Finding your Material for learning swedish

Good Day.

First of all i need to say that this article deals with language learning in general, but I used swedish as an example. At the end there will be swedish material, but you can transpose those tips into every other language you are interested in!

So you did just start learning swedish? Or any other language? So did you came across the point where it is hard to find any helpful material? You are not alone! I Had the same issues at the beginning of my studies. But to help you avoiding that step, I am writing this little guide.



If you type the words: "learning swedish", or "swedish beginner course", or "easy swedish" into google, you may come across with many videos or Blogs saying:

".. Names of common fruit." .. "10 Ways to say "Hello"." .." Names of the colors." .. "Names of Animals."

But take a minute and ask yourself: "How often (say within the last two days) did I name any Animal, any fruit, any color in my native language?" Maybe the answer is: "ehhh... maybe 3 times... maybe less." Maybe you asked your Father for giving you a banana out of the fruit basket, maybe you pointed at a cool red car. But you did not necessarily need those phrases. So why do some people make such videos? - The Answer is: I do not know.

You may learn those words. You may learn that the swedish word for Strawberry is "Jordgubbe". But you will not need this kind of information. Also there is no need for knowing how to say "Hello" in ten different ways. When i speak to my family and my friends here in Germany, I use about two or three different greetings. You can use your time more efficiently.

So what I want to say at this point is: do not get stuck there. Let me help you.

I give you a few examples what material you can use intead.

• There Are dozends of newspapers in your target language. For example for swedish there is: www.sverigesradio.se (You can switch the language to "Lätt Svenska (easy swedish)")
• There Are Tv-Shows for children! Just make sure they have got subtitles. For example for swedish:
  www.svtplay.se/pippi-langstrump
• There is Music available on Youtube! This one is very useful, because normally songs are sung slower than normal speach, and there exist lyrics which you can use!
• Search for target language VLogs. I will come to that point later.
• Search for Podcasts. Use podcasts dealing with topics you like. (Sports, Music, Science). For example for swedish: Fulkultur (Videospiele, Filme und Co.)

But now you may think: "Well. But I would not understand a word!!"

You are totally right! But that does not matter. You will get used to the sound of the language. As the Baby does while playing!

First you need the audio material. It is completely unnecessary how hard to understand the material is, as long as it is interesting and exciting to you! You like sports? Then listen to a swedish sports radio. You like rock music? Go and listen to Sabaton and Raubtier! Choose audio material that excites you! Because if the topic interests you, you are more likely to want to know what it is about in detail! And if you need the information, words and phrases about that topic, they will come to you as if you were a magnet.

Second: you listen to that material as much as possible, even when its quite soft, just a backround sound. Comparable to a baby sitting on the carpet playing while its parents are talking in the background. I did it like so: 10 Minutes in the Bus on my way to school, in the lunch break 10 Minutes, when driving home, when doing homework, when washing vegetables in the kitchen, when sitting on the toilet, when toothbrushing, when tidying up the flat. Or when you are writing small articles for your blog!
You have got so much time left!! Use it!

So That is what I would do in the first days. Just collect as much of that material as you can find! But most important: Choose the ones you like!

While doing so, you have got several options on how to continue.
You can either choose a textbook that interests you, examples below, you can use a website like Lingq or Duolingo, you can spend money on a course in your city or online at Italki or what ever you want. But that will be a seperate article.

I am going to publish as many ressources for learning the swedish language in a side of this blog.
You can find it: here.

"I always do that, get into something and see how far I can go."

- Richard Feynman

Thank you for reading, Alex.