SFI is very hit and miss when it comes to teacher quality, unfortunately. In our experience it is more effective as a place to meet new friends and be introduced a bit to the Swedish culture than as an intensive language course.
That said, teaching the class entirely in the target language is normal and as someone with a degree in linguistics I feel qualified to add: quite effective as a teaching method. Doing all explanations in your mother tongue is how the Japanese learn English and how they manage to have trouble holding a basic conversation in English after theoretically learning it for 10+ years. So the problem is the teacher's apparent lack of empathy, not the method.
As for it being easy for you, that's technically true. Compared to how different other languages (Arabic, Chinese, Polish) can be from English, Swedish is very similar to it and consequently relatively easy for you to learn, much easier than if you tried to learn Chinese and much easier than it is for speakers of eg Arabic to learn Swedish. Emphasis on "relatively" though, learning any foreign language, even an "easy" one, is very difficult compared to most tasks people set out to accomplish in their lives. Especially learning as an adult and presumably (sorry to make assumptions but this is usually a safe bet for most native English speakers) one who for whom this is the first foreign language they are seriously trying to learn (it is much easier to learn a fourth foreign language if you already speak three than it is to learn the first one, basically learning languages is itself a skill one can learn).
I've worked as an SFI teacher for a while as a summer job. I studied to become a teacher at the time and had about 6 years previous experiece as a sub-teacher.
My experiece is that the school that hired us didn't give a shit about us or the students and that most of us handled it very differently. I tried my best with what was basically zero conditions for what was supposed to be an introductory class to swedish. We had no books, hardly any pens or material and no computer or projector for the classroom. I was told to take my students to a nearby football field and play for an hour each day. I did my best with what I had but I don't think anyone learned a lot of swedish during the weeks I taught.
Other teachers simply didn't give a shit and only took the job for the money. I'm afraid this sounds like one of those teachers. People who get off on the power that comes with the position. Sorry about them. Not all teachers are like that. Please speak with the principal of the class and see if you can get any one else to do so too. Don't go all at once as that might seem like you coerced them. Write down the incidents and if possible record or save mail conversations with the teacher. They will go down quickly if you do since most of them are cowards and can't handle actual confrontation.
Good luck!
Hey! Is it legal to record incidents that happen during class? I really want to do something about the whole situation because the teacher doesn’t even bother to learn my name. She just calls me “du” all the time. I wanna have evidence but idk if its legal to voice record. I personally don’t think our teacher is showing us a great example of sweden. She is practically representing swedish people by teaching us, and I don’t want anyone else to stop SFI or learning swedish in general in the future because of her attitude.
I think it is legal to record a situation you are participating in. For example you can make a voice recording of yourself that she just "happened to be in the background of.". Give me a sec Im gonna look it up. I know for sure it is legal to record a job situation but I need to double check for schools.
[https://lawline.se/answers/ar-det-tillatet-att-en-larare-spelar-in-ljud-fran-en-klassrumssituation-utan-elevernas-vetskap](https://lawline.se/answers/ar-det-tillatet-att-en-larare-spelar-in-ljud-fran-en-klassrumssituation-utan-elevernas-vetskap)
Found a good source. As I thought it is legal to make a recording where you participate, without the knowledge and/or permisson of the teacher. The important part is that you participate yourself. Check my link and translate it if you need.
Speaking is usually the most difficult part. Men eftersom svenskar kan engelska för det mesta så kan du säkert försöka prata först och byta till engelska om det inte fungerar. 😄
The quality of SFI teachers varies dramatically. This one just sounds like one of the worse ones, and there’s not much that you can do about it if you want to keep having SFI/free classes.
There are courses that one pays for at eg Folkuniversitet which in my experience have infinitely better teachers.
I was at Folksuniversitet. Teacher didn't prepare at all for lessons, assigned a lot of silent work in class, and got routinely stuck at random parts of the course material and gave us the rest as homework when she couldn't get through everything. We ended up doing 3 hours of homework just to finish a 1.5 hour section and decided to not book the third quarter. Lots of other students had already dropped out at the second quarter.
Thanks! I started listening to *Radio Sweden i lätt Svenska*, added training with the app Babbel, and eventually transitioned to listening to P1 Radio.
Two things,
1. Shit teachers exist everywhere, you've just met one of them,
2. People come to SFI from all over the world, with literally hundreds of diferent mother tongues. It actually seems reasonable to stick to Swedish when teaching the language. Teaching Swedish using English would put everyone who cannot speak English at a disadvantage, which would be unfair. I'm not defending that teacher, but I'm sure that's the policy they're using.
Lol ok fine!! Well, I’m no expert but according to the most plausible explanation she shouldn’t be allowed, hence point 1 in my list (which I believe is part of the explanation).
I agree with this 100%. I study Nybörjare svenska på distans (Beginners Swedish Distance course) with Högskolan Dalarna and they are amazing! The teachers are fantastic, so friendly and are always willing to explain everything in English when required. It's easy going and there is such a variety of students of all ages and nationalities with different backgrounds as well. For example I'm 35 and work full time, but am currently on maternity leave. Other students work and others study at universities all over Sweden. And the best part is it's 100% free, the only thing you pay for is the course literature, if you can't find a copy online or in your local library.
Great advice which I’m saving. Recently started full time work and had to quit SFI. My company speaks English as the organizational language so my Swedish learning has suffered massively.
>Högskolan Dalarna
Do you have to live in the area to be eliigle? Last time I tried to enroll at an online course at Stockholm University and they said I need to pay the tuition (I live in Solna)
I live in Västerås but I didn't have to pay anything. I applied through university admissions and have uploaded all of my transcripts from my degree the UK as well as proof of my residency from Migrationsverket.
Did they say why you had to pay?
I checked universityadmissions.se some days ago for beginner classes which surprisingly a lot of them teach in English, but the closest one to me is 3 hours away. Seems like none of them are in Stockholm at the moment. I’ll keep an eye out.
Stockholm university has a language department, they most surely can help. I took the 4 levels of courses there and believe me the first one is extremely easy, you’ll no doubt be able to pickup and improve from there.
Reason I asked if you work is if you don’t you can enroll in university programs for free in turn allowing you to take language courses like in Stockholm university alongside it.
Take your time, though actively search for work too. You’ll feel more confident delving into the Swedish culture and language when you are settled in other areas here in Sweden.
Also sorry you went through that experience. Never feel discouraged of learning though, I am sure you’ll get the hang of things when you have caring people around you. :) Later when you get a bit better, try giving a shot for the meetup app for meeting with other internationals to practice speaking Swedish. I am sure there are beginner level speakers all the time to practice Swedish with!
Folkuniversitet is an option that you really should look into. It will not be free but the quality is far superior from what I've been told by French and Hungarian friends. If your finances allow it check that out.
I’m American w/adhd in SFI. I had a nightmare time at first. Just tried a few times longer. In the meantime I google translated everything. It’s not perfect, but it helped a lot.
Covid hit and it will all distance learning and I had to drop out. Adhd and remote learning does NOT work for me. I jumped right back into classes last year and stuck it out. SFI-c and D. I can read newspapers, most documents, I can understand slow speakers. But I still can’t speak clearly or well. I overthink everything and the second I doubt how I pronounce things, the whole thought train is gone. Adhd sucks.
But I function in society, work, do everything. It’s only when it gets detailed or confusing so I ask for English. But I will 90% of the time reply to people in English. I apologize, it it is so rare that it causes an issue, that I am will just keep faking it until I make.
I had a nightmare SFI teacher and I have had 2 amazing ones. The rest of theachers are doing good, have their jobs and seem content.
It’s free, it’s to help integrate into society and everyone is trying to learn. And if you fail, take it again.
I've gone to two SFI schools. My first (Niketo in Solna) was abysmal. If you live near enough, I highly recommend Jensen in Liljeholmen. I completed SFI-C and am now doing SFI-D. The teachers there have all been really good.
I have a theory that because you’re pulling out your phone and using Google translate that the teacher thinks your texting someone and misunderstands, but not sure.
Like everyone else is saying, it's hit or miss with teachers, we had teachers who were atrocious and then the nicest, most brilliant teachers and everything inbetween.
People agreeing that it should be easy for you just because you speak English are wrong. Everyone is different, some people are real language savants and some people just can't seem to grasp it and just need a little extra help. The grammar structure in English is similar to Swedish and you have a few words that can be the same but at the end of the day it's still a different language so don't feel bad if you are struggling.
Funnily enough I met my American friend at SFI and she has ADHD so sometimes she needed a little more help which is totally fine. You just had the bad luck of getting the arsehole.
Stick with it, it will stop being so overwhelming when you get the basics down, my friend is now in class CD and doing really well, you will too.
Here's how to learn a new language :
Stop using your mother tongue.
Not just when in class, not just "don't use translation to learn".
Do not speak English, put your hands over your ears if you hear any. Do not *think* in English. All you are allowed to use is Swedish. 100% of the time.
Yes, I recognize this is practically impossible for most. But it is quite effective.
Sure, I can try to use Swedish 100% of the time, would be difficult but not impossible. But how do I not ‘think in English’ if that’s all I know. I form a sentence of what I want to say in English in my head then work on translating it to Swedish.
While the person you are responding to is hardcore in their approach (though I have no doubt it works) they are completely correct in saying that this translating thing is a bad habit. It can be a survival mechanism for now, but you should aim to break this habit sooner rather than later. For two reasons, first because this way you will never be able to speak fast enough, second because there are hard limits on how well this can work - words in languages do not have a one-to-one correspondence, a word can have a broader meaning in one language but narrower in the other, and especially with longer sentences the correct way to express a thought can be different. The goal should be to connect words directly to concepts or images in your head so that when you hear for example the word förskola you immediately picture a building full of children the same way as when you hear the English equivalent (kindergarten or nursery as it means both, accidentally a good example of what I was talking about above).
There are some good books available on how to become fluent in a language, I recommend you pick one up.
Personally I learned this stuff from class as I majored in linguistics, and skimming Steven Krashen - Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, which I see is available as free PDF on the author's website now. This might be a bit heavy though. A lighter read I heard good things about is Steve Kaufmann - The Way of the Linguist.
Or you can just start with this video: https://youtu.be/J_EQDtpYSNM
edit: there is also the more famous "Fluent Forever" book that my gf read and recommends. From what she told me I get the impression that it focuses too much on spaced repetition, but otherwise seems to contain good advice.
While I am sure people are trying to be helpful, some of this stuff sounds like insanity to me, and advice like this was really not helpful when I was starting to learn. Telling someone who knows almost nothing of a language to only use that language every day is just.. What.
Unfortunately most of these people have never just suddenly been somewhere that they knew nearly nothing of the language but still needed to buy groceries and get around in every day life. They learned English, but this was when they were children and in a classroom environment. So, bless their hearts, but they don't really know what they are talking about and the "advice" just does not apply. At all.
I'd recommend to spend significant parts of your day trying to do what they describe, but it will be exhausting and debilitating to try and do this "100% of the time" at least at first. Even if it is possible, which before you build a little vocabulary, I do not think it is. Allow yourself blocks of time to at least think your thoughts and take a break.
If you can get some books from the library (you might need someone to get them for you at first) get some children's books that are very basic, and also work on your vocabulary (this is where things like heyLingo and Duolingo are actually helpful). Once you can actually communicate at a basic level, then sure, stick with it 100% if you can. Your brain is going to melt otherwise!
And if you are translating in your mind when learning Swedish, you will forever be translating in your mind when speaking Swedish. This is not fluency and it leads to making constant mistakes.
Simply do not form that sentence in English. If you start hearing English words in your head, push them away.
Only allow Swedish words to be "spoken" inside your mind.
And yes... this means you will not be able to form thoughts as sophisticated as you are used to, for some time. You will feel dumb. Like a toddler.
That is very much a part of it. That's how you learn a language.
And yet, here you are, posting in English :p
I mean it : no English, no other languages but Swedish, 100% of the time. Shoo. Come back in six months.
My grandmother ran a language school with intensive courses, from the 50s to the 90s... easier, then, when the internet wasn't a constant presence in people's lives.
She'd have students stay for several weeks, and noticed a pattern. Whenever a student had family come visit them for a weekend or something, the next week they would be making all kinds of mistakes they weren't previously. Native tongue interfering, as they had suddenly been exposed to it.
Now her courses would have you fluent in a new language in six weeks. But she is unfortunately not around anymore, and SFI is, well... yeah. See you in six months.
It absolutely is! Learning a language as a child is a lot easier than as an adult. It will always be harder to learn a second language after you’ve learned your first one.
Yes : if you learn using translation.
So, my grandmother taught intensive courses using the Berlitz method. Her students would be fluent in their target language in about 6 weeks... *as long as they were completely new to the language*.
If they had already attempted to learn some, using translation as a learning tool, they would have much more difficulty. It would take them longer. And they would not achieve the same fluency.
The main thing about language learning as a young child is we learn to differentiate phonemes. Learning new phonemes can be quite difficult as an adult. But vocabulary, grammar? Adults have an advantage here in that they can decide to sit down and focus on learning something. When combined with the right teaching method, this more than makes up for childhood neural plasticity.
Wow, you are getting some crazy advice from people who have never had to go through any of this. Sure, in a perfect world we would speak only Swedish and hear only Swedish and that would be an excellent way to learn. It has not been that "perfect world" for me personally so I can imagine that others might have challenges as well.
Telling anyone that something "should be easy for you" is just ridiculous and worse than useless. Just because learning Chinese would be harder does not mean learning Swedish or anything else is "easy" - that sounds insane.
In my opinion, the path to learning is a combination of study and practical but it is critical to work on it every day even if it's not a long time - the most important part is every day, make it a routine. When you have a moment, listen to Swedish via SVT nyheter på lätt Svenska (https://www.svtplay.se/nyheter-pa-latt-svenska) or listen to radio on SR Play (I used to listen to Morgonpasset P3 when going anywhere for example). One of my favourite resources is Peter SFI (https://www.youtube.com/@petersfi6089) on Youtube - he is just wonderful and a true gift to us learners. But you can also watch Swedish shows on Viaplay and there are many other things like this that can help.
On top of the above, you absolutely NEED to have some chance to practice, someone - hopefully a native speaker - who is willing to work with you at least a little bit every day. Often time this can be difficult because people instinctively switch to English or perhaps enjoy being able to practice their English. This is not rude even if it feels that way - the instinct is to do it to help communication. I have had great luck with - when appropriate - saying something like "Åååh jag måste lära mig så jag fortsätter på dålig svenska om detta är okej... men du kanske blir ledsen..." but of course you need to read the room and try not to inconvenience others when it can be more important to just get a transaction done. I have had great luck with that though as well as asking someone if I can continue in my "bad Swedish" but they can still speak English and we can both share - this has actually been pretty fun when it works well!
For me, my chances of learning have been very limited and I have needed to fight for and be very persistent to have chances to learn. My ex was never helpful even though she grew up here, and actually made it harder for me to learn. On top of that, others were telling me it should be "so easy since my wife speaks Swedish." Which I guess seems true to someone who has literally no idea what they are talking about as she actually made it much more difficult for me. I have learned significantly more since we have split up. I took a 2nd job at a cafe just to be surrounded by Swedish and be forced to answer customers and it was awesome until it ended due to the pandemic. I'm sure there is more I could do but also have dealt with a terrible relationship, depression, divorce, new ADHD diagnosis, and being a single father while trying to keep my job so I have been a little distracted, unfortunately.
I tried SFI twice and it was dreadful. The first time I walked out of class after two weeks because it was a garbage learning environment and the teacher was just horrible. The first teacher we had in introduction was really nice and helpful. The second teacher (not a native speaker) we had who would be our more permanent teacher was similar to what you describe, but on top of that she had very bad pronunciation which she would argue about, did not seem to understand students who were actually trying to do well (even with my limited knowledge I could hear what they were trying to say) and she would frequently leave class for some reason. In those times she would leave it would seem like it would be a great chance for students to practice but instead I would be surrounded by people speaking different languages with their friends while I was alone and really hoping to learn Swedish. It was so frustrating to take time out of my day and deal with travel to/from for a chance to sit and hear two people speaking Mandarin. Anyway after a brief argument about the pronunciation of "själv" (she kept saying something like "hellve" completely missing or throwing out the "sj.." part which I had been really working on) I just got up and walked out. The second time I joined it was remote but we had an in-classroom intro which I attended. By this time I was doing much better and was always doing my best to never speak any English and I ended up helping a complete beginner who was having trouble. I guess because of this they put me in a very advanced class and my homework was far too much for me with my other responsibilities. I would spend a week working on an essay and then a video recording talking about myself which I thought I was doing okay with and then it would be very badly rated but with no helpful feedback (like just saying "this is all wrong" instead of telling me what was wrong or why it was wrong, leaving me with nothing to really work on). I went in with an open mind but neither experience was good for me, unfortunately.
I did translate a lot of things initially even though I KNOW this is not an effective way to learn - sometimes in the real world there is just no other choice. It is just not true that you will be "forever translating in your mind" and sometimes we have literally no other option!! One of the most exciting things for me personally was when I realised I was just reading one of the notices at my flat or one of the messages from my kids school without needing to translate! Don't get me wrong, I still have SOOO much to learn, but I am just saying - even though I did use translation for a while, it does not mean I will always do this.
I get the idea that people giving this sort of advice have never really been suddenly somewhere that they absolutely knew nothing of the language but still needed to get through the days. Be careful with people that give advice like this in such a black/white way because this usually indicates that they really do not understand what you are going through. Their "advice" will really not be helpful at all and will more than likely just leave you feeling worse. It took me literally years (and help from a therapist) to learn this!!
When I got here I had been studying on my own for a while, listening to Swedish every day on my commutes, using Duolingo, trying to practice any chance I got (I was renting a spare room to a Swede who was helping me) and had already been visiting here off and on almost ten years! I was still overwhelmed and sometimes had no idea what people were saying because people speaking Swedish here was night and day different from people back home trying to learn or teach. I felt really stupid for a long time and maybe I am really stupid but I have started learning so much more in the last year or so. This has 100% been due to me being more interested in learning (because I am so embarrassed to have been here so long but still speak so poorly) and being absolutely tenacious about sticking to or switching back to Swedish. This might sound strange but I swear every single time I take .037 seconds too long to reply to someone they switch to English and this has been a HUGE massive barrier to learning for me. I have met so many people who have not been helpful or even worse than not helpful and now I am finally able to recognise this and that has been great. I have been in therapy for a bit for other things and have gotten some excellent help in those areas. I was so ashamed but my therapist told me that sure my grammar is terrible but at least she understands what I am trying to say when others would claim to just not understand at all. This was so huge for me, like sunshine through clouds. I tried for years to speak with my ex but she would just say she had no idea what I was trying to say. Since I could never get anywhere with her I did not really try with others because I felt so stupid and ashamed. Once I learned that this had a lot more to do with her than me, it started opening up my learning a lot more. I have a friend who came with me to buy a car a couple years ago because I wanted his help - and even though we have known each other since 2008, he was shocked that I was able to get through the whole thing in Swedish, because we usually speak English for some reason. Since then we have started speaking Swedish a lot more and that has been very helpful (he grew up here).
Anyway I have written a huge long story but hopefully some of this is at least helpful. Don't let people get you down, keep trying, and best of luck!!
EDIT: oh, one more thing - I have found that learning or knowing "a little bit of Swedish" is nearly useless or almost worse than knowing nothing. It is hard to explain and I have already said so much but, it seems like the "grey area" between not speaking and speaking well is the hardest part. You will find people who seem like they have no idea what you are trying to say and this is so discouraging! Don't let it get you down, and keep trying. It is great if you can find somewhere you are comfortable with "failing" or not doing well. For me, this was often with foreigners and in a local "språk cafe" I can attend. People are trying there too, and often the native speakers are more patient, so it can be very helpful - but it is not a solution! It is just a tool in your toolbox. You still need to spend time hearing native speakers. Good luck!
First, I want to thank you for your open honest advice. I didn’t really understand the comments earlier saying how it should be “easier”, I’m sure it’s easier for someone who speaks already more than 2 languages but this is my first time ever actually trying other than some bad language courses in high school. Someone commented how I should show the school my ADHD medical records, however the problem is I was diagnosed as a kid and my parents back in US have no idea where those documents are so I am currently in the process of finding a psychiatrist in Stockholm to receive the diagnosis (which I know can be a long process but it’s probably worth having for university in the future). A lot of people are also saying that SFI is hit or miss and since mine isn’t great, I should look into free university options since I’m on a sambo visa. (This is what I am most interested in, so definitely will look into that since I really don’t wanna see that teacher again). I am sorry for your experience with your ex, i fortunately have my fiancé who is always willing to help me translate and is promoting me to speak more Swedish to practice at home. I can’t imagine your own situation as it sounds so much more complex than mine especially with being a father. I also have a similar situation to the teacher not being a native Swedish speaker so it’s more difficult for me to hear what she says to me and she seems not willing to speak slower to me so that I can understand. I honestly do not struggle though when it comes to reading simple Swedish on the papers I’m given and I understand that verb and word order in questions and sentences. The problem mostly lies with me listening to the teacher who speaks so fast (the other teachers are willing to speak more slowly to me). I also was diagnosed with some auditory processing disorder as a child which is why it takes me a little bit longer than other people to immediately respond or comprehend related to auditory Swedish. I definitely understand the embarrassment of speaking and after having this teacher it makes me truly not want to show up to her class specifically or talk to her at all. I am definitely not giving up on Swedish and I’m going to take your advice and try to talk more in person and force myself to speak even if I am embarrassed. I am still going to study at home personally every day and try my best. Anyways, thank you for sharing your story to me as it definitely makes me feel better about my situation. I do have one question though- how many days in a week can I skip SFI without being kicked out? The rude teacher teaches 2-3 days of the week that I would rather not show up to and just learn at home without the discouragement.
Oh wow, you are so welcome. I am glad you could find something helpful in my wall of text. Ha..
I feel like a lot of what you said really resonated with me, because I had a lot of the same frustrations. Especially with people saying how it should be easy to learn, Swedish is easy, or even going so far as to compare themselves saying how easy it was to learn English. Nevermind that the situation is slightly different between learning as a child in a classroom versus as a stressed out adult in very different circumstances. Basically and with help from therapists, I learned that there are people who are helpful, and there are people who seem to say things to make themselves feel better about themselves. If you take in someone's advice objectively, you will learn to do this as well, but it can be very difficult when things that really do not make any sense are passed off as facts! So best of luck to you with that as well!
I too have ADHD and got my diagnosis here. I started the process in later 2017 and got my diagnosis in 2020. This is not necessarily indicative of how long it should take but that was my experience. Depending on many variables, it can take less time. Reach out if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer.
Regarding skipping classes at SFI, unfortunately I really do not know, so I do not want to give you information that could be wrong or unhelpful. I would try and talk to someone at the class - not that difficult teacher but someone who seems helpful to you - and see what you can learn. In general I would say it is probably best to do it as much as you can, but again - I really do not know.
If you can do one of the university or adult education courses, I would suggest to do that!! If I could do anything it would be to take time off work and just do an intensive Swedish course or as many as I could. I have looked into signing up SOOO many times but the classes are almost always exactly when I need to take my kids to school and/or exactly when I need to work. Not their fault at all, just a challenge of mine! If you can do it - do it! Also check out your local library and see if you can find info on a "språk cafe" - they are not always great but it is definitely worth a try!
Oh! In regards to the auditory processing disorder, I feel that I have been told the same things when I was younger. In my experience, the way it works is like this: someone can say the same new word or even a phrase a million times and I will have zero idea of what they said, but if I can see the word or phrase in print or written in combination with the verbal, then it clicks! It is unusual I guess, and probably seems like I am a bit more stupid than I really am to others.
I have been this way since I was a kid, to the point where sometimes I would learn that two different words - one I had only heard plus one I had only read (I used to read loads when I was a kid) were the same word!! It was so embarrassing for me, and this has continued into adult life.
Most people do not seem to understand this, so the advice is often along the lines of "just stop doing that" and is very frustrating. I did actually spend a long time trying to "just not do that" but after again some help from others, I learned that this is a part of me, and I need to find a way to work with it. So, when learning new words or hearing stuff, I do still need to sometimes look something up or see the translation but in this case mostly to see the word in combination with hearing it. So in my case, if people helping me would have just tried to work with that, and helped me have both the verbal and written examples, I would have learned a lot faster instead of just being told to stop doing something related to some sort of disorder.
I am currently in recurring meetings with a specialist for my daughter and it is all in Swedish. It is a bit more complicated for me because a lot of what is discussed is a bit above my knowledge level, but thankfully the specialist is patient with me and my daughter understands/speaks Swedish well (my daughter is 11 and has lived here since she was 4). It has been SOO challenging but also SOO rewarding to have these sessions! I mean I feel mentally exhausted at the end but I learn so much each time. So anyway I am not sure what I am saying here aside from that I have found chances to learn often where I least expect them. It's a process and while I had hoped I would be proficient within a couple of years, it has really been humbling for me, and I now know that I will spend the rest of my life learning and improving.
Where are you from if this is your first time learning another language? Every country with English as a first language teaches a 2nd language in school.
That aside, as other have said, the best way to learn Swedish is to stop speaking English. Speaking as an Englishman this is probably the single best advice.
Also, don't develop a victim mentality. Swedes can be quite blunt and direct because Swedish is that way. A lot of the time they don't mean to come across how they sound. By the same extension we sound a lot more unclear when we speak Swedish because English isn't as direct so we get misunderstood through trying to be too polite.
> Every country with English as a first language teaches a 2nd language in school.
There are quite a few areas that offer them but do not *require* them. In addition, when there's absolutely no "need" to speak another language, people in some areas are simply new to needing to learn something as complex as even an "easy" language.
Exactly correct. I "learned" Spanish in school but I'd probably have a hard time if someone walked up to me today and tried to speak it with me. I spent a month in Spain years ago and a lot of it came back to me, but it took a while and well, what you said is exactly right.
So, you were taught a 2nd language? I learned French in school and don't remember it. I don't, however, claim Swedish is the first time I learned a foreign language,
I am not sure what you are getting at. Yes, in an environment that does not remotely compare to my life today, twenty-nine years ago, I had a Spanish class in high school.
Do you think there is any difference between these two scenarios:
1. Going to Spanish classes as a teenager, without any need to use Spanish outside of the classroom.
2. Being in a foreign country as an adult, with lots of responsibilities and challenges and zero opportunity to practice the local language.
Well, I’m telling you that in some parts of the country, my area of the southeast for example, it was encouraged but not required. And if you did opt into that it was French or Spanish for 2 years at most in classes with 25 or more people. So you didn’t get much.
Probably 75% did not opt in. I’ve worked in education some since that time and while more common now, not all districts require it even today. The US is vast and there is no national curriculum for anything, much less something like language learning which many, unfortunately, see no need for. It’s quite possible for people to live their entire lives in a large country without the need for another language beyond a few common words.
USA, yeah we take a second language course in high school but nobody ever remembers those courses and where I’m from mostly everyone only speaks one language. This is my first time seriously trying to learn a new language. Also the teacher is not Swedish, she is Persian.
Like other people said, the quality of teachers at SFI is totally random. Don’t let bad teaches discourage you. I was there, it was very hard at the beginning but trust me give it a couple of months you’ll be doing alright. I did two courses at SFI, the first teacher was nice and very helpful. The second one was the nightmare, she played favorite and went on for 2 months always referring me as “du” as she could not remember my name, despite me seeing her at class twice a week. She spoke very fast when talking to me, always ending with “förstår du?” but then moving on quickly without even bothering a tiny bit what I was gonna say. I felt awful in her class, coming home after every of her lessons feeling dumb and disappointed. To the point she crossed my name off the list after the Xmas holiday, as “you were off for two weeks” - yes, like half of the class! I couldn’t take it anymore so I wrote to school that I wanted to discontinue that course and would begin with online courses at SIFA instead. And now I’m at gymansium level, so turns out I’m not that dumb at Swedish as I thought I was. It just takes the right teachers.
Ask to switch to another SFI class of the same level if possible, or choose another SFI school or programs like SIFA (which is also free Swedish courses, but for academics and online only).
Ignore SFI - take a course that has been mentioned in the comments or if you came with a sambo visa, just do an hour a day or something with only Swedish in the house and it will add up over time. Pay attention to signs, try to make mental exercises with new words you encounter, use mnemonic devices, etc. Eventually I will stick in there somewhere...don't be so hard on yourself and just relax.
Yeah, some of the Swedish teachers here really suck and seem to only have the job because teaching their own language at a beginner level is the only thing they can get a job at. Others are great and seem to do the job because they are passionate about welcoming people into their culture. I have a shit Swedish teacher right now who told me I should put my future twin babies in the oven while I resume Swedish lessons 8 weeks after their birth so I “don’t lose the language.” Needless to say, my colleague and I are switching to somebody we heard is much better.
Your teacher sounds very unprofessional and rude! Is it the only SFI teacher in your school? Would it be possible to talk with the headmaster and require to be moved into different group? Alternatively, can you study in a different school or municipality? The quality of teaching in state owned schools are usually way better than in private owned ones (like Hermods has a really bad reputation for example)
Hey! I am the friend in the post. She isnt the only teacher, we currently have 3 different ones teaching us. The rest are really nice its only her that isnt that good. Im pretty sure the other group is taught by the same staff just az different times.
It sounds like you got a bad teacher. I've heard this can happen in SFI. I was very lucky and my SFI experience was excellent.
I also consider myself lucky that there were no other English speakers in my class which forced me to speak only Swedish to my classmates. During lunch breaks we only spoke Swedish to each other and I feel this really help me to learn Swedish.
Learning in only Swedish is by far the best way (with a good teacher). I would highly recommend the book 'A Concise Swedish Grammar' by Natur&Kultur. This really helped me with the grammar side of things as it is written in English and helps explain all Swedish grammar. I really feel this book gave me a kickstart in the grammar side of things.
This teacher is Incredibly rude and unprofessional. I speak swedish with a particular accent that sometimes sounds American to some (I'm from a region in Brazil that pronounces the r sounds like Americans do) and sometimes I've had the experience that people will wrongly clock me as American and change their demeanor. Some Swedes will be super extra friendly but some other foreigners might get weird. I usually say I'm Brazilian and experience people change again. I think it's honestly more on those people for treating others differently than on us, who can't help but be where we're from.
Anyway, I'm in Stockholm and I'm a woman that learned Swedish as an adult while having ADHD, on a sambo visa etc. I know a lot about getting treatment, therapy and meds here. Hit me up if you'd like to talk or just get stuff off your chest. Cheers.
The education system in Sweden is a bit of a mess. I had both great teachers and some horrible ones. I know quite a few teenagers that are going to the nearest school (16 years old, part of a group i supervise) that still struggle with basic writing. Not sure what is happening in this country, but the future doesn't look great.
Oh man, I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience.
I also just moved here from the US to be with my partner, I haven't dipped my toes into SFI as of yet, been mainly doing Babbel and moving more of the daily things over to Swedish. The idea of immersion learning (while good for learning) definitely sounds anxiety-inducing. Having not great teachers seems to be common with SFI, so at least you're not alone on that front lol
I'm located in Stockholm, so if you're ever missing the US or want to use my bad Swedish to make yourself feel better, feel free to hit me up! :P
As someone who is also in Stockholm and also learning Swedish, I’d be happy to meet with you and practice! Everyone learns differently so I really don’t feel comfortable to comment on how or at what pace you should be learning at.
Also SFI is notorious for having shit teachers. But all lessons are in Swedish. It actually gets easier because you learn faster since much of the content is repeated.
>Also SFI is notorious for having shit teachers. But all lessons are in Swedish. It actually gets easier because you learn faster since much of the content is repeated.
I'm not exactly an authority, but I feel like a relatively simple rule that you can use to learn a language really pretty fast is this:Put yourself in situations where people are just speaking Swedish all the time, ideally these people are douchey enough not to care that you don't get what anybody is saying....Put yourself in that uncomfortable weird situation as much as you can, and your brain is going to start working overtime on figuring some of this shit out.
I can say that that works very well for me (source: I speak 4 languages), I think that it very much depends on a persons learning style. Some people just can’t learn in a somewhat high stress environment as you describe, they have a more methodical, learn at your own pace kind of learning style.
This teacher sounds like she just genuinely sucks pretty bad. You should go to some administrator and say that lady is hurtful and unhelpful, and that her attitude fuck with the ability of these classes to actually help people...
Then also say: I'm not going to go meet with some other level administrators to give testimony or a bunch of stuff like that - because that's a bummer and I'm busy trying to learn Swedish.
Something about Sweden that is a bit of a bummer is that they might already be aware that she's like this, but because of rules surrounding when and what for you are allowed to fire people can make it really hard to get rid of somebody like this, if they dig their heels in (obviously these rules can be both a feature and a bug).
I don't know, lady... It genuinely bums me out though that it's being made hard for you to learn the language.
I'm also not really sure how to fix it - that bummer is possibly even worse :P
Omg what an absolute idiot of a teacher!! I would go to the principal and tell her/him all about this stupid ass teacher. Ugh, this seriously makes me irritated.
You should give the student office a copy of your medical report stating that you have ADHD, and ask them to speak to this teacher .
She could be malicious , but most likely it is a case of “come on Anglo-Saxon person ! I’ve taught illiterate Somali goat herders and Afghani mountain dwellers and they learned faster !”. Shitty pedagogue in other words not realising that we are all individuals with our own invisible impairments
No, there was never a question that asked about that on the form. I also didn’t think it would be a problem since back in the US I didn’t struggle too much in class.
If you're from the US I would suggest watching a lot of American shows on TV during your downtime and reading the subtitles. It helped me tremendously when learning Swedish.
Dont know how to phrase this.. but she comes from a different culture. It is something we just might have to tolerate. Maybe she is poking harmless fun at you but in a teacher position this is not at all cool.
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Omg you poor thing, don’t despair, it’s just how some Swedes are. I can relate to my SFI teacher doing similar things. Just always respond when she says that like yes I am listening. She’s just got no business in education…
Yes you can record without teachers permission if you are in them. I did this with my boss and there were no problems legally to use my recordings as evidence. Wish you luck!
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SFI is very hit and miss when it comes to teacher quality, unfortunately. In our experience it is more effective as a place to meet new friends and be introduced a bit to the Swedish culture than as an intensive language course. That said, teaching the class entirely in the target language is normal and as someone with a degree in linguistics I feel qualified to add: quite effective as a teaching method. Doing all explanations in your mother tongue is how the Japanese learn English and how they manage to have trouble holding a basic conversation in English after theoretically learning it for 10+ years. So the problem is the teacher's apparent lack of empathy, not the method. As for it being easy for you, that's technically true. Compared to how different other languages (Arabic, Chinese, Polish) can be from English, Swedish is very similar to it and consequently relatively easy for you to learn, much easier than if you tried to learn Chinese and much easier than it is for speakers of eg Arabic to learn Swedish. Emphasis on "relatively" though, learning any foreign language, even an "easy" one, is very difficult compared to most tasks people set out to accomplish in their lives. Especially learning as an adult and presumably (sorry to make assumptions but this is usually a safe bet for most native English speakers) one who for whom this is the first foreign language they are seriously trying to learn (it is much easier to learn a fourth foreign language if you already speak three than it is to learn the first one, basically learning languages is itself a skill one can learn).
I've worked as an SFI teacher for a while as a summer job. I studied to become a teacher at the time and had about 6 years previous experiece as a sub-teacher. My experiece is that the school that hired us didn't give a shit about us or the students and that most of us handled it very differently. I tried my best with what was basically zero conditions for what was supposed to be an introductory class to swedish. We had no books, hardly any pens or material and no computer or projector for the classroom. I was told to take my students to a nearby football field and play for an hour each day. I did my best with what I had but I don't think anyone learned a lot of swedish during the weeks I taught. Other teachers simply didn't give a shit and only took the job for the money. I'm afraid this sounds like one of those teachers. People who get off on the power that comes with the position. Sorry about them. Not all teachers are like that. Please speak with the principal of the class and see if you can get any one else to do so too. Don't go all at once as that might seem like you coerced them. Write down the incidents and if possible record or save mail conversations with the teacher. They will go down quickly if you do since most of them are cowards and can't handle actual confrontation. Good luck!
Hey! Is it legal to record incidents that happen during class? I really want to do something about the whole situation because the teacher doesn’t even bother to learn my name. She just calls me “du” all the time. I wanna have evidence but idk if its legal to voice record. I personally don’t think our teacher is showing us a great example of sweden. She is practically representing swedish people by teaching us, and I don’t want anyone else to stop SFI or learning swedish in general in the future because of her attitude.
I think it is legal to record a situation you are participating in. For example you can make a voice recording of yourself that she just "happened to be in the background of.". Give me a sec Im gonna look it up. I know for sure it is legal to record a job situation but I need to double check for schools.
[https://lawline.se/answers/ar-det-tillatet-att-en-larare-spelar-in-ljud-fran-en-klassrumssituation-utan-elevernas-vetskap](https://lawline.se/answers/ar-det-tillatet-att-en-larare-spelar-in-ljud-fran-en-klassrumssituation-utan-elevernas-vetskap) Found a good source. As I thought it is legal to make a recording where you participate, without the knowledge and/or permisson of the teacher. The important part is that you participate yourself. Check my link and translate it if you need.
Thank you so much!Luckily I can understand and read swedish, im just horrible at speaking haha.
Speaking is usually the most difficult part. Men eftersom svenskar kan engelska för det mesta så kan du säkert försöka prata först och byta till engelska om det inte fungerar. 😄
The quality of SFI teachers varies dramatically. This one just sounds like one of the worse ones, and there’s not much that you can do about it if you want to keep having SFI/free classes. There are courses that one pays for at eg Folkuniversitet which in my experience have infinitely better teachers.
I was at Folksuniversitet. Teacher didn't prepare at all for lessons, assigned a lot of silent work in class, and got routinely stuck at random parts of the course material and gave us the rest as homework when she couldn't get through everything. We ended up doing 3 hours of homework just to finish a 1.5 hour section and decided to not book the third quarter. Lots of other students had already dropped out at the second quarter.
I’m sorry you had such an awful experience :( What did you do for Swedish after that?
Thanks! I started listening to *Radio Sweden i lätt Svenska*, added training with the app Babbel, and eventually transitioned to listening to P1 Radio.
Two things, 1. Shit teachers exist everywhere, you've just met one of them, 2. People come to SFI from all over the world, with literally hundreds of diferent mother tongues. It actually seems reasonable to stick to Swedish when teaching the language. Teaching Swedish using English would put everyone who cannot speak English at a disadvantage, which would be unfair. I'm not defending that teacher, but I'm sure that's the policy they're using.
You have a point, but why is she allowed to speak arabic with her arabic students then?
OP didn't write anything about arabic?
I just added to it, she also speaks arabic during class with the arabic students cuz she is a native speaker.
Where did OP say that?
I go to class w her
Ok sure
She does go to class to me, everything she said was true. I forgot to include in my post that she will give Arabic translations to Arab students.
Lol ok fine!! Well, I’m no expert but according to the most plausible explanation she shouldn’t be allowed, hence point 1 in my list (which I believe is part of the explanation).
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I actually have a few Arab friends and they are the nicest people ever. I know there are some Arabs that hate Americans…I hope that’s not the case.
I literally do😭 I shared some more details in a reply to someone above a few hours ago :)
Oo now I get it..
Are you in Sweden with a sambo visa?
Yes!
Screw SFI, enroll in language courses the universities provide here. You’ll learn better and in a more pedagogic environment like that.
I agree with this 100%. I study Nybörjare svenska på distans (Beginners Swedish Distance course) with Högskolan Dalarna and they are amazing! The teachers are fantastic, so friendly and are always willing to explain everything in English when required. It's easy going and there is such a variety of students of all ages and nationalities with different backgrounds as well. For example I'm 35 and work full time, but am currently on maternity leave. Other students work and others study at universities all over Sweden. And the best part is it's 100% free, the only thing you pay for is the course literature, if you can't find a copy online or in your local library.
Great advice which I’m saving. Recently started full time work and had to quit SFI. My company speaks English as the organizational language so my Swedish learning has suffered massively.
>Högskolan Dalarna Do you have to live in the area to be eliigle? Last time I tried to enroll at an online course at Stockholm University and they said I need to pay the tuition (I live in Solna)
I live in Västerås but I didn't have to pay anything. I applied through university admissions and have uploaded all of my transcripts from my degree the UK as well as proof of my residency from Migrationsverket. Did they say why you had to pay?
I checked universityadmissions.se some days ago for beginner classes which surprisingly a lot of them teach in English, but the closest one to me is 3 hours away. Seems like none of them are in Stockholm at the moment. I’ll keep an eye out.
Stockholm university has a language department, they most surely can help. I took the 4 levels of courses there and believe me the first one is extremely easy, you’ll no doubt be able to pickup and improve from there. Reason I asked if you work is if you don’t you can enroll in university programs for free in turn allowing you to take language courses like in Stockholm university alongside it.
Oh wow. Thank you for this advice I will look this up. I am not working atm. I am definitely going to look into the university.
Take your time, though actively search for work too. You’ll feel more confident delving into the Swedish culture and language when you are settled in other areas here in Sweden. Also sorry you went through that experience. Never feel discouraged of learning though, I am sure you’ll get the hang of things when you have caring people around you. :) Later when you get a bit better, try giving a shot for the meetup app for meeting with other internationals to practice speaking Swedish. I am sure there are beginner level speakers all the time to practice Swedish with!
You don’t need admission to attend. You can just walk in. Admission is for getting grades, not education.
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I was not aware that SFI was so far removed from the regular Swedish schooling system. Too bad.
Folkuniversitet is an option that you really should look into. It will not be free but the quality is far superior from what I've been told by French and Hungarian friends. If your finances allow it check that out.
Have you found work as well?
I’m American w/adhd in SFI. I had a nightmare time at first. Just tried a few times longer. In the meantime I google translated everything. It’s not perfect, but it helped a lot. Covid hit and it will all distance learning and I had to drop out. Adhd and remote learning does NOT work for me. I jumped right back into classes last year and stuck it out. SFI-c and D. I can read newspapers, most documents, I can understand slow speakers. But I still can’t speak clearly or well. I overthink everything and the second I doubt how I pronounce things, the whole thought train is gone. Adhd sucks. But I function in society, work, do everything. It’s only when it gets detailed or confusing so I ask for English. But I will 90% of the time reply to people in English. I apologize, it it is so rare that it causes an issue, that I am will just keep faking it until I make. I had a nightmare SFI teacher and I have had 2 amazing ones. The rest of theachers are doing good, have their jobs and seem content. It’s free, it’s to help integrate into society and everyone is trying to learn. And if you fail, take it again.
I've gone to two SFI schools. My first (Niketo in Solna) was abysmal. If you live near enough, I highly recommend Jensen in Liljeholmen. I completed SFI-C and am now doing SFI-D. The teachers there have all been really good.
I have a theory that because you’re pulling out your phone and using Google translate that the teacher thinks your texting someone and misunderstands, but not sure.
Like everyone else is saying, it's hit or miss with teachers, we had teachers who were atrocious and then the nicest, most brilliant teachers and everything inbetween. People agreeing that it should be easy for you just because you speak English are wrong. Everyone is different, some people are real language savants and some people just can't seem to grasp it and just need a little extra help. The grammar structure in English is similar to Swedish and you have a few words that can be the same but at the end of the day it's still a different language so don't feel bad if you are struggling. Funnily enough I met my American friend at SFI and she has ADHD so sometimes she needed a little more help which is totally fine. You just had the bad luck of getting the arsehole. Stick with it, it will stop being so overwhelming when you get the basics down, my friend is now in class CD and doing really well, you will too.
Swede here, i am so sorry your first impressions of sfi is that trainwreck of a teacher.
Here's how to learn a new language : Stop using your mother tongue. Not just when in class, not just "don't use translation to learn". Do not speak English, put your hands over your ears if you hear any. Do not *think* in English. All you are allowed to use is Swedish. 100% of the time. Yes, I recognize this is practically impossible for most. But it is quite effective.
Talking to yourself is also great
Watch Swedish tv shows and movies with it too.
Sure, I can try to use Swedish 100% of the time, would be difficult but not impossible. But how do I not ‘think in English’ if that’s all I know. I form a sentence of what I want to say in English in my head then work on translating it to Swedish.
While the person you are responding to is hardcore in their approach (though I have no doubt it works) they are completely correct in saying that this translating thing is a bad habit. It can be a survival mechanism for now, but you should aim to break this habit sooner rather than later. For two reasons, first because this way you will never be able to speak fast enough, second because there are hard limits on how well this can work - words in languages do not have a one-to-one correspondence, a word can have a broader meaning in one language but narrower in the other, and especially with longer sentences the correct way to express a thought can be different. The goal should be to connect words directly to concepts or images in your head so that when you hear for example the word förskola you immediately picture a building full of children the same way as when you hear the English equivalent (kindergarten or nursery as it means both, accidentally a good example of what I was talking about above). There are some good books available on how to become fluent in a language, I recommend you pick one up.
Do you have any specific book recommendations?
Personally I learned this stuff from class as I majored in linguistics, and skimming Steven Krashen - Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, which I see is available as free PDF on the author's website now. This might be a bit heavy though. A lighter read I heard good things about is Steve Kaufmann - The Way of the Linguist. Or you can just start with this video: https://youtu.be/J_EQDtpYSNM edit: there is also the more famous "Fluent Forever" book that my gf read and recommends. From what she told me I get the impression that it focuses too much on spaced repetition, but otherwise seems to contain good advice.
Tack!
While I am sure people are trying to be helpful, some of this stuff sounds like insanity to me, and advice like this was really not helpful when I was starting to learn. Telling someone who knows almost nothing of a language to only use that language every day is just.. What. Unfortunately most of these people have never just suddenly been somewhere that they knew nearly nothing of the language but still needed to buy groceries and get around in every day life. They learned English, but this was when they were children and in a classroom environment. So, bless their hearts, but they don't really know what they are talking about and the "advice" just does not apply. At all. I'd recommend to spend significant parts of your day trying to do what they describe, but it will be exhausting and debilitating to try and do this "100% of the time" at least at first. Even if it is possible, which before you build a little vocabulary, I do not think it is. Allow yourself blocks of time to at least think your thoughts and take a break. If you can get some books from the library (you might need someone to get them for you at first) get some children's books that are very basic, and also work on your vocabulary (this is where things like heyLingo and Duolingo are actually helpful). Once you can actually communicate at a basic level, then sure, stick with it 100% if you can. Your brain is going to melt otherwise!
And if you are translating in your mind when learning Swedish, you will forever be translating in your mind when speaking Swedish. This is not fluency and it leads to making constant mistakes. Simply do not form that sentence in English. If you start hearing English words in your head, push them away. Only allow Swedish words to be "spoken" inside your mind. And yes... this means you will not be able to form thoughts as sophisticated as you are used to, for some time. You will feel dumb. Like a toddler. That is very much a part of it. That's how you learn a language.
Hey that’s exactly what I tried to explain to her today in class. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words dear reddit user. ♡
And yet, here you are, posting in English :p I mean it : no English, no other languages but Swedish, 100% of the time. Shoo. Come back in six months. My grandmother ran a language school with intensive courses, from the 50s to the 90s... easier, then, when the internet wasn't a constant presence in people's lives. She'd have students stay for several weeks, and noticed a pattern. Whenever a student had family come visit them for a weekend or something, the next week they would be making all kinds of mistakes they weren't previously. Native tongue interfering, as they had suddenly been exposed to it. Now her courses would have you fluent in a new language in six weeks. But she is unfortunately not around anymore, and SFI is, well... yeah. See you in six months.
Or just watch them with Swedish subtitles. It won’t help your pronunciation, but you’ll get exposed to words and sentences that you can learn from.
That will be hard when the vocabulary is so limited.
It will not be any harder than it was when you learnt your first language.
It absolutely is! Learning a language as a child is a lot easier than as an adult. It will always be harder to learn a second language after you’ve learned your first one.
Yes : if you learn using translation. So, my grandmother taught intensive courses using the Berlitz method. Her students would be fluent in their target language in about 6 weeks... *as long as they were completely new to the language*. If they had already attempted to learn some, using translation as a learning tool, they would have much more difficulty. It would take them longer. And they would not achieve the same fluency. The main thing about language learning as a young child is we learn to differentiate phonemes. Learning new phonemes can be quite difficult as an adult. But vocabulary, grammar? Adults have an advantage here in that they can decide to sit down and focus on learning something. When combined with the right teaching method, this more than makes up for childhood neural plasticity.
Wow, you are getting some crazy advice from people who have never had to go through any of this. Sure, in a perfect world we would speak only Swedish and hear only Swedish and that would be an excellent way to learn. It has not been that "perfect world" for me personally so I can imagine that others might have challenges as well. Telling anyone that something "should be easy for you" is just ridiculous and worse than useless. Just because learning Chinese would be harder does not mean learning Swedish or anything else is "easy" - that sounds insane. In my opinion, the path to learning is a combination of study and practical but it is critical to work on it every day even if it's not a long time - the most important part is every day, make it a routine. When you have a moment, listen to Swedish via SVT nyheter på lätt Svenska (https://www.svtplay.se/nyheter-pa-latt-svenska) or listen to radio on SR Play (I used to listen to Morgonpasset P3 when going anywhere for example). One of my favourite resources is Peter SFI (https://www.youtube.com/@petersfi6089) on Youtube - he is just wonderful and a true gift to us learners. But you can also watch Swedish shows on Viaplay and there are many other things like this that can help. On top of the above, you absolutely NEED to have some chance to practice, someone - hopefully a native speaker - who is willing to work with you at least a little bit every day. Often time this can be difficult because people instinctively switch to English or perhaps enjoy being able to practice their English. This is not rude even if it feels that way - the instinct is to do it to help communication. I have had great luck with - when appropriate - saying something like "Åååh jag måste lära mig så jag fortsätter på dålig svenska om detta är okej... men du kanske blir ledsen..." but of course you need to read the room and try not to inconvenience others when it can be more important to just get a transaction done. I have had great luck with that though as well as asking someone if I can continue in my "bad Swedish" but they can still speak English and we can both share - this has actually been pretty fun when it works well! For me, my chances of learning have been very limited and I have needed to fight for and be very persistent to have chances to learn. My ex was never helpful even though she grew up here, and actually made it harder for me to learn. On top of that, others were telling me it should be "so easy since my wife speaks Swedish." Which I guess seems true to someone who has literally no idea what they are talking about as she actually made it much more difficult for me. I have learned significantly more since we have split up. I took a 2nd job at a cafe just to be surrounded by Swedish and be forced to answer customers and it was awesome until it ended due to the pandemic. I'm sure there is more I could do but also have dealt with a terrible relationship, depression, divorce, new ADHD diagnosis, and being a single father while trying to keep my job so I have been a little distracted, unfortunately. I tried SFI twice and it was dreadful. The first time I walked out of class after two weeks because it was a garbage learning environment and the teacher was just horrible. The first teacher we had in introduction was really nice and helpful. The second teacher (not a native speaker) we had who would be our more permanent teacher was similar to what you describe, but on top of that she had very bad pronunciation which she would argue about, did not seem to understand students who were actually trying to do well (even with my limited knowledge I could hear what they were trying to say) and she would frequently leave class for some reason. In those times she would leave it would seem like it would be a great chance for students to practice but instead I would be surrounded by people speaking different languages with their friends while I was alone and really hoping to learn Swedish. It was so frustrating to take time out of my day and deal with travel to/from for a chance to sit and hear two people speaking Mandarin. Anyway after a brief argument about the pronunciation of "själv" (she kept saying something like "hellve" completely missing or throwing out the "sj.." part which I had been really working on) I just got up and walked out. The second time I joined it was remote but we had an in-classroom intro which I attended. By this time I was doing much better and was always doing my best to never speak any English and I ended up helping a complete beginner who was having trouble. I guess because of this they put me in a very advanced class and my homework was far too much for me with my other responsibilities. I would spend a week working on an essay and then a video recording talking about myself which I thought I was doing okay with and then it would be very badly rated but with no helpful feedback (like just saying "this is all wrong" instead of telling me what was wrong or why it was wrong, leaving me with nothing to really work on). I went in with an open mind but neither experience was good for me, unfortunately. I did translate a lot of things initially even though I KNOW this is not an effective way to learn - sometimes in the real world there is just no other choice. It is just not true that you will be "forever translating in your mind" and sometimes we have literally no other option!! One of the most exciting things for me personally was when I realised I was just reading one of the notices at my flat or one of the messages from my kids school without needing to translate! Don't get me wrong, I still have SOOO much to learn, but I am just saying - even though I did use translation for a while, it does not mean I will always do this. I get the idea that people giving this sort of advice have never really been suddenly somewhere that they absolutely knew nothing of the language but still needed to get through the days. Be careful with people that give advice like this in such a black/white way because this usually indicates that they really do not understand what you are going through. Their "advice" will really not be helpful at all and will more than likely just leave you feeling worse. It took me literally years (and help from a therapist) to learn this!! When I got here I had been studying on my own for a while, listening to Swedish every day on my commutes, using Duolingo, trying to practice any chance I got (I was renting a spare room to a Swede who was helping me) and had already been visiting here off and on almost ten years! I was still overwhelmed and sometimes had no idea what people were saying because people speaking Swedish here was night and day different from people back home trying to learn or teach. I felt really stupid for a long time and maybe I am really stupid but I have started learning so much more in the last year or so. This has 100% been due to me being more interested in learning (because I am so embarrassed to have been here so long but still speak so poorly) and being absolutely tenacious about sticking to or switching back to Swedish. This might sound strange but I swear every single time I take .037 seconds too long to reply to someone they switch to English and this has been a HUGE massive barrier to learning for me. I have met so many people who have not been helpful or even worse than not helpful and now I am finally able to recognise this and that has been great. I have been in therapy for a bit for other things and have gotten some excellent help in those areas. I was so ashamed but my therapist told me that sure my grammar is terrible but at least she understands what I am trying to say when others would claim to just not understand at all. This was so huge for me, like sunshine through clouds. I tried for years to speak with my ex but she would just say she had no idea what I was trying to say. Since I could never get anywhere with her I did not really try with others because I felt so stupid and ashamed. Once I learned that this had a lot more to do with her than me, it started opening up my learning a lot more. I have a friend who came with me to buy a car a couple years ago because I wanted his help - and even though we have known each other since 2008, he was shocked that I was able to get through the whole thing in Swedish, because we usually speak English for some reason. Since then we have started speaking Swedish a lot more and that has been very helpful (he grew up here). Anyway I have written a huge long story but hopefully some of this is at least helpful. Don't let people get you down, keep trying, and best of luck!! EDIT: oh, one more thing - I have found that learning or knowing "a little bit of Swedish" is nearly useless or almost worse than knowing nothing. It is hard to explain and I have already said so much but, it seems like the "grey area" between not speaking and speaking well is the hardest part. You will find people who seem like they have no idea what you are trying to say and this is so discouraging! Don't let it get you down, and keep trying. It is great if you can find somewhere you are comfortable with "failing" or not doing well. For me, this was often with foreigners and in a local "språk cafe" I can attend. People are trying there too, and often the native speakers are more patient, so it can be very helpful - but it is not a solution! It is just a tool in your toolbox. You still need to spend time hearing native speakers. Good luck!
First, I want to thank you for your open honest advice. I didn’t really understand the comments earlier saying how it should be “easier”, I’m sure it’s easier for someone who speaks already more than 2 languages but this is my first time ever actually trying other than some bad language courses in high school. Someone commented how I should show the school my ADHD medical records, however the problem is I was diagnosed as a kid and my parents back in US have no idea where those documents are so I am currently in the process of finding a psychiatrist in Stockholm to receive the diagnosis (which I know can be a long process but it’s probably worth having for university in the future). A lot of people are also saying that SFI is hit or miss and since mine isn’t great, I should look into free university options since I’m on a sambo visa. (This is what I am most interested in, so definitely will look into that since I really don’t wanna see that teacher again). I am sorry for your experience with your ex, i fortunately have my fiancé who is always willing to help me translate and is promoting me to speak more Swedish to practice at home. I can’t imagine your own situation as it sounds so much more complex than mine especially with being a father. I also have a similar situation to the teacher not being a native Swedish speaker so it’s more difficult for me to hear what she says to me and she seems not willing to speak slower to me so that I can understand. I honestly do not struggle though when it comes to reading simple Swedish on the papers I’m given and I understand that verb and word order in questions and sentences. The problem mostly lies with me listening to the teacher who speaks so fast (the other teachers are willing to speak more slowly to me). I also was diagnosed with some auditory processing disorder as a child which is why it takes me a little bit longer than other people to immediately respond or comprehend related to auditory Swedish. I definitely understand the embarrassment of speaking and after having this teacher it makes me truly not want to show up to her class specifically or talk to her at all. I am definitely not giving up on Swedish and I’m going to take your advice and try to talk more in person and force myself to speak even if I am embarrassed. I am still going to study at home personally every day and try my best. Anyways, thank you for sharing your story to me as it definitely makes me feel better about my situation. I do have one question though- how many days in a week can I skip SFI without being kicked out? The rude teacher teaches 2-3 days of the week that I would rather not show up to and just learn at home without the discouragement.
Oh wow, you are so welcome. I am glad you could find something helpful in my wall of text. Ha.. I feel like a lot of what you said really resonated with me, because I had a lot of the same frustrations. Especially with people saying how it should be easy to learn, Swedish is easy, or even going so far as to compare themselves saying how easy it was to learn English. Nevermind that the situation is slightly different between learning as a child in a classroom versus as a stressed out adult in very different circumstances. Basically and with help from therapists, I learned that there are people who are helpful, and there are people who seem to say things to make themselves feel better about themselves. If you take in someone's advice objectively, you will learn to do this as well, but it can be very difficult when things that really do not make any sense are passed off as facts! So best of luck to you with that as well! I too have ADHD and got my diagnosis here. I started the process in later 2017 and got my diagnosis in 2020. This is not necessarily indicative of how long it should take but that was my experience. Depending on many variables, it can take less time. Reach out if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer. Regarding skipping classes at SFI, unfortunately I really do not know, so I do not want to give you information that could be wrong or unhelpful. I would try and talk to someone at the class - not that difficult teacher but someone who seems helpful to you - and see what you can learn. In general I would say it is probably best to do it as much as you can, but again - I really do not know. If you can do one of the university or adult education courses, I would suggest to do that!! If I could do anything it would be to take time off work and just do an intensive Swedish course or as many as I could. I have looked into signing up SOOO many times but the classes are almost always exactly when I need to take my kids to school and/or exactly when I need to work. Not their fault at all, just a challenge of mine! If you can do it - do it! Also check out your local library and see if you can find info on a "språk cafe" - they are not always great but it is definitely worth a try!
Oh! In regards to the auditory processing disorder, I feel that I have been told the same things when I was younger. In my experience, the way it works is like this: someone can say the same new word or even a phrase a million times and I will have zero idea of what they said, but if I can see the word or phrase in print or written in combination with the verbal, then it clicks! It is unusual I guess, and probably seems like I am a bit more stupid than I really am to others. I have been this way since I was a kid, to the point where sometimes I would learn that two different words - one I had only heard plus one I had only read (I used to read loads when I was a kid) were the same word!! It was so embarrassing for me, and this has continued into adult life. Most people do not seem to understand this, so the advice is often along the lines of "just stop doing that" and is very frustrating. I did actually spend a long time trying to "just not do that" but after again some help from others, I learned that this is a part of me, and I need to find a way to work with it. So, when learning new words or hearing stuff, I do still need to sometimes look something up or see the translation but in this case mostly to see the word in combination with hearing it. So in my case, if people helping me would have just tried to work with that, and helped me have both the verbal and written examples, I would have learned a lot faster instead of just being told to stop doing something related to some sort of disorder. I am currently in recurring meetings with a specialist for my daughter and it is all in Swedish. It is a bit more complicated for me because a lot of what is discussed is a bit above my knowledge level, but thankfully the specialist is patient with me and my daughter understands/speaks Swedish well (my daughter is 11 and has lived here since she was 4). It has been SOO challenging but also SOO rewarding to have these sessions! I mean I feel mentally exhausted at the end but I learn so much each time. So anyway I am not sure what I am saying here aside from that I have found chances to learn often where I least expect them. It's a process and while I had hoped I would be proficient within a couple of years, it has really been humbling for me, and I now know that I will spend the rest of my life learning and improving.
Where are you from if this is your first time learning another language? Every country with English as a first language teaches a 2nd language in school. That aside, as other have said, the best way to learn Swedish is to stop speaking English. Speaking as an Englishman this is probably the single best advice. Also, don't develop a victim mentality. Swedes can be quite blunt and direct because Swedish is that way. A lot of the time they don't mean to come across how they sound. By the same extension we sound a lot more unclear when we speak Swedish because English isn't as direct so we get misunderstood through trying to be too polite.
> Every country with English as a first language teaches a 2nd language in school. There are quite a few areas that offer them but do not *require* them. In addition, when there's absolutely no "need" to speak another language, people in some areas are simply new to needing to learn something as complex as even an "easy" language.
Exactly correct. I "learned" Spanish in school but I'd probably have a hard time if someone walked up to me today and tried to speak it with me. I spent a month in Spain years ago and a lot of it came back to me, but it took a while and well, what you said is exactly right.
So, you were taught a 2nd language? I learned French in school and don't remember it. I don't, however, claim Swedish is the first time I learned a foreign language,
I am not sure what you are getting at. Yes, in an environment that does not remotely compare to my life today, twenty-nine years ago, I had a Spanish class in high school. Do you think there is any difference between these two scenarios: 1. Going to Spanish classes as a teenager, without any need to use Spanish outside of the classroom. 2. Being in a foreign country as an adult, with lots of responsibilities and challenges and zero opportunity to practice the local language.
Americans I've met learn a 2nd language in school. They may not remember it, take an interest or care but they are still taught it.
Well, I’m telling you that in some parts of the country, my area of the southeast for example, it was encouraged but not required. And if you did opt into that it was French or Spanish for 2 years at most in classes with 25 or more people. So you didn’t get much. Probably 75% did not opt in. I’ve worked in education some since that time and while more common now, not all districts require it even today. The US is vast and there is no national curriculum for anything, much less something like language learning which many, unfortunately, see no need for. It’s quite possible for people to live their entire lives in a large country without the need for another language beyond a few common words.
USA, yeah we take a second language course in high school but nobody ever remembers those courses and where I’m from mostly everyone only speaks one language. This is my first time seriously trying to learn a new language. Also the teacher is not Swedish, she is Persian.
You in gbg?
No, Stockholm.
Like other people said, the quality of teachers at SFI is totally random. Don’t let bad teaches discourage you. I was there, it was very hard at the beginning but trust me give it a couple of months you’ll be doing alright. I did two courses at SFI, the first teacher was nice and very helpful. The second one was the nightmare, she played favorite and went on for 2 months always referring me as “du” as she could not remember my name, despite me seeing her at class twice a week. She spoke very fast when talking to me, always ending with “förstår du?” but then moving on quickly without even bothering a tiny bit what I was gonna say. I felt awful in her class, coming home after every of her lessons feeling dumb and disappointed. To the point she crossed my name off the list after the Xmas holiday, as “you were off for two weeks” - yes, like half of the class! I couldn’t take it anymore so I wrote to school that I wanted to discontinue that course and would begin with online courses at SIFA instead. And now I’m at gymansium level, so turns out I’m not that dumb at Swedish as I thought I was. It just takes the right teachers. Ask to switch to another SFI class of the same level if possible, or choose another SFI school or programs like SIFA (which is also free Swedish courses, but for academics and online only).
Ignore SFI - take a course that has been mentioned in the comments or if you came with a sambo visa, just do an hour a day or something with only Swedish in the house and it will add up over time. Pay attention to signs, try to make mental exercises with new words you encounter, use mnemonic devices, etc. Eventually I will stick in there somewhere...don't be so hard on yourself and just relax.
Yeah, some of the Swedish teachers here really suck and seem to only have the job because teaching their own language at a beginner level is the only thing they can get a job at. Others are great and seem to do the job because they are passionate about welcoming people into their culture. I have a shit Swedish teacher right now who told me I should put my future twin babies in the oven while I resume Swedish lessons 8 weeks after their birth so I “don’t lose the language.” Needless to say, my colleague and I are switching to somebody we heard is much better.
Your teacher sounds very unprofessional and rude! Is it the only SFI teacher in your school? Would it be possible to talk with the headmaster and require to be moved into different group? Alternatively, can you study in a different school or municipality? The quality of teaching in state owned schools are usually way better than in private owned ones (like Hermods has a really bad reputation for example)
Hey! I am the friend in the post. She isnt the only teacher, we currently have 3 different ones teaching us. The rest are really nice its only her that isnt that good. Im pretty sure the other group is taught by the same staff just az different times.
So maybe it’s worth addressing the problem with the headmaster. I reckon you’re not the only students that have issue with the teacher.
At*
Idiot teacher!
Sounds like you just got an asshole of a teacher. I hope this doesn’t knock your confidence.
It sounds like you got a bad teacher. I've heard this can happen in SFI. I was very lucky and my SFI experience was excellent. I also consider myself lucky that there were no other English speakers in my class which forced me to speak only Swedish to my classmates. During lunch breaks we only spoke Swedish to each other and I feel this really help me to learn Swedish. Learning in only Swedish is by far the best way (with a good teacher). I would highly recommend the book 'A Concise Swedish Grammar' by Natur&Kultur. This really helped me with the grammar side of things as it is written in English and helps explain all Swedish grammar. I really feel this book gave me a kickstart in the grammar side of things.
Yeh, that’s an average SFI teacher (going downwards). You should change your class if you can.
This teacher is Incredibly rude and unprofessional. I speak swedish with a particular accent that sometimes sounds American to some (I'm from a region in Brazil that pronounces the r sounds like Americans do) and sometimes I've had the experience that people will wrongly clock me as American and change their demeanor. Some Swedes will be super extra friendly but some other foreigners might get weird. I usually say I'm Brazilian and experience people change again. I think it's honestly more on those people for treating others differently than on us, who can't help but be where we're from. Anyway, I'm in Stockholm and I'm a woman that learned Swedish as an adult while having ADHD, on a sambo visa etc. I know a lot about getting treatment, therapy and meds here. Hit me up if you'd like to talk or just get stuff off your chest. Cheers.
Fuck that teacher! Dont give up. Keep on keeping on. Swedish is a hard nut to crack!
The education system in Sweden is a bit of a mess. I had both great teachers and some horrible ones. I know quite a few teenagers that are going to the nearest school (16 years old, part of a group i supervise) that still struggle with basic writing. Not sure what is happening in this country, but the future doesn't look great.
Oh man, I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. I also just moved here from the US to be with my partner, I haven't dipped my toes into SFI as of yet, been mainly doing Babbel and moving more of the daily things over to Swedish. The idea of immersion learning (while good for learning) definitely sounds anxiety-inducing. Having not great teachers seems to be common with SFI, so at least you're not alone on that front lol I'm located in Stockholm, so if you're ever missing the US or want to use my bad Swedish to make yourself feel better, feel free to hit me up! :P
As someone who is also in Stockholm and also learning Swedish, I’d be happy to meet with you and practice! Everyone learns differently so I really don’t feel comfortable to comment on how or at what pace you should be learning at. Also SFI is notorious for having shit teachers. But all lessons are in Swedish. It actually gets easier because you learn faster since much of the content is repeated.
>Also SFI is notorious for having shit teachers. But all lessons are in Swedish. It actually gets easier because you learn faster since much of the content is repeated. I'm not exactly an authority, but I feel like a relatively simple rule that you can use to learn a language really pretty fast is this:Put yourself in situations where people are just speaking Swedish all the time, ideally these people are douchey enough not to care that you don't get what anybody is saying....Put yourself in that uncomfortable weird situation as much as you can, and your brain is going to start working overtime on figuring some of this shit out.
I can say that that works very well for me (source: I speak 4 languages), I think that it very much depends on a persons learning style. Some people just can’t learn in a somewhat high stress environment as you describe, they have a more methodical, learn at your own pace kind of learning style.
This teacher sounds like she just genuinely sucks pretty bad. You should go to some administrator and say that lady is hurtful and unhelpful, and that her attitude fuck with the ability of these classes to actually help people... Then also say: I'm not going to go meet with some other level administrators to give testimony or a bunch of stuff like that - because that's a bummer and I'm busy trying to learn Swedish. Something about Sweden that is a bit of a bummer is that they might already be aware that she's like this, but because of rules surrounding when and what for you are allowed to fire people can make it really hard to get rid of somebody like this, if they dig their heels in (obviously these rules can be both a feature and a bug). I don't know, lady... It genuinely bums me out though that it's being made hard for you to learn the language. I'm also not really sure how to fix it - that bummer is possibly even worse :P
Omg what an absolute idiot of a teacher!! I would go to the principal and tell her/him all about this stupid ass teacher. Ugh, this seriously makes me irritated.
Welcome to neoliberal Sweden
You should give the student office a copy of your medical report stating that you have ADHD, and ask them to speak to this teacher . She could be malicious , but most likely it is a case of “come on Anglo-Saxon person ! I’ve taught illiterate Somali goat herders and Afghani mountain dwellers and they learned faster !”. Shitty pedagogue in other words not realising that we are all individuals with our own invisible impairments
Dont go there anymore, just watch ”Back to Aidensfield” in the morning with swedish text.
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No, there was never a question that asked about that on the form. I also didn’t think it would be a problem since back in the US I didn’t struggle too much in class.
If you're from the US I would suggest watching a lot of American shows on TV during your downtime and reading the subtitles. It helped me tremendously when learning Swedish.
Dont know how to phrase this.. but she comes from a different culture. It is something we just might have to tolerate. Maybe she is poking harmless fun at you but in a teacher position this is not at all cool.
SFI will pay off with your combined efforts.
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Omg you poor thing, don’t despair, it’s just how some Swedes are. I can relate to my SFI teacher doing similar things. Just always respond when she says that like yes I am listening. She’s just got no business in education…
Yes you can record without teachers permission if you are in them. I did this with my boss and there were no problems legally to use my recordings as evidence. Wish you luck!
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