Since 2023, every Danish citizen has been able to learn a language for free with their library card. But only if they were comfortable learning a new language using English.

Now every Dane—and newcomers to Denmark—can access free language courses taught in their native language. No more language barriers.

“Danish for Migrants” course for speakers of 8 languages

Just like in the US where libraries play a crucial role in supporting English language learners, Danish libraries are a lifeline for thousands of migrants (the preferred term in Denmark) from countries like Ukraine and Syria.

The major difference: finding Danish courses taught in Ukrainian or Dari is a lot harder than finding English courses.

To fill that gap in Danish materials, we’ve added the “Danish for Migrants” course in Transparent Language Online – available for speakers of 8 languages:

• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• English
• Farsi
• Polish
• Turkish
• Ukrainian

For Orsi Gall, Director of Content at Transparent Language, the priority was filling that gap in a meaningful way:

“Danish language resources are limited. Finding quality courses is challenging, let alone good options taught in Dari or Ukrainian. Immigrants and refugees need practical courses focused on everyday tasks like buying groceries, getting prescriptions, using public transit, understanding government paperwork, and finding housing—not tourist essentials like ordering room service. These courses make those topics accessible in the immigrants’ native languages.”

Newcomers to Denmark will learn how to navigate a new culture in a new language. 27 units cover must-know Danish for daily life, including topics like:

• Meeting neighbors
• Using money
• Using public transit
• Renting an apartment
• Paying for utilities
• Obtaining work authorization
• Interviewing for jobs
• Getting medical care & prescriptions
• Enrolling kids in school & talking to their teachers

The topics are relevant to starting a new life in Denmark. So are the words, phrases, images, and cultural notes within the lessons. It was important to Orsi’s team to make something quickly—since libraries have an urgent need—but also make something quality:

“The course is deeply tailored to Denmark, featuring concepts like the Civil Person Registration number (Danish Social Security Number), images of Copenhagen’s public transit, and cultural notes on how to pay rent in Denmark. It’s completely custom but also easily adaptable for other learners in other countries. New language pairings could be made on demand to support libraries in other regions.”

Anyone who has a Danish library card can access these courses in Transparent Language Online thanks to Centralbiblioteket (Danish Central Library). For Centralbiblioteket consultant Mads Jacob Dyhr-Rasmussen, these new courses are a huge step forward in supporting immigrants to Denmark:

“These new Danish courses are a great benefit for immigrants who come to Denmark, because they now have the opportunity to learn Danish from their mother tongue. The new courses include instruction in Ukrainian, Arabic and Polish, which are the most important languages ​​for us to support in Denmark in recent years.”

“Essentials” courses in 14 languages for Danish speakers

On the other side of the coin, Danish libraries serve Danish speakers!

Many Danes speak English well, but not all. And learning a third language using your second language presents many challenges that can be hard to overcome in an online self-guided course.

To support multilingualism among Danish citizens, we’ve added courses for 14 languages that are taught entirely in Danish:

• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• Dutch
• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Norwegian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish
• Swedish

Each language pairing includes two courses:

• Essentials Course – A 10-unit intro to the language that emphasizes travel scenarios like navigating a city and going out to eat.
• Vocabulary Lessons – 100 vocabulary lessons that teach 1,000+ common words and phrases learners will encounter in conversation, from colors to food to weather.

Learners can also toggle the entire Transparent Language Online interface into Danish, for a seamless learning experience that requires no English ability at all.

Centralbiblioteket is equally excited about the opportunities these new courses present for Danes, as Mads explains:

“The new courses for Danish speakers are unique for a small language area such as Denmark. The many new courses offer great opportunities for Danes, who can now learn a lot of languages ​​without first having to master English.”

In Denmark and ready to learn? Visit your local library and ask about Transparent Language Online!

Not in Denmark? You can learn 120+ languages in Transparent Language Online at thousands of libraries throughout the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, and Australia. Search your zip code to find a participating library near you.