Learning Danish
Like it's cousin languages Swedish and Norwegian, Danish has few commercial language learning products available for those native English speakers who want to learn the language. Some of the more
widely known companies don't produce anything, others produce only limited, or less comprehensive products. Your best bet for self-study may be to get two or more complementary products, which I usually
recommend anyway. Before you begin, check the
How to Learn Languages
page and the
Learning Tips
page to help put together a comprehensive lesson plan for yourself. Here are some of the best products available for learning Danish :
Teach Yourself Danish The longstanding Teach Yourself series has always had a wide variety of languages. The coursebook comes with two audio cd's or cassettes, and is available in most bookstores or online. Book Teach Yourself Danish (old version). Published by David McKay Company or English Universities Press in the 50's, 60' and 70's, these old Teach Yourself books are great grammar-intensive workouts with lots of little exercises. Combined with an audio product, this would make a good component for learning Danish grammar. They are out of print but can be found in used bookstores or online at ABE Books.com Audio Only Pimsleur Danish Compact As far as ease of use and quality of the material and method, Pimsleur is the best. You begin learning Danish in a natural and comfortable way. It's the same for all Pimsleur language programs, but some go further than others. Pimsleur Compact Danish is too short to stand on its own as a complete language learning method. It is only 10 lessons long, and it's brilliant conversation and pronunciation regimen is diluted by the reading practice which shortens every lesson, unlike Pimsleurs Comprehensive programs in other languages, which have a separate cd for reading practice. Compact makes a very good introduction to Danish or a good audio supplement for its conversation and pronunciation work, but a more comprehensive method is needed to go beyond the first steps in the language. Read my more indepth Review of Pimsleur Products or compare to a similar product in my review of Pimsleur Swedish Compact. This inexpensive software program to learn Danish is a great tool to have in your arsenal. Lots of vocabulary and phrases, dialogues, audio from native speakers, games and activities and much more to get you started on your path to learn Danish. Software Rosetta Stone Danish Level 1 Rosetta Stone's multi-media software is only available for Danish for level 1, unlike the other more widely spoken languages which go to level 2. Despite this, Rosetta Stone Danish program is probably the most comprehensive product for self-learners. They use an immersion approach, and bombard the learner with text, audio and pictures. They also offer an online version of the software for a more affordable price. Read my review of Rosetta Stone.
|
