An Advice To Someone Who Wants To Meet Swedes To Talk To

Hi, it is nice to be posting here again today. For me, sharing is learning, and I try to learn and do something about my studies even on a Sunday. For my exercise, I am supposed to write an essay about a topic. This time it is about giving an advice to someone who wants to meet Swedes to talk to. What I wrote here is about people mostly living already in Sweden. If you are outside of the country, there are only two ways my advice can go out to you: go to Sweden (err, that is kind of a given haha) or go to sites like Livemocha.com where other people converse and interact with each other to learn about different languages. So, my essay is in Swedish. If you need translation, one can use Google Translate. If they are unable to suffice, you are always free to leave a comment :)

Ge Ett Råd Till Någon som Vill Träffa Svenskar Att Prata Med

Om man vill träffa och prata med vem som helst, man måste inte vara blyg till att börja med. Ett sätt att träffa svenskar är på nätet. Antingen genom facebook eller svenska dejtingsajter, kan människor prata varandra. Andra sätt, SFI Komvux har en kurs med Medborgarskolan. Elever pratar med en svensk person och berätta om många saker. Jag tror att man kan registrera sig själv med kursen så man kan bli bättre att prata svenska. De har kanske engelska kurser också.

Sist men inte minst: man bör kunna tala svenska innan man pratar med svenskar so ni kan förstå varandra. Lär sig minst ett ord varje dag! Öva minst fem minuter att prata svenska varje dag! Lyssna på radion eller en svensk sång varje dag till man kan alldeles förstå den. 

When I Became Very Nervous

So, this is the part where we start off writing essays. Like it or not, learning a word or two from time to time is the quickest way in to start learning a language, and the quickest way out about being consistent with studying a language. 

However, hitting it off immediately comes from watching tv shows and listening to audio tapes in that language. Swedish, in particular. Another, more difficult way is writing an essay and making use of those words you learned into sentences.

One of our exercises in class is to write essays, at least 5 every week. We submit it to the teacher for her to correct and return to us on the next meeting. Topic for this entry is most definitely the title above. So, I will begin to write this essay, and hopefully you will write your own version as well. You will need to talk about that time when you felt very nervous and issues surrounding it, and probably how you were able to overcome the situation. I know I get VERY nervous when it comes to speaking swedish with anyone, especially in front of a group of people. Here goes my essay then. Feel free to share your essays with me :)

Då Blev Jag Väldigt Nervös

Jag var en jätte blyg person från början. Det är därför jag tror att det är konstigt att jag blev en värd och produktionsdirektör under college till ungefar två års sen. Jag blir inte så väldigt nervös längre utom när jag måste prata eller sjunger framfor många människor. Jag brukar ta djupa andetag och fortsätta vad jag måste göra.

År 2005 till år 2009 arbetade jag bara som en webb utformare, och tog en paus från evenemang produktioner. Jag började igen som en värd år 2009 och jag var jätte nervös innan den första evenemang började. Jag inte hade pratade framför många männsikor i en lång tid! Det var en kväll evenemang och jag var förkyld. Det var också svårt att jag pratar mycket därför att jag hade ont i halsen. Vad skulle man göra? Jag tog mina mediciner och Strepsils kvällen innan och tänkte på det hela dagen.

När evenemang började, jag tog djupa andetag. Långsamt och riktiga djupa andetag innan jag klev på scenen och pratade om evenemangen. Det var härlig! Jag mådde som jag aldrig tog en paus sedan college alls.

Nu ser jag fram emot att leta efter ett job som värd om jag blir jätte flytande på svenska annars jag fortsätta att leta efter ett job som en webbdesigner.

Lycka till till mig!

Five Important Things For Speeding Up Your Swedish Learning Experience

Below is a list of things you might want to look out for that I want to share. These are things I have subconsciously done for some time. It might be helpful to everyone who wants a quicker pace to learning Swedish and hacking that dream job!

1. Never be scared to ask if there is something you do not understand. Might be a word, a sentence, or a word that makes the sentence suddenly confusing. There are always three words to understand a word: ask an explanation from the teacher, another immigrant who speaks your mother tongue who knows swedish better, AND do not forget to read the dictionary.
2. Always use your language app to translate when you come across a difficult word. It would be more advisable NOT to translate ENTIRE sentences, but merely words so you can better understand the context of each sentence. It also helps to hear how words are pronounced which is usually included in the phone application's feature. Whether it be an iPhone or the newest Samsung Galaxy phone. It does not matter. The important thing is that you learn.
3. Learn a word at least once a day, once every three days. The important thing is that you learn something new all the time. After learning the word, you need to practice it in a sentence, and practice pronouncing it. Frequency is the key.
4. Learn a new swedish song and make a target to fully understand the extent of its meaning in your own time. Making it a goal (for example one song a week, or a day for that matter) makes it easier and a bit more comfortable for one to learn Swedish at a quicker pace.
5. Say it out loud. Sometimes, the trick in remembering how a sentence is constructed (and not just by how words are pronounced) is by hearing someone say them out loud. It might seem dumb, but HEARING YOURSELF speak a new language does wonders to heighten your memory capacity.

Those are the shortest ways to learn Swedish faster to be on a quicker pace to learning your goal. One does not need any more than these if one is consistent. Good luck!

Writing A Letter About A Burglary

For this entry, it is an exercise of writing a letter to your neighbors about a burglary that happened. It is a friendly-reminder to your friends to always lock the door and be safe inside the house. This entry will be strictly in Swedish, and do let me know if you have questions regarding the text. You can make your own letter as part of the exercise.





Kära grannar! Det har varit ett inbrott i min lägenhet. Tjuvarna har stulit värdefulla saker. Var rädd om dina saker och var noga med att låsa din dörr också. Fotografera dina värdefulla saker så ni kan bevisa till försäkringkassan och få hjälp senare om det behövs.

Write About People

In this exercise, it included pictures about family members. A description of who they are, and a picture of what they are doing. The instruction is to write something about each family member given the information.

This exercise is specifically taken from Mål2, Kapitel 11. I will write this directly in Swedish and it would help if you translate them per word so you would notice and learn properly how each is placed. That is a bit of exercise on grammar as well. If you need to ask anything, just drop a comment and will get back to you as soon as I can.

So here it is in Swedish:

Skriv om Peter, Anna, Hanna, och Martin.

Hanna Johansson är äldst bland syskonen. Hon är 18 år, studerar på gymnasiet, och rider hästen på fritiden. Peter Johansson, 41 år, blir uttråkad av sitt jobb som banktjänsteman så han seglar med båten när han inte jobbar. Anna Johansson, 40 år, brukar springa varje morgon för att sedan hämta hunden för att gå ut på en promenad. Hon lämnar sedan av Martin, 5år, på dagis innan hon åker till skolan för att jobba som lärare. Martin tycker nästan alltid om att lägga pappersbåtar i vattnet.

Choose Your Own Picture

School has started for me. Currently on the distance course program while looking for a job and practicing and reading on computers and design.

My book last year was Mål2 from day school. Since we did not really focus on reading that during night school (we had other activities lined up), the distance course (which starts about the same time, but a total of 3 hours every week and heavier workload) decided to go back to Mål2. One of the exercises included in the book was to choose a picture and write a description. Oh, and do not forget to use your fantasy :)

The picture I used is called "Dragonbane" by SilenceNocturne in Deviantart, thank you very much!

Mitt i havet där ingen vågat fara, står en öppning till andra sidan livet. Den är upplyst av eldar över de två tornen på båda sidor och gripstatyerna kommer till liv för att välkomna varje själ som anländer. Mannen i svart kappa uppenbarar sig bakom svärdet och höjer sin lie i luften innan han skär handlederna på varje själ för att märka dem innan de träder genom porten. 

In the middle of the ocean where no one dared travel, stands an entrance to the other side of life. It is lighted by fire above the two towers on both sides and the griffin statues come to life to welcome every soul that arrives. The man with a black robe appears behind the sword and raises the scythe into the air just before slashing the wrists of every soul to be marked before entering the gate.

Exercise that you would want to do now is to try and choose your own picture and write your own description in swedish. Share it with us if you want. See you on the next entry! :)

Grabben I Graven Bredvid

One of the things any language class aims to do is to be able to someday understand a conversation between swedes among themselves, and be able to converse with any of them properly.

In this session, I remember being able to write a summary of a swedish movie we watched in class. I submitted this last year, and decided to correct it. Still had a hard time correcting some other stuff so I asked for help.

I think writing an essay at least once a week will help boost your learning, as well as enjoying how to learn the language by watching movies. So, here you go...the summary of "Grabben i Graven Bredvid":

Den här filmen är om två människor, en kille och en kvinna, som träffats vid en grav när de besökte deras kärlekar. Killen heter Benny, medan kvinnan heter Desirée. 

Filmen började när kvinnan har glömt sin hatt på en bänk och Benny försökte att lämna tillbaka den. Desirée har åkt med bussen och Benny följde efter med sin bil. Han blev blyg när han såg henne i biblioket som hon arbetar i.

Benny kom tillbaka en annan tid och pratade med henne, frågade om de kan träffas igen. Det gick bra, men de har olika personligheter. Benny är jätteklok men vill ha ett enkelt liv. Han vill alltid arbeta på sin gård  med kor. Desirée däremot, vill göra karriär.

Sedan fick Desirée ett jobb men hon hinner inte säga det till Benny. Han hörde om det från hennes kompisar så de hade en tvist. De pratade senare och Desirée valde att inte ses något mer.

Benny blev ledsen men han träffade en annan kvinna, en sjuksköterska som han började att tycka om. Desirée ångrade sitt val så  hon kom tillbaka till Bennys gård för att be om ursäkt men sjuksköterskan var med honom redan. 

Desirée grät och bestämde sig för att packa sina saker till Stockholm och börjar arbeta där istället. Benny ångrade sig också och försökte att prata med henne men en lastbil med Desirée och hennes saker hade åkt redan.

Benny blev ledsen igen och började köra tillbaka hem när han såg Desirée i lastbilen. Han körde efter henne och där slutade filmen. Kanske bestämde de sig för att bo tillsammans.

Random Basic Introduction and Verb Placement

Start: I was clearing my table when I realized that I still have a lot of books that I have not fully answered. So, I browsed through them and saw one of those basic introductory paragraphs one writes about at the beginning of school, and decided to write about it.

Jag heter Citron och kommer från Asien.

My name (or I am called) Citron, and I come from Asia.

Jag är 29 år. 

I am 29 years old.

I Asien var jag webbutformare, men i Sverige arbetar jag som köksassistent på ett cafe, så länge. 

In Asia, I used to work as a web designer, but in Sweden, I am working (or work) as a kitchen assistant in a cafe, for the meantime.

_______________________________________

If you have noticed, the verb var came right after the place, "I Asia". The verb always gets interchanged with the noun right after a place or a time.

PLACE + VERB + NOUN

TIME + VERB + NOUN

In effect, the following sentences would be placed as:

1. Imorgon ska jag gå till skolan.
2. Nu går jag hem.
3. Igår åt vi bär. 

_______________________________________ 

Now, the continuation...

Jag har varit här i ett år. 

I have been here for a year.

Jag bor i Stockholm.

I live in Stockholm.

Jag talar tre språk: mitt modersmål, engelska och svenska. 

I speak three languages: my mother tongue, english, and swedish.

So, there. You may write your own basic introduction if you want :)

Givetvis

As I have mentioned I did not go to school everyday because I used to work. Now, I am on self-study for programming as well just so I could get a better chance in a better job while learning how to be fluent in Swedish.

However, I do try to always bring home handouts and read them as much as my mind is able to understand. Swedish has a "third-word rule" that I still can't quite place sometimes. The list includes ju, väl, and SO MUCH MORE.

For this entry, I want to share the translation of the word "givetvis" which translates to "Of course, dot dot dot"...and we all know you should not take that literally, yes? YES!

Example given: Jag tar givetvis med mig mina hundar senare.

English translation: Of course, I will take my dogs with me later.

That was one of the simple examples I came across this morning. There will be more difficult uses of this word, but we can stick to the basics for now.

Words like ju, väl, and givetvis fall under the "third-word" rule or category. Ju and väl, I will explain in other entries, but for givetvis...I hope you get the drift already.

This is how I understood it. I read and try to piece together rules I have learned with words or sentences every time I discover new ones. Self-study is always how I survive and learn faster. Feel free to let me know of any corrections, though. 

See you on the next entry!

The Inevitable Intro

I started this blog to help myself and others to just hit the ground running. Well, at least try to. No harm in that, right?

So, a bit of a background story: I come from SouthEast Asia in a country that has groups of people who are pretty much fluent in English. 

Second part of the history: I had a profession which enabled me to work from home and accept calls from clients whenever they needed a change in artistic output. Mostly web, or as a host and production director for social and corporate events. In other words, I did not need to leave my country to go to Europe for a job. Not that doing just that is a bad thing to begin with. I did, however, fall in love with a Swede, and I did not know what I was thinking (haha!) why I moved to Sweden...but hey, I did!

Last part of the history, and trying hard to explain it without prejudice: I thought I could get away with not learning how to speak Swedish, but every day that passed made me realize that this will never be a country whose citizens' conversations with you would be in English, even if they can see that one is a foreigner. They usually assume you should be able to speak Swedish! SHOULD. Addition to this was a visit to a job fair wherein people said I had an impressive CV, and then the killer question came: are you very comfortable with Swedish now? I wanted to say that I was getting there, but I needed a job. NOW. Besides, there will only be one language that the computer will recognize: the computer language depending on what software you use!

Background done, moving forward with the intro: Luckily, I really was almost fluent in Basic Swedish. Thank God!

All immigrants in Sweden have to enroll themselves (funded by the government so it is technically free) to a class called SFI (Swedish for Immigrants). Whether you have a job or lounging around at home, they will find the perfect schedule for you. That is how efficient they are at mandating immigrants to learn Swedish.

I arrived last year, and hitched a job within a month of starting school. I had a boss who just COULD NOT speak English. It was...well, words are inadequate to describe my helplessness. The understandable part was, she was not Swedish. She even walked up to me once and said something like, "You can never speak Swedish". Although, that might be because she thought I have been there awhile and I still could not speak the language. Well, duh.

Anyway, I ended up on the last level of SFI within a year without actually going to school every day like what some did. Some students took half a decade to complete that course, if my sources were correct. Some also completed the entire course in a year by spending half the day in school, and half at work. I just went to work the entire day and two hours a week in school, one night a week. I would really rather earn money, truth be told.

So, with this blog, I would want to share how to learn Swedish fast. At least, I hope so. Share some tricks I picked up along the way. This blog was essentially created to help whiners like me help a fellow student out here online, and to train with at the same time.

I did not create this blog to be better than others. Neither did I start this to show off whatsoever, but to be better for myself alone. If some of the entries will help you, drop me a line. It always feels good to be of help. It would probably make another SFI student make it through another grueling day of mastering the language :)