Learning Swedish in Sweden

by Anne Oechtering (anne.oechtering@gmail.com)

In the summer of 2007 I attended a Swedish Summer School at Billströmska folkhögskolan on the Island of Tjörn, about 30 miles north of Gothenburg. As the selector for Germanic languages and literatures here at the Yale Library, I wanted to develop a basic knowledge of at least one Scandinavian language. When I learned that there are no Swedish classes being offered in Southern Connecticut, I looked into long-distance and intensive summer programs. The three weeks long full-time program at Billströmska seemed to be the most affordable option, and the prospect of actually being in the country itself and being forced to practice what I learned in a Swedish-speaking environment made this choice even more attractive.

The trip from New Haven to Tjörn included a flight, a train ride along the Swedish coast to Gothenburg, a bus ride to the island, and eventually a short trip with the school’s minivan to the little campus at the heart of the island. This could have been adventurous, had the school not given us such excellent directions – in Swedish. On the bus I met about a third of the 41 course participants from 22 countries. The largest group was from Germany, closely followed by Poles and Russians. The US and Canada were also represented. The ages ranged from 15 to 65, with most participants being between 20 and 30 years old.

We were all picked up by Tore, the school custodian/bass player/jack-of-all-trades who refused to speak anything but Swedish with us. To simulate an immersion experience, the school’s sole language was Swedish, and everyone – from staff to students – was expected to follow that rule. This was possible since most of the participants were advanced Swedish speakers; the beginners were assigned an advanced student as a translator. We were also encouraged to mingle with real Swedes during mealtime or in our free time, and we visited a family in their real Swedish home.

The accommodations at the school were mostly double rooms with a bath, and with a kitchen and living room on each floor; the number of single room occupancy had been limited so that more students could attend the course. The meals were served in a central dining hall. The campus was situated in the center of the island and surrounded by farm land, about three kilometers away from the next village which could be reached by foot or bike. The school itself is part of the Swedish networks of folkhögskolor, traditional boarding schools for adult education, mostly situated in rural areas.

On the first morning of the three week-long class, I enrolled in the “absolute beginners” group, together with 5 other students from 4 different countries (Spain, Russia, US, Germany). The other classes were a bit larger. Our teacher was Swedish, but was living in Latvia during the year to teach at the University of Riga; classes were held in the mornings and in the late afternoons in three 1.5 hour blocks a day. The evenings were filled with visits by lecturers, movies or typical Swedish social activities such as brännboll and kubb.

En cykla för att cykla

The school organized also an extensive entertainment program outside of the campus, including a naturwandring on Mjoeln, another little island, a trip to a nearby badplats, and in the weekend day trips to Gothenburg and to the fancy vacation island Marstrand. We could borrow one of the school’s cyklar to go exploring, shopping or swimming on our own; physical activity was very necessary, since most of our time outside of class was spent eating the many Swedish specialties prepared by the school’s kitchen, such as Janssons Frestelse or kräftor.

When I look at the program, it seems as if we had more free time activities than instruction. That would do the program injustice, since those activities were part of the instruction. The school’s policy to do everything in Swedish was challenging, but by the end of the stay it was actually possible to follow along in conversations and to even occasionally contribute. Our teachers were excellent, the students motivated, and the school and its surroundings just beautiful. The entire staff was extremely helpful and the program was better than well-organized, with enough flexibility for bad-weather or other emergencies.

The program was organized by Riksföreningen Sverigekontakt (The Royal Society for Swedish Culture Abroad) and Billströmska folkhögskolan (Billströmska College of Adult Education). The cost for the entire class including accommodation, excursions, meals and learning materials was 11,000 SEK for a single and 10,000 SEK for a double room (about $1,500/$1,600 at the time).

Here is more information on the 2007 summer course, on Sverigekontakt and on Billströmska and its programs.