Forvo. Useful travel phrases in Swedish

n/d (ongoing)

Lecturers
Students

Business & Communication
Tourism

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Swedish

English
Swedish

A1
A2

Reference resources (online Dictionaries/ grammar guides/phrasebooks)

Vocabulary
Prosody

Listening
Speaking

Forvo is an online pronunciation dictionary and phrasebook whose aim is to help its users learn and develop basic conversational skills in Swedish by listening to words and short phrases at a beginner level. It has available audio files in several languages spoken by native speakers in several varieties and accents. This teaching/learning resource allows its learners to actively contribute to their own learning process.
The tool also allows you to create lists of terms around a topic, as well as download files in .mp3 format to allow offline use. A mobile application is also available to support those who travel or apply vocabulary in the tourism industry, thus facilitating communication.
You can listen to basic vocabulary presented on the several topics available (shopping, getting around, banking, etc) it also shows useful travel phrases for someone working in the tourism industry or business area, or simply if you’re a tourist.

This resource is ideal for A1 level students of Tourism and business and communication and focuses mostly on basic vocabulary and short phrases. The default language of tuition is English. It is mostly suited for autonomous learning and practice, but it could also be used within a classroom context as this resource could support the teacher as far as prosody practice is concerned. The teacher could ask the students to select some audios, asking students (non-native speakers) to listen to them and repeat as they hear them. The audiolingual method would be enforced. This method, even though dated, is useful and meaningful for lower levels of language learning in which listening and repeating the words is a good way of learning some survival Swedish. It can also trigger other interests in the language itself such as the desire to learn more and to be able to communicate more efficiently in Swedish. Forvo provides learners with the basics of the Swedish language.
It is a very useful tool to learn and develop speaking skills in Swedish at the learners’ own pace.

Even though more adequate for autonomous learning, as learners can check and focus on the phrases and words they need to know for their travel and business purposes at their own pace and time, this resource can also be used in the classroom as it can assist the lecturer in practising pronunciation.

If the resource is to be used in the classroom, the following suggestions could be implemented:
Warmer: The lecturer elicits from the students the words or phrases that are most useful when travelling, more specifically to Sweden. L. elicits from students words they know in Swedish. L. gets feedback from the students. As we’re dealing with a beginner level, it is most likely that the words mentioned won’t be that many.
Step 1: The lecturer can then use some flashcards with pictures on them and the corresponding written word (should use the same words which also appear on the online pronunciation dictionary so that students can check pronunciation). As most of the times spelling and pronunciation do not match, L. can ask the students to try to pronounce the words given.

Step 2: Lecturer pronounces the words and randomly asks students to repeat the words again (individual drill).
Step 3: Students are asked to go to the website for further practice of the vocabulary and phrases, some already familiar with, some new.
Step 4: Students can do consolidation work at home.