Hej there everybody!
I have some MAJORLY EXCITING UPDATES(!) regarding my exchange to Denmark. I feel like I should have some schnazzy transitions or something to go about this post with, but I feel like it would be more efficient in list format. So that's what we're going to do.
Okay.
1. I GOT MY HOST FAMILY! AHHHHHHH! I am SO, SO excited about this! I don't want to say too much about their information and everything because of privacy and what not, but I will say that I'm going to be in the city of Roskilde! It's near Copenhagen, it's a really cool coastal city, and has one really durn cool cathedral. My family also wrote me two extremely kind and welcoming emails, and, to say the least, I'm pretty pumped.
2. Yesterday, I was in downtown Chicago, getting my fingerprints and face scanned to be able to apply for my 'student permit'. (pretty much a visa). You know, that thing you get that gives you permission to legally live and study in the country. Sorta kinda massively important. It's annoying, because to get this thing, you have to either go to A. San Fransisco, B. New York City, or C. Chicago. And, if you don't happen to live in one of those three places, well, it sucks. I don't live anywhere close to Chicago, so I had to fly out and stay there for a few days. I had a great time, went to the contemporary art museum, chinatown-- sort of made a trip out of it, but it was still an annoying thing that I had to do.(And cost me a few hundred bucks!). But, now that's done, and my application is going of to the Danish embassy in NYC, so hopefully everything will go through. We'll have to wait and see.
3. Danish is getting more and more difficult. I still love the language, and I'm still super motivated to keep working on it, by OY. This is going to be a rough new thing to learn.
4. My YFU- pre-departure orientation is coming up! About two weeks away now, I'll be (back) in Chicago, getting lots of paperwork, staying in a dorm, and learning about my need to adapt. It doesnt' sound too dynamic, but I am SO excited to get to know the other kids going abroad for a semester or year! Especially any of them who are going to Denmark with me! Having the orientation so close is really making it sink in that I'm leaving the country. FOR A YEAR. AHHHHH! Guys, I'm so excited. I hope you stay along for the ride because it's sure to be a bumpy one!
Write more when I need to,
Farvel!!
-Rowen
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Starting to learn Dansk!(Danish).
Hej! Hvordan gÅr det?
Hi! How are you guys?
I'm personally doing pretty well, and getting pretty darn excited about Danmark! I got all of my information from my exchange program a few days ago, and it's super fun to look through. I got some boring stuff(i.e a handbook from my exchange program), but also some really cool cultural information about Denmark itself from the Danish branch of YFU.
I'm done with school for the year, I got out about a week ago, so I've been spending a lot more time working on learning Danish.
Oyyyyy, did I get myself in for something. This language is rough guys. Maybe that's just because when I was learning German, I already had a pretty strong background in the language, and I don't have any with Danish....but still. Pronunciation for native English speakers like myself is just really, really difficult. Not very phonetic at all to my foreign eyes.
However, with all of this language work, I do have a few suggestions for starting to tackle a foreign language. (Particularly one that is not-so-common).
The first thing I did when I was delving into this whole thing was look at my school's library. Fortunately, my school has a pretty great one, so they ordered two different Danish learning tapes for me to use. One royally sucked. It was just out of date, and the guy made you want to fall asleep. Also, there was no user participation, so nothing stuck. I don't even remember what the program was called, but, it's so old, you probably won't have any trouble avoiding it anyway. The second program I tried I am still using currently and LOVE. It's a pimsleur method program, the only Danish one available It's WONDERFUL. I would definitely definitely definitely recommend the program to anybody looking for a good system. It really engages you, and you get to participate in terms of speaking the language tons. I guess the only downside is that if you really want to get everything you can out of the program you sort of have to be by yourself(screaming, "un-skul" 50 times to try to match the speaker's pronunciation might not be so entertaining for somebody other than yourself....).
You can also look at picture books for kids that are in Danish(or whatever language)! These are awesome for starting to learn because they use very basic vocabulary and grammar....as you would assume when dealing with kiddos. Look around on Amazon, but also around the web. I found this really cool website that has about 15 different kids books for free that you can view and download, and in many languages(Danish included!).
Another thing you can do is look at apps on your iphone or ipad(or ipod, like me), that are designed to help little kids work on their danish. I found a few I really like, and they're really good practice for trying to figure out situations even if you don't understand *everything* that is being said.
While we're talking about apps, another sort of app that can be helpful are danish learning apps. I found one called, "learn Danish in a month" that is WONDERFUL for vocabulary, and for emphasizing basic grammar that you're learning through a different program.
Okay, so we have audio/traditional programs, apps for kids, picture books, apps for vocabulary, and I do have one more suggestion. I found a program through scouring the internet called 'Byki'. Byki is a downloadable program(it's safe, I promise.), that teaches you vocabulary. You can download the basic version for free(the one that I have), or you can buy the premium version for $50. Nothing fancy, the program basically is composed of a flashcard layout that first lets you learn the words, then slowly makes you produce the word through first giving you the danish word and asking for english, then vise versa. It works really well for vocabulary! I highly recommend it.
Alright, I think those are all of the tips and tricks that I can really give you. Of course, if you are lucky enough to personally know someone who speaks the language you're trying to learn(like myself), utilizing those people and practicing having conversation is obviously going to be the best thing you can do besides full emersion...but if you don't have that sort of access, these other strategies can really give you head-start!
Alrighty guys, thanks for sticking me through this thing, and I hope some of these methods help you out!!
Write soon,
in best regards,
-Rowen
Hi! How are you guys?
I'm personally doing pretty well, and getting pretty darn excited about Danmark! I got all of my information from my exchange program a few days ago, and it's super fun to look through. I got some boring stuff(i.e a handbook from my exchange program), but also some really cool cultural information about Denmark itself from the Danish branch of YFU.
I'm done with school for the year, I got out about a week ago, so I've been spending a lot more time working on learning Danish.
Oyyyyy, did I get myself in for something. This language is rough guys. Maybe that's just because when I was learning German, I already had a pretty strong background in the language, and I don't have any with Danish....but still. Pronunciation for native English speakers like myself is just really, really difficult. Not very phonetic at all to my foreign eyes.
However, with all of this language work, I do have a few suggestions for starting to tackle a foreign language. (Particularly one that is not-so-common).
The first thing I did when I was delving into this whole thing was look at my school's library. Fortunately, my school has a pretty great one, so they ordered two different Danish learning tapes for me to use. One royally sucked. It was just out of date, and the guy made you want to fall asleep. Also, there was no user participation, so nothing stuck. I don't even remember what the program was called, but, it's so old, you probably won't have any trouble avoiding it anyway. The second program I tried I am still using currently and LOVE. It's a pimsleur method program, the only Danish one available It's WONDERFUL. I would definitely definitely definitely recommend the program to anybody looking for a good system. It really engages you, and you get to participate in terms of speaking the language tons. I guess the only downside is that if you really want to get everything you can out of the program you sort of have to be by yourself(screaming, "un-skul" 50 times to try to match the speaker's pronunciation might not be so entertaining for somebody other than yourself....).
You can also look at picture books for kids that are in Danish(or whatever language)! These are awesome for starting to learn because they use very basic vocabulary and grammar....as you would assume when dealing with kiddos. Look around on Amazon, but also around the web. I found this really cool website that has about 15 different kids books for free that you can view and download, and in many languages(Danish included!).
Another thing you can do is look at apps on your iphone or ipad(or ipod, like me), that are designed to help little kids work on their danish. I found a few I really like, and they're really good practice for trying to figure out situations even if you don't understand *everything* that is being said.
While we're talking about apps, another sort of app that can be helpful are danish learning apps. I found one called, "learn Danish in a month" that is WONDERFUL for vocabulary, and for emphasizing basic grammar that you're learning through a different program.
Okay, so we have audio/traditional programs, apps for kids, picture books, apps for vocabulary, and I do have one more suggestion. I found a program through scouring the internet called 'Byki'. Byki is a downloadable program(it's safe, I promise.), that teaches you vocabulary. You can download the basic version for free(the one that I have), or you can buy the premium version for $50. Nothing fancy, the program basically is composed of a flashcard layout that first lets you learn the words, then slowly makes you produce the word through first giving you the danish word and asking for english, then vise versa. It works really well for vocabulary! I highly recommend it.
Alright, I think those are all of the tips and tricks that I can really give you. Of course, if you are lucky enough to personally know someone who speaks the language you're trying to learn(like myself), utilizing those people and practicing having conversation is obviously going to be the best thing you can do besides full emersion...but if you don't have that sort of access, these other strategies can really give you head-start!
Alrighty guys, thanks for sticking me through this thing, and I hope some of these methods help you out!!
Write soon,
in best regards,
-Rowen
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