Make sure you have your textbook, folder and laptop with you. If there is only five minute break before the lesson get them from the locker during the previous recess.
Check the homework in Wilma already on the day before the lesson, in case you can't remember it yourself. Doing the homework carefully makes even studying to the tests easier.
Often the most important homework is when you are asked to read or study something:
It is good to listen the chapter a couple of times and then to read it aloud more than once as the vocabulary, sentences and structures are easiest to remember in their context. Reading a text aloud serves a couple of purposes: you remember the text better and at the same time you can practice pronunciation.
Make sure that you understand everything. You can write down the difficult parts and ask help from the teacher.
Study the vocabulary of the chapter in small parts - most of us can't memorize for example 60 new words in one go. You can find more tips for learning the vocabulary later on on this site.
Try to see if you can tell what happens in the chapter without looking at the book. There might be a task about that in your handout or you can for example draw a mind map to support you.
About reading in a foreign language
When you are reading a text in a foreign language, avoid using a dictionary or translator. This way you will learn to deduce meanings of words and to understand a text as a whole even if there are some unfamiliar words. It is also probable that you will remember a word that you have deduced by the context better than if you just used a translator-app or so. Before checking a dictionary:
o try to deduce the meaning of the word by the context
o try to say the word aloud in your head. The word en gäst maybe doesn't look familiar but when you pronounce it you might realise it means a guest.
o pay attention to prefixes onnekas><epäonnekas, säker ><osäker, suffixes endings etc. and think is there something familiar about the word
o think if you are able to tell to which word class the word belongs to etc. Killen kastade bollen. - > -ade is a past tense verb ending, so the guy did something to the ball.
o think if the other languages could help you: Killen kastade bollen. kasta? -> kastaa? -> (baptizing the ball doesn't sound probable, so let's ditch the Finnish word ) what about kasta? -> cast? (could it be to cast=to throw? That sounds pretty logical).
Tips for reading comprehension tests
There are two different approaches to a reading comprehension test. Think which one suits you:
o Holistic: Start by reading the text and trying to understand its main points. Look at the questions first after reading it and it might be that you are able to answer many of them or know where to find the information. .
o Focusing on the details: Read first through the questions/tasks and look at the text from their perspective. Still make sure that you at least skim trough the whole text as there might be more information about the same thing later on.
When you have read the questions, try tp figure out where in the text the answers can be found. You can for example underline the places.
Don't worry if you can't understand every single word of the text. The reading comprehension measures the skill to find the essential information (=answering the questions), not the ability to translate everything word-to-word. Still, try to get a general idea of the message/contents of the text.
Remember even to read the pictures and the captions. Some answers may be found in them or they can make understanding the text easier.
Remember to check your answers carefully. Especially in multiple choices there are ofthen options that are very close to the right one, but still not true. For example the text might say Kalle spelade fotboll i lördags. and there might options like a) Kalle played football on Wednesday. and b) Kalle did sports during the weekend. so it is important to read the whole senence and not stop after seeing the word football.
If you know that there are parts where questions are in the target language, remember to revise the question words. If you answer Varför kommer Kalle till Stockholm? it is totally different thing than Varifrån kommer..?
Just like with all other tests, it is always wise to answer all the questions, if you only know a part of an answer you might get a part of the points.
How can I practice reading comprehension?
o You learn reading comprehension by reading. Of course you can try and find some reading comprehension tasks online, but reading any text in the target language is useful.
o There are often extra texts in the textbooks. They are planned in the same way as the actual chapters - so that they use the vocabulary and structures that are on your level.
o When starting to read authentic texts for example comic strips, short news articles (in easy Swedish), texts from Instagram stories... are often nice as the pictures and the context help in understanding. When they feel easy, you can move to blogs, magazines, books etc.
o If you know a lot about a certain topic or are just really interested in it, you might want to read texts about it, For example ,if you love cooking, you might find it easy to understand a recipe in a different language or a football fan might understand a text about yesterday's game with no difficulties at all.
o When choosing your very first book in the target language, choose carefully. Some good ways to start:
Children's books/picture books
Easy to read versions of books
Books that you have read in your mother tongue, seen as films or are familiar with
Books, that you want to read, but have not been published yet in any other language that you know (motivation and interest are even more important than the actual level of the book)
o If the book you chose is too difficult, don't be discouraged by that. Find something else to read and try reading it sometime later. Some books may feel hard to get into even in your mother tongue whilst you end up reading some at one go. Same goes even for books in other languages.
I find listening pretty hard. How could I practice?
· Watch TV, movies and series either without subtitles or with subtitles in the target language.
o As a beginner news in easy Swedish ”nyheter på lätt svenska”, kids' programmes or something that you have already seen are an easy way start - for example Moomins are easy for many as they know the stories from when they were kids.
o It is also smart to think what you find easy: do you want to watch something in Finnish-Swedish or Swedish-Swedish, what is better level for you a American soap opera or an old Scotchman telling stories from past using a strong dialect
· Listen to music in the target language, search for the lyrics online if needed
· Listen to podcasts and youtubers
o if you find the understanding hard, you can adjust the speed to bit slower
· Listen to an audio book for example while drawing, knitting or jogging (some people concentrate better when moving)
o Even here kid's book or easy read books ”på lätt svenska” ”lättläst” are a good way to start
o You can also choose something that you have already read/listened in some other language.
· Find listening comprehension tasks online for example using search words ”oppiminen”, ”listening comprehension” ”kuullun ymmärtämisen harjoitukset” ”hörförståelse”
· When going through the chapters during the lessons, listen actively and pay attention to how pronunciation and spelling differ from each other.
Good tips for listening comprehension tests
· Decide to concentrate just on listening
o Take a breath and calm down
o Concentrating properly is the key to success
· Listen and read the instructions carefully
· If you have time, read the questions trough before the audio starts
· It usually helps to look straight ahead instead of E.g. in the ceiling (as people tend to look at the person they are talking to, looking straight is a "typical position" for listening). Of course those who easily get distracted by what the classmates are doing may benefit even from closing their eyes.
· Remember that there usually is some kind of topic, story, plot or logic to a listening comprehension text
o when you figure out the topic, the contents get easier to understand
o if the listening comprehension is in a video form, pay attention even to the visual information. It tends to support understanding.
· You can take notes, like key words, if you find it useful, but try not to concentrate too much on writing so that you don't miss something that is being said
o usually, if you are listening the same audio twice or more it is often a good idea just to concentrate on listening first time
o If the text has pauses, it is advisable to listen the whole part before answering, especially when it is a multiple choice question - it is very typical to say something like "Should we go for a pizza? in one sentence and "I'd rather have a burger." in the next one.
· Listening and reading comprehensions often contain some new/unfamiliar vocabulary, Try not to stress about that, main thing is to understand the main idea and to try and find the answers to the actual test questions
o If you can't understand everything, try to figure out the topic of the discussion
o Don't stress, concentrate on what you understand and deduce the rest
o Try to answer every question: a question left blank means no points, but a partly correct answer might result in some points.
Tips for writing a text in Swedish
Think
•Think in Swedish, do not translate à this way you don’t end up trying to write too difficult sentences
Plan
•If it helps you, plan in advance à write bullet points or make a mind map
Rephrase
•If you can’t say something in Swedish, think how you could say it in another way
Jag är i comprehensive school --> Jag är på nian.
Simplify
•Mostly the simpler is better (you can showcase your skills by using couple of dependent clauses, indirect word order, but there is nothing wrong in using simple and clear sentences)
Check
•Remember to check you text carefully before handing it in
Check-list before handing in a text:
Read it through: Does in make sense? Have you remembered everything that you were supposed to write?
Check the verb forms – do they make sense?
There should not be any infinitive forms (spela, gå) unless there is some other verb in the sentence (Jag kan spela piano. Jag gillar att gå på bio)
If you are talking about what is happening now/usually, you should use the present tense and most verbs should end with an –R (spelar, ringer, går)
If you are talking about past, most verbs end with an –E (spelade, ringde, bodde)
In perfect tense har+supine (har tittat), past perfect hade+supine (hade tittat)
Check the word order:
Main clauses (=most of your sentences) verb on the second place. Jag spelar inte fotboll på tisdagar. OR På tisdagar spelar jag inte fotboll.
Dependent clauses (=that start for example with om, att, eftersom, när, fast OR som) the word order is CON-SU-NE-PRE, same as in Finnish
If you have time, check even the nouns:
If you would use the article a/an in English, you probably need en/ett in Swedish
f you would use the article the in English, the singular forms should end with –en/-n or –et/t
With plural words the article ”the” is the –na ending for en-words and ett words ending with a vowel, whilst ett words ending with a consonant have the ending -en
How can I practice writing?
If expressing yourself in a foreign language feels difficult, try using the language as much as possible - speak it, write in it, think how you'd say something in the language. The more you use a language, the more natural it starts to feel. Here are some examples of what you could do:
Send messages to a friend or chat/participate in discussions on a website using the target language
Write own sentences, texts or stories either using the new vocabulary from the chapters or about topics that interest you. It is possible to bring these to the teacher to be checked (at least once in a while) - but don't expect to get feedback for a whole pile of long texts just a moment before a test.
Think in the target language (Do not translate).
Keep a diary in the target language --> just a couple of thoughts or what has happened
Write notes
If you feel writing is difficult
Study the chapters in your textbook really well
You can also learn some example sentences by heart --> For example: If you know that you have been practicing subordinate clauses, learn some sentences with subordinate clauses by heart. Then you can use them as model when writing or check the word order in your other sentence or just modify them so that they fit your text.
Simplify, if needed - use structures and vocabulary that you know.
How can I find courage to speak a foreign language?
You learn to speak by speaking, so try to use the language as much as possible right from the start
Say hi to the teacher in the target language, ask people how they are
Use the target language and discuss with your classmates for example during on recess every day
Try telling what happens in the chapter using a mind map
If you know someone who is fluent in the language, ask them to speak it with you once in a while
Ask help from the person you are talking, use gestures etc. as help - anything is better than ending the discussion.
Don't compare the level of your language skills with your mother tongue or other languages, but enjoy the progress you are making and the fact that you are able to communicate even a bit
In a language that you have started studying just a couple of years ago, the emphasis is on understandability. When you are making progress it is possible to fine-tune the grammar and pronunciation
Make a fool of yourself, play different characters, talk to a friend in the target language. The more you use the language the more natural the communication gets.
Pronunciation
Listen the chapters of the book carefully and repeat them. That helps your pronunciation. Listening actively is always useful
You can over act when repeating
If you don't know how to pronounce a word, ask help from the teacher
It is useful to learn the international phonetic alphabet (=IPA) as the difficult words in Finnish textbooks are often written using them and they tell exactly how to pronunce someting
Learning new words
The range of the vocabulary you master is visible on all areas of the language studies, but how can you learn words effectively?
According to many studies, the words are easier to remember if you read them in a context of a text. This means that it is smart to start studying words of the chapter by reading the text aloud and listening to it a few times.
For most of us just reading a list of words isn't the most efficient way of learning words. Here are some things you can do when learning a vocabulary:
· Read the words aloud
· Write the words in your notebook
· Ask the words from yourself by covering first the English words and then the words in the target language
· Mark or write down the difficult words
· Come up with sentences with difficult words and say them aloud or write them down
· Some student has even made even own audio file of the words and listened to them on their way to school
· You can also make flash cards either on paper or on some platform like Quizlet
· Learning vocabulary takes time. It is easier to study a couple of words at a time, for example 5-10 words at a time. Look through the previous words before starting the next part.
· Try to learn even the articles and conjugations/inflections carefully.
· Try dividing long words into smaller parts like en järnvägsstation = järn (iron), väg (way), station (station) = iron way station = railway station
Learning through action:
· Act out the chapter. Exaggerate, use different voices and gestures - both text and vocabulary are easier to learn when you see it in writing and hear your own voice. If you even move at the same time, that boosts memory even more
· Make own vocabulary lists or mind maps of the words or mark verbs/nouns/adjectives etc. using different colours.
· Ask words from your friend
· Play Alias, pantomine or Pictionary with the words from the chapter
· Read a sentence from the chapter but say "BEEP" instead of some difficult word. Your friend guesses what word it is.
· If the teacher has made a vocabulary game, play it.
· make own memory games, Quizlets, Kahoots, Wordwall tasks etc. using the vocabulary. If you do the job propely, you can share it with your classmates. You might even get a Service as Action mark for this.
Other ways to expand your vocabulary:
· Use the target language as much as possible:
o Listen to music, watch series and movies, follow YouTube -channels
o Read street signs, ingredient lists, comics, magazines, newspapers and blogs in the target language
o Change the language in your phone or in an app (Note! Do this first after you can basic things in the target language or know the application very well) or play your favourite game in the target language
· Try different language learning apps like Duolingo and Memrize or find sets matching your topic for example Quizlet