Learning a new language is difficult. It can not be done in two weeks. It takes years to reach fluency. This isn’t news to anyone who has ever truly delved into a language. There will be great frustration and small accomplishments. There will be cursing (in your native language and maybe even the language you’re learning). There will be rejoicing. There might even be some tears of frustration. But when you finally get it, and you will, there are few things better.

But we knew that. So despite the challenges, there are ways to make it just a little bit easier. Not painless, but easier.  Below you’ll find a few language learning tips, some specific to Swedish, some more generic. Please feel free to add your own tips below. And if you’re looking for the answers to the example problems from last week, head to the very bottom.

Listen to Swedish radio at http://sverigesradio.se/. This will allow you to hear many different native speakers using the language. One concern of language learning is getting too used to the dialect or speech pattern of one specific person (a teacher for example), to avoid this, listening to other people speak the language is key.

Watch the news at http://svt.se/. Again, similar idea to the radio above, however, some of the news clips allow you to have subtitles in Swedish. This is great for following along and also allows you to grab key words that you might not have known before.

Watch Swedish movies. And turn the subtitles on. You’ll once again have the chance to hear native Swedish while following along with the written language.

Read the newspaper. Sites like http://www.svd.se/ or http://www.dn.se/ can be challenging. They are two of the largest newspapers in Sweden. However, for your news fix, check out http://www.8sidor.se/. This website focuses on being easy-to-read and using common, everyday language to present the news.

Use Facebook. In Swedish. You can flip the language settings to do everything in Swedish. And of course, social media in general gives you a great opportunity to connect with people from Sweden who have similar interests. And if you can connect with Swedes with similar interest, you have a great chance of getting to practice your Swedish on them.

Transparent offers some great software to help you along your way to Swedish fluency. Check them out at http://www.transparent.com/learn-swedish/. There are even some free software downloads for you to test out first.

And then, of course, there are some classics. Flash cards. Mnemonics. Associations. Focus on what you know. Use contextual clues. Find those cognates. Find people to practice with.And, yup, memorize.

Along the way though, remember to relax. This is challenging. It’s supposed to be challenging. Don’t get caught up comparing yourself to others. We all learn languages at a different pace. Focus on your successes, not those of others.  This is supposed to be fun. Make sure it is. If that means using Facebook and making up flashcard games, do it.  If it means Skyping with long-lost family, do it. If it means having a Swedish movie marathon with Swedish subtitles, do it. But make sure you surround yourself with learning tools and strategies that help you along your way to fluency, while also making it a positive experience.

And finally, answers to “Många vs. Mycket:”

Talar du ___många___ språk?
Det finns ___många___ bananer i väskan.
Jag älskar dem ___mycket___.
De pratar inte ___mycket___.
Hassan talar ___mycket___ på konferensen.
Min mormor skiver ___många___ brev.
Det finns ___många___ väckarklockor på hotellet.
Dricker du ___mycket___ kaffe på morgonen?
Det finns ___många___ stolar i klassrummet.
Jag cyklar ___mycket___.