) I also tried to keep to books where full understanding was not critical – simple “action” stories, for example. In this way I could simply skip words and go for the general impression, rather than laboriously looking everything up. Words and especially phrases just sank in slowly, and my reading tended towards enjoyment rather than a boring task.