Swedish Resources (version 2.0)

[Anonymous]

See this link instead.

https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 19&t=5077/

[David1917]

Follow-up on the first edition Assimil Swedish course:

In an old HTLAL Thread on Assimil, in which Prof Arguelles first proclaims his adoration for the series, he suggests that Swedish actually has a second-stage component, not unlike the "Le Pratique..." series (Using... in English):

Once you have a base in a language, Assimil also offers an "advanced" course in the main languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian), and also in Dutch, and also in Swedish (although it is not marketed as such, merely as volume 2). All of these are heartily recommended as most exciting and culturally rich improvement courses!

In previewing the 2 Volumes, it does appear that this is in some sense true. However, the 2nd volume of lessons 50-100 is supposed to be done with an "active wave" of the first, as opposed to completely afterwards. Volume 1 has around 230 pages of lessons (before appendices/glossary, and Volume 2 has around 337. The lessons in Volume 2 look pretty beefy, too.

I will say that, as Swedish is on my list, the prospect of using this Assimil course is extremely exciting. It should be noted, however, that this is the older edition, and Assimil has created a newer course in 2012. This book is one volume, and I have no experience nor other reviews to add as to the degree of its intensity and breadth.

[neumanc]

First of all, well done Speakeasy!

In an old HTLAL Thread on Assimil, in which Prof Arguelles first proclaims his adoration for the series, he suggests that Swedish actually has a second-stage component, not unlike the "Le Pratique..." series (Using... in English):

Once you have a base in a language, Assimil also offers an "advanced" course in the main languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian), and also in Dutch, and also in Swedish (although it is not marketed as such, merely as volume 2). All of these are heartily recommended as most exciting and culturally rich improvement courses!

In previewing the 2 Volumes, it does appear that this is in some sense true. However, the 2nd volume of lessons 50-100 is supposed to be done with an "active wave" of the first, as opposed to completely afterwards. Volume 1 has around 230 pages of lessons (before appendices/glossary, and Volume 2 has around 337. The lessons in Volume 2 look pretty beefy, too.

I will say that, as Swedish is on my list, the prospect of using this Assimil course is extremely exciting.

Keep in mind this is not the 2012 version of the Assimil course. It is fairly difficult to find all components of the two-volume (I believe from the '80s?) course these days.

The older Assimil Swedish course can still be acquired on a German base including the audio for all lessons (however you have to buy two sets of audio, lessons 1-48 and 50-100): http://www.assimilwelt.com/schwedisch/
I haven't used it myself but spoken with somebody who has. According to her, this course is not up to date in respect of addressing other people. There has been a major shift from adressing higher-ranking and/or older people very formally to addressing everyone informally. This course doesn't reflect this. I assume that this will be a problem with the Spoken Swedish course, too.

[Random Review]

Nice post, Speakeasy; but I wonder why you think the Hugo "In 3 months" series would take you to A1 minus. The ones I have tried (German, Spanish, Portuguese) were far more solid introductions than the corresponding "Teach Yourself" and "Colloquial" books and, supplemented by a couple of hours with a decent phrase book, should take you to a comfortable A2 (which is more than I can say for most beginner's books for those languages, including the two series listed above. The German one in particular was excellent.

[jeff_lindqvist]

According to her, this course is not up to date in respect of addressing other people. There has been a major shift from adressing higher-ranking and/or older people very formally to addressing everyone informally. This course doesn't reflect this. I assume that this will be a problem with the Spoken Swedish course, too.

With the recent FSI German: Too Old? in mind, that course may have scared some learners - but not myself, zenmonkey and others.

I was actually thinking of Swedish courses when I read that topic. Not only because of the possible issues with adressing people, but also with things like first names (It's almost that you can open any Swedish novel and immediately figure out when it was written, just based on the names of the characters... )

[Speakeasy]

@RandomReview, I do not dispute your evaluation of the Hugo Three Months series. I still recall my Irish grandfather saying: “That’s what makes for horse races.” Although my father explained this idiom to me as meaning that people often differ in opinion as to expected outcomes, as I was quite young at the time, I was perplexed by the lack of agreement and the need to put the matter to a test. In support of your own appraisals, I will say that, over the past few years, I have become increasingly severe in my assessments of the potential levels of achievement of most language-learning materials. I am most definitely a curmudgeon and perhaps my advancing years are beginning to influence my estimates.

[Speakeasy]

@neumanc and jeff_lindqvist, as to your exchange “major shift from addressing higher-ranking and/or older people very formally to addressing everyone informally … I assume that this will be a problem with the Spoken Swedish course … FSI German too old … I was actually thinking of Swedish courses when I read that topic …”,

(a) my review of Spoken Swedish includes the cautionary statement: “Quite obviously, though, in using these materials, the student would have to make allowances and adjustments for the formality of the register and a portion of the aging vocabulary”, and

(b) my "Proposed Swedish Study Plan" at the very bottom of the list of resources is: “Join me in a round of the 1950’s-era “Spoken Swedish” with an “Assimil Le suédois” chaser and, afterwards, we’ll head off to the nearest Swedish pub. I’m sure we’ll do just fine!”, which suggests that I am an adult, one who is sufficiently aware of the evolution of languages and of the need to temper the use of vintage materials by the inclusion of more current ones.

Besides, as I will be turning 72 in a couple of weeks, the “older people” and I, should I ever meet any, will likely get along quite well. As to the younger people, either they will be completely unaware of my very existence or they will think of me as quaint old fahrt (sic).

I must admit, though, that I am pleased by the reactions to this list of Swedish resources!

[David1917]

First of all, well done Speakeasy!

In an old HTLAL Thread on Assimil, in which Prof Arguelles first proclaims his adoration for the series, he suggests that Swedish actually has a second-stage component, not unlike the "Le Pratique..." series (Using... in English):

Once you have a base in a language, Assimil also offers an "advanced" course in the main languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian), and also in Dutch, and also in Swedish (although it is not marketed as such, merely as volume 2). All of these are heartily recommended as most exciting and culturally rich improvement courses!

In previewing the 2 Volumes, it does appear that this is in some sense true. However, the 2nd volume of lessons 50-100 is supposed to be done with an "active wave" of the first, as opposed to completely afterwards. Volume 1 has around 230 pages of lessons (before appendices/glossary, and Volume 2 has around 337. The lessons in Volume 2 look pretty beefy, too.

I will say that, as Swedish is on my list, the prospect of using this Assimil course is extremely exciting.

Keep in mind this is not the 2012 version of the Assimil course. It is fairly difficult to find all components of the two-volume (I believe from the '80s?) course these days.

The older Assimil Swedish course can still be acquired on a German base including the audio for all lessons (however you have to buy two sets of audio, lessons 1-48 and 50-100): http://www.assimilwelt.com/schwedisch/
I haven't used it myself but spoken with somebody who has. According to her, this course is not up to date in respect of addressing other people. There has been a major shift from adressing higher-ranking and/or older people very formally to addressing everyone informally. This course doesn't reflect this. I assume that this will be a problem with the Spoken Swedish course, too.

This is good to know - indeed I think exploring the Nordic languages from a German base rather than a French base would be all the more rewarding.

I wasn't aware there was a 2012 reprint of Swedish either - since I am not near the point of studying the language seriously, I haven't kept up with scouring for materials. However, many people successfully track down older Without Toil etc. editions, not to mention Linguaphone courses, etc. so either way I don't think it's much of an issue. Nonetheless, I will insert a note on my original post.

[Speakeasy]

With a view to consolidating the disparate lists of Swedish resources, I have copied/pasted all of the links from Yoytek’s excellent “Swedish resources for beginners and those at A1-2 levels” thread into the list above … If you’re going to steal, steal from the best!

[Elenia]

Thank you, Speakeasy!

A few Swedish only courses that run to a more advanced level, or cater for advanced learners.

Form i fokus A, B and C; and Text i fokus 1 and 2. Form i fokus focusses on grammar. I have made a little use of book A and didn't much like it, and extensive use of Book C, which I didn't like either. Nonetheless, the grammar exercises are numerous and well worth looking for anyone needing a bit more work on specific points. I much preferred Text i fokus which, as far as I remember, consists of non-fiction text extracts. The extracts in each book are categorised A, B or C in terms of difficulty. Each text is accompanied by comprehension and vocabulary exercises. Both books are by Cecilia Fasth and Anita Kannermark and are published by Folkuniversitets förlag.

The Avancera series which comprises Avancera Grammatik (grammar), Avancera Läs (reading), Avancera Hör (listening) and Avancera Ord (vocabulary); all by Marianne Mathlein, published by Liber. I have only used the first two. Both are quite slim volumes, nonetheless expensive. The answer key for the grammar, reading and vocabulary books are available for download from the publisher's website. I would recommend the grammar book for someone who felt that they really, really needed the extra practice, but not for anyone who needs help understanding the concepts, as grammar concepts are not explained.

Språkporten 1 2 3, by Monika Åström, published by Studentlitteratur. This book focuses on reading comprehension, using texts taken from a range of different sources. Some texts are written by the author of the book. The book is well organised into thematic sections containing glossed readings, simple comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, discussion questions and writing prompts. Each section ends with a few pages on grammar. Purchase of the book also gives access to a digitised version of the text and an audio recording, as well as extra exercises. Unfortunately, the digital version can't be bought separately. The book is designed to take B2-ish learners to a C1 level.

All three publishers offer other books for Swedish learners, as well as books for learners of other languages.