3-minute Lessons. Learn Swedish in 30 Minutes - ALL the Basics You Need

16 Feb 2018

Students

Business & Communication
International Relations
Tourism

Autonomous learning

Swedish

English
Swedish

A1
A2

Audio
Guiding resources (online course/book)
Video

Vocabulary
Grammar
Prosody

Listening
Speaking
Reading

The resource is a 30-minute course to learn the basics of Swedish. It is entitled Swedishpod101 and it is available on YouTube. It is composed of several lessons, with a duration of 3 minutes each. The lessons range from simple sentences (self-introductions and greetings) to more complex ones, such as making apologies, at a beginner’s level. It focuses mainly on pronunciation and the development of speaking skills. This is adequate for anyone who wants to learn some survival Swedish, either for business purposes or simply if you want to go to Sweden as a tourist.
The resource can be easily explored on an individual level and requires internet access, either on a computer or mobile device. The learner can easily follow the resource as the teacher also uses English as the language of mediation.

This resource was tested with a group of 8 MA students. These students, who master some languages and have a rather intuitive use and knowledge of foreign languages, were asked to test the resource in an autonomous way and at their own pace. Then they were asked to make some comments on the resource and its use. The reactions were rather positive. The students felt it was quite accessible, informative and well structured. Even though they felt the teacher speaks a bit fast, it was always great to hear the correct pronunciation. In addition, the written text made it easier to pronounce the words. Since it is a YouTube video, students could pause it and go back and forth many times they wanted.

Please produce a check list / guidelines on how to use the resource
Autonomous learning:
This resource focuses on the audiolingual method, where the learner listens to the words, phrases, or sentences (models given by the teacher) and then repeats them as many times as possible. Even though this set of three-minute lessons lasts around 30 minutes, you can do it step by step and just go through the first 3 lessons at a time (around 10 minutes).
1. Watch the first three-minute lesson, on self-introductions, listen to the teacher’s pronunciation, and read what she writes on screen.
2. Repeat as many times as needed.
3. Continue the same process with the other lessons after you feel you’re good to go to the next level or simply learn new words or expressions in Swedish.
Classroom context:
Resorting to the flipped classroom method, the lecturer could also ask the students to listen in advance to some lessons before their face-to-face/or online lessons. The Lecturer checks understanding of content by asking the students some questions related to what they heard.