Swedish Online
Online Intermediate Swedish at the University of Melbourne
From 2008 both our intermediate level language subjects Swedish Language and Culture 2A and Swedish Language and Culture 2B will be available for online study as well as on campus.
If you wish to complete either of these subjects online you should contact the subject co-ordinator Dr Catrin Norrby by email catrinn@unimelb.edu.au prior to commencement of semester.
Who can enrol in the subjects?
Swedish Language and Culture 2A and 2B can be included as elective subjects in an Australian university degree through cross-institutional enrolment (subject to approval from your home institution).
Both subjects are also available to the general public through CAP (Community Access Programme). If you enrol through CAP you pay an upfront fee. You have the option of enrolling either as an assessed or non-assessed student. If you choose to take it as non-assessed the fee is lower, but you don't get assessed of course.
If you are a student of another university in Melbourne you may enrol in this subject through cross-institutional enrolment. With cross-institutional enrolment you should first contact your home Faculty to get approval for this subject as part of your degree.
For other prospective students
You can enrol in this subject - provided you meet the entrance requirements through CAP, no matter where in the world you live or study.
If you are a current university student anywhere else than in Melbourne and wish to get the CAP-subject approved towards a degree at your home institution, you need to get approval from your home institution.
For more information on enrolment procedures and CAP-fees
please go to the Faculty of Arts Single Subject Study web page.
or phone +61 (0)3 8344 6395/+61 (0)3 8344 5235.
If you belong to the Arts Alumni, you get a $100 reduction of fees per semester. CAP students please note: You need to pay your fee and complete your enrolment early enough to ensure that you will be able to access the subject site from day one of the semester.
Prerequisites and time commitment
For enrolment in Swedish Language and Culture 2A you need to have completed Beginners Swedish or equivalent (approx. 100 hrs of tuition and/or completion of a beginners textbook and exercise book, such as: På svenska! published by Folkuniversitetes förlag, or Svenska utifrån published by The Swedish Institute). For enrolment in Swedish Language and Culture 2B you need to have completed Swedish Language and Culture 2A or equivalent. If you are unsure about your level, please contact the subject coordinator.
Each subject is designed to equal four hours of language classes per week. In addition to that you need to make some time for the completion of assignments and participation in the Discussion Forum (our virtual classroom). As a general guide, expect to spend 2-3 hours a week on such activities. However, learning is an individual experience and people have varying language backgrounds so it is difficult to give an exact number of hours you would spend per week. If you find that you spend more than 8 hours per week, you should contact the subject coordinator for advice.
Materials
All material for each subject is provided online, so you don’t have to purchase anything. It is however recommended that you purchase or borrow a basic Swedish grammar (eg. Swedish: an essential grammar by Philip Holmes and Ian Hinchcliffe. Routledge, 1997) and a dictionary (the best one for speakers of English is: Swedish Dictionary. English-Swedish, Swedish-English, published by Routledge).
Semester 1 subject contents – an overview
All materials and exercises will be available online to enrolled students. Semester 1 consists of 8 units, each structured around a certain theme (eg Travel, Food, Traditions, Childhood, Sports and Leisure...). Each unit has the following components:
Texts
- An introductory text introduces the theme of the unit using basic and familiar vocabulary.
- A focus text introduces new vocabulary and grammar and deals with the theme in more depth.
- Both the introductory and focus texts are annotated: difficult words are explained in Vocabulary notes and words that describe something typically Swedish are explained in Cultural notes. The notes pop up when you scroll over such words.
- Both the introductory and focus texts have been recorded in a professional studio so that you can listen to the texts. All speakers are native speakers of Swedish.
- Background reading is provided by current and topical links to Swedish websites where you can explore the theme of the unit further.
Reading Comprehension
- A Multiple choice reading comprehension test on your basic understanding of the texts of the theme. You get automatic feedback and can take the test as many times as you like.
- A reading comprehension task with written answers in Swedish checking more in-depth understanding of the texts of the theme. Some of these you submit for assessment to your teacher.
Listening Comprehension
- A multiple choice listening comprehension test based on short everyday conversations that are related to the theme of the unit. For most of these tests you get automatic feedback, and you can do them as many times as you like, but a few are submitted to the teacher for assessment.
- A yes/no choice listening comprehension test based on brief accounts or narratives that deal with the theme of the unit. You get automatic feedback and take the test as many times as you like.
- All listening exercises have been recorded in a professional studio using many native speakers of Swedish. There are both male and female speakers and they come from different regions of Sweden so you will be exposed to different accents. In addition, a few near-native speakers are included. (Those are people who have lived in Sweden for a long time and have studied the language to an advanced level.)
Grammar
- Each unit introduces a couple of grammar points. Some will be familiar (revision of what is usually covered at the beginners level), and some will be new.
- All grammar explanations are brief and designed to be as simple as possible. All grammar explanations are followed by grammar exercises with automatic feedback. You can do these exercises as many times as you like.
Vocabulary
- There are several vocabulary exercises which practise the central vocabulary of the units. You check your answers easily with the automatic feedback feature and can go back to the exercises at any time.
Web Tasks
- Exploratory tasks where you search the web for information on a thematic topic and write it up in Swedish. You submit a number of these for assessment.
- Negotiation tasks where you – if possible – work with another student and negotiate for information. You are provided with suitable links to websites and based on a certain scenario you have to make decisions. For example, in Unit 1 (Travel) the negotiation task consists of finding a travel destination, a hotel etc. within a budget. Sometimes you will get role cards, which tells you how to act.
- Discussion tasks are provided for some units which lend themselves to discussions (also see below)
Pictures
- Each unit is illustrated by many photo images. These are not simply decorations but serve an instructive purpose. All pictures were taken in Sweden and demonstrate many aspects of the country.
Resources
- There are many useful links to websites such as: newspapers, online dictionaries, radio and TV programmes and much more.
'Classroom' Activities and Support
- A virtual classroom provides a discussion forum where students and teacher ‘meet’ to discuss various topics. Some are simple, others more demanding as they deal with current issues in Swedish society (Discussion tasks).
- Chat is provided so you can be online with your fellow students (and sometimes teacher)
- Contact with your teacher – each week your teacher has an office hour when s/he will answer emails or phone queries. In most cases your teacher will be able to reply to email questions within a day.
Further Information
If you have any further questions at this point, please contact
Associate Professor Catrin Norrby
Swedish Program
School of Languages and Linguistics
University of Melbourne
Parkville VIC 3010
Australia
T: +61 (0)3 8344 5207
E: catrinn@unimelb.edu.au