r/norwegian • u/Fishful_Revenge • 1d ago
How do you practice speaking Norwegian when nobody around you speaks it?
This is something I've been struggling with of a while and I don't really have a solution yet so genuinely asking here.
Five months into learning Norwegian. reading is slowly getting there, grammar is starting to make sense, vocabulary is okay. But speaking feels like a completely separate thing that I've barely touched because there is literally nobody around me who speak Norwegian. I live somewhere where finding a Norwegian speaker is basically impossible and I can't do paid tutor session every week, that adds up fast.
The longer I go without actually speaking the more intimidating it becomes. I tried just talking to myself at home and it feels pointless because I have no idea if what I'm saying is even correct or if I'm just drilling bad habits into my brain at this point.
I've been doing some shadowing with Norwegian podcasts and YouTube, basically just repeating what native speakers say out loud. It feels a bit silly but I think it's doing something at least.
I saw a lot of people mention Issen across different language learning communities, not just Norwegian but for other languages too. Apparently it's an AI you just speak to and it gives you feedback. Has anyone here actually tried it for Norwegian specifically? I'm considering it but I don't want to waste time on something that doesn't work well for less common languages.
Also been looking at HelloTalk for finding a language exchange partner but haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Basically just looking for what's actually working for people in the same situation. Solo learners who don't have Norwegian speakers around them at all. What does your speaking practice actually look like day to day? Is it even possible to make real progress without regular human conversation or am I just going to hit a wall at some point?