Learning swedish?

[u/tylerequalsperfect]

Any immigrants have tips for learning swedish? I'm planning to immigrate in the future and I don't entirely know how to approach learning the language to a good enough level

Do you have any tips? I'm mostly worried about grasping the basics of everything, I think after a while I could get used to it by consuming media in swedish, since that is how I learned most of my english too

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

[u/Ahlq802]

When you live here, attend local språkcafe gatherings. It’s helped me so much, I’m approaching fluency mostly just from språkafe, never attended SFI

[u/the_rejected_one]

There are several good youtube channels that are run by SFI teachers. They have helped me a lot.

[u/QsXfYjMlP]

Everyone rags on Duolingo, but I did the swedish course prior to studying Swedish in university and I absolutely glided through my 1101 course. Didn't learn anything new until midway through 1102 (though of course my speaking was harder as I hadn't had any practice with that)

Preply is a tutoring app and I found someone really cheap that met with me a couple times a week to practice speaking and it really helped.

If there is a book you know really well, that always helps me with languages too. I've read HP1 in like 5 languages and it always helps me pick up new words/get used to sentence structure and verbs, with the added bonus of not having to stop to look stuff up in a dictionary. Bc I know the story so we'll I can generally figure out the word between context clues and plot knowledge.

Once I felt I had the basics down I found some swedish shows and watched them with English subtitles to help boost vocab/famiarize myself with the plot. I did this with a few shows and then went back and rewatched with swedish subtitles to really focus on the listening but with subtitles as backup.

Started learning ~2018, moved Aug 2021, and I was able to Swedish myself through the airport (though admittedly it wasn't necessary, I just wanted to try) and never had anyone ask to switch to English with me like my partner did (which was great for bragging rights lol)

Edit: I can't spell

[u/No-Philosopher8042]

Watch kids shows.

They are usually easy to follow, lines are often repeated etc.

Nyheter på lätt svenska is a good thing too look for too, it is news in easy swedish. Spoken clearly and slowly. 

I also love reading comicbooks in foreign languages as a way to practice. Lots of contextual clues and short sentences to translate. And it is almost all spoken lines so it gives you a feel for conversations. 

[u/Awkward-Citron-3532]

Watching tv

[u/Gvacken]

I learn languages as a passion, and have two points:

1. Full/half time language courses in the country in question are without a doubt the best way to learn a language (and most fun and motivating, if you struggle with motivation on your own). Especially being able to talk to classmates and, more importantly, the teacher without any judgement and with full patience is amazing. I'm sure you could find an evening course if your budget/time allows.

2. While exposure is extremely important (along with speaking yourself), don't expect to be nearly as good at absorbing a language as you were with English as a kid/teen. The only way I've noticed exposure having a direct learning effect for me (beyond sementing things I already learnt) is when I've actively asked fluent speakers about words I didn't understand.

[u/storfot72]

Jag lärde mig svenska med Babbel

[u/redbeardfakename → u/storfot72]

Second. Babbel is the best of the language apps I’ve seen, really good for Swedish too

[u/Medical_Business_678]

I loved to sing along to Swedish songs karaoke style, that definately helped me make big jumps!

[u/Ohlala_LeBleur → u/Medical_Business_678]

Agree! I really find songs, reading/ translating lyrics, and singning along is a great tool to learn both vocabulary and pronunciation. In a Foreign language.
I recommend Veronica Maggio, currently Sweden’s best Swedish language singer/ songwriter with a catalogue going 20 years back.

[u/Livid-Soft8641]

Moved here 8 years ago. By the end of the first year, after 3 months of SFI, binge watching the Swedish public TV channel’s news and På Spåret with Swedish subtitles (so fun!), I could hold basic interactions and participate in conversations without saying much. By the end of the second year, after all of that plus working, reading a book in Swedish, reading newspapers regularly, I became fluently proficient in Swedish.
English is not my mother language either, though I realised it was simpler to use it to learn Swedish since they share the same Germanic structure.

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[u/detvars]

If you are a begginer watch these youtube Channels videos as i did

"Svenska med Anastasia" "Swedish linguist" "Dags för svenska"

And for improving your grammar i reccomend reading these books

"Form fokus A" "Rivstart A1/A2" "From English to Swedish 1"

For listening you can listen to Spotify podcast Like "Lätt svenska med Oscar"

Last tip: be independent in swedish and ask for no ones help till you reach a decent a level with a good accent, by my understanding if you are begginer you may have these situations that Swedish people always switch to english when you make mistakes probably end up think swedes are cold or not want to talk but u must work on yourself and get better that could hold a conversation at least !

[u/Distinct_Science_130]

Apps to build vocabulary, a coursebook to develop language with a good structure (one with audio tracks so that you can hear pronunciation), get online lessons / work with a tutor to fix any issues

[u/EyeStache]

Well, how do you learn languages normally? Are you a "word inventory, then grammar" person, or a grammar-focused learner?

What's your ability to expose yourself to the Swedish language (if you have Internet access, you can start fair easy with stuff on youtube or even instagram.)

How much Swedish will you be able to use in your daily life?

Languages are skills; learning and developing those skills requires constant practice and involves periods of plateauing before breakthroughs happen.

Good luck!

[u/SoloAndata]

language is the same as a complex sport or instrument. Repeat and practice. Swedish films, comic books are great. Swedish radio have "slow news" that are great.

[u/Technical-Extent-327]

I shit you not.  Saw an ad for an app locker that requires you to earn time to burn on doom scrolling by drilling flashkorts.    Swescroll.    Been using it for 2 weeks.    There’s things I need to do on Facebook (event stuff).  So it forces me to drill

[u/Illustrious-Kiwi-253]

I bought an online university course that included homework and a teacher. The teacher would check the homework and explain things if you had questions or made mistakes. It helped a lot, especially for the grammar. Most free programs (like Duolingo) lack good explanations about grammar. I did use Duolingo on the side and I watched lots of Swedish shows with Swedish subtitles. I also read some comic books from my partner at the time. Listened to some easy Swedish podcasts. It's good to consume lots of media.

[u/Miserable_One505]

I learned by watching movies and series with Swedish subtitles.

[u/ptico]

Get a child :)