Learning Swedish

I started learning Swedish on the 27th of September of 2017. Almost two years later and I don't think I have much to show for it, but I have made progress and it is important to celebrate that! It's not even close to enough, but I'm slowly getting there (or so I hope). 

Since I'm fluent in Portuguese (my native tongue) and English, this becomes my third language. But learning those two languages was exceptionally breezy compared to this time around. I was born in Portugal and therefore learnt how to speak before I even knew what the world was and I studied English at school from the 5th to the 11th grade, which gave me a pretty solid base to my current knowledge. That base was then later on strengthened by the world around me (tv, movies, music, books) and talking to my boyfriend or friends from other countries on Skype/Discord. Long story short, I had quite a bit of guidance when it came to learning those two languages, but where Swedish is concerned, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. The pronunciation is extremely difficult for a portuguese person who isn't used to their vowels or terribly long words with an endless string of consonants. And don't even get me started on their grammar...most things don't have any sort of rules, so you just have to learn it all by heart, including the exceptions/irregular cases. To be honest, it's a really, really hard language to learn. When I feel I'm making progress, I say or write a sentence that has at least one thing wrong in it and I fear I will never be able to do it. I don't have many words of wisdom, you mainly just have to stick with it. But in case you're struggling with svenska like I am, I leave a few tips that might be able to help you.

1. Duolingo and Tinycards
I have been mainly using Duolingo so far and I can honestly say that it has been a godsend. I won't pretend it's the perfect tool, because there are several things that could be improved (e.g., better organized materials), but I definitely think it's a great help to getting started in learning Swedish. There is a crazy amount of lessons (66 to be more precise; I am currently on 51), each including five levels, which makes you practice a lot. Most lessons include a page with explanations that are usually simple and easy to follow. Besides this, they use a points system that rewards and motivates you to get more exercises done (tapping directly into the conditioning addict in your brain) and achievements (again gamifying it for our 21st century needs). If this wasn't enough for you, they also send you daily reminders if you choose so (which works rather efficiently, even if by guilt-tripping you into completing your daily xp). Aside from everything I just mentioned, I believe there are two features about this website that make it especially good: in each lesson you get to practice listening, writing and speaking skills; and there is a good balance between grammar practice and vocabulary learning. I don't think we can ask for much more out of a free website! In addition to the browser version, there is also a phone app, although I much prefer to practice on my computer.

What I do prefer to use on my phone is the app Tinycards, a set of digital flashcards that are most handy for practicing in a fun way. It works as a complement to everything you've learnt on Duolingo (the materials/lessons are the same) but the format is quite different. I find it's very useful to learn vocabulary, as it makes use of repetition to instill the words into your short-term memory, and hopefully later on, your long-term memory.

2. Coursera 
I recently finished a course on Coursera (a website with a variety of free courses in several different fields) called Learning How to Learn: Powerful Tools to Help you Master Tough Subjects. I wanted to try it because I thought it could give me tips to help me study and learn Swedish better. I'm happy to say it was the right call! Despite their relatively simple materials and short lessons, the course was extremely helpful in giving me a new array of tools/techniques to study better and, if everything goes well, learn better too. Ever since I started the course, I've been using the Pomodoro method to avoid procrastination (and it really works!), trying to alternate between the Focused and Diffuse Modes of thinking (very useful in order to achieve mastery in a certain subject) and using Recall a lot more than I used to, which has been proven to be one of the best methods to consolidate the materials into your long-term memory. On the whole, it allowed me to better understand which processes underlie our learning and how it all works, which in turn made me realize what I can improve to do it more efficiently. If you're trying to learn a new skill, I highly recommend it!

3. Handmade Flashcards
I'm one of those people that much prefers handwriting and jotting things down with a pen and paper when it comes to organizing ideas or learning something new. Therefore, ever since the beginning, I knew I wanted to make some sort of flashcards to help me memorize vocabulary, but also work on my grammar. There are many Swedish verbs scattered in my brain and each one comes with all the different tenses (at least six) that I've learnt by now. It can become quite overwhelming, because it adds up to a lot. But if you study it bit by bit (focusing on the process and not the product, another useful tip from the course I mentioned previously), you'll find them much easier to memorize. According to what I wanted to learn (grammar vs. vocabulary), I have created two types of cards:

This method is especially good because: 1) while you're writing it down and preparing them, you're slowly getting acquainted with the materials and helping them settle into your memory through repetition; and 2) it will allow you to practice at a later moment, using the useful and recommended  method of recall. It's a win-win situation!

4. Grammar 
When I decided to learn Swedish, I was quick to order a book called Swedish - Essentials of Grammar (by Åke Viberg, Kerstin Ballardini and Sune Stjärnlöf) in the hopes that it would guide my study sessions and make my life much easier. I'll be straight and admit I don't reach too much for it, as I sometimes find it a bit hard to follow in comparison to my Duolingo lessons (maybe because the explanations are a bit more abstract without making use of any exercises). But it has been useful to me so far and it has made some things clearer, even some that I didn't manage to understand from anywhere else. I don't regret buying it, because I believe it's important to have some sort of more formal/theoretical knowledge to fall back on, to make sure everything you're learning is correct. One of my goals is to enhance my studying by paying more attention to this grammar and trying to push myself a bit further. The writing is usually easy to understand and they include examples to everything, so if you're on the lookout for additional help, you might want to consider this one!

5. Helpful resources
Whenever I'm completing my Duolingo lessons or I'm creating my flashcards, I come across words I don't understand or need to get confirmation on. In order to get along and also learn more, I found these additional resources that are most helpful to me:

English/Swedish Dictionary - https://ensv.dict.cc/

Verb Conjugator - https://en.bab.la/conjugation/swedish/ (which also has the dictionary feature)
; https://cooljugator.com/sv

(Another) Swedish Course - https://learningswedish.se/courses/11

More Specific Lessons - https://lingio.co/ (you can choose between three levels: beginner, elementary or new in Sweden; it seems especially good for acquiring vocabulary)

Finally, I haven't really explored this one, but it seems promising and includes an interesting feature: a word of the day that gets sent to your e-mail daily - https://www.swedishpod101.com/

I hope this was useful! If you have any questions about my progress or anything related to my learning process let me know in the comments :) Best of luck with your attempts!