17-year-old Amy Goodman moved to Denmark from London last year to pursue her IB-studies at Grenaa Gymnasium. Since then she has made impressive progress with the Danish language, although she admits it’s a tough nut to crack…
Amy, how was it coming to Denmark and not knowing the language at all?? It was fine, actually. My birth parents are both English, but I’ve listened to the language sounds quite a lot, because my stepmom is Danish, but I didn’t know any of it before I came to Denmark. It has been a bit scary at times when everyone is speaking Danish, because I don’t understand anything. However, I’ve gotten used to it and now I’m learning Danish. Do you speak Danish at home? When I’m at home, I speak Danish with my stepmom, since she is the only one who knows how to speak Danish. When I’m back in London, I speak a mix of English and Danish since both my stepmom and grandmother speak Danish. My siblings cannot speak Danish, but my dad can speak a tiny bit, although it isn’t very much. I live at Grenaa Gymnasium’s Boarding School where there are some Danish students as well. A lot of Danish is spoken, and every time there is some sort of announcement, it is held in Danish.
So that also helps in terms of learning the language. What has been the greatest hurdle in terms of the Danish language? It is really difficult to pronounce Danish words – that’s like really difficult! My mouth just doesn’t move in the way it is meant to in Denmark, but I’m getting more used to the different sounds now. Also, spelling in Danish just doesn’t always make sense to me – how it looks on a page and how it sounds is to me completely different, so that has really been a struggle for me. Even though it’s been quite a struggle, you’ve still managed to pick up the language rather quick – How? I’ve taken Danish lessons – I have three Danish lessons every two weeks with my teacher – she is really patient – everyone in my class is quite advanced in Danish, because they have already had a few years with Danish, so I was kind of like thrown in and I didn’t even know how to say “my
name is”, so I did a lot of homework and read books that were like beginners books. Also, I do a lot of different things to enhance my Danish. For instance, I now read children’s books and young-adult books in Danish, I have the Duolingo App with me at all times and I use it constantly! I listen to Danish radio, trying to get used to the sound and how it’s pronounced. So it’s a lot of time spent, but it is definitely worth it. You have classes in English – Do you practice your Danish in between classes? Yes, a lot of my class mates are Danish. The others are half Danish and have lived abroad and knows some Danish. A lot of my closest friends are Danish, so they speak Danish around me. I don’t always have the vocabulary to be able to speak back to them in Danish, but often they speak to me in Danish and I reply in English. How about outside your school – Is it difficult to socialize without speaking Danish fluently? No, not really. When I’m out shopping, I try to always speak some Danish. I also play rugby in a local club, which helps me a lot because we are being instructed and
informed in Danish whenever we practice it or play a real match. I’ve also participated in a local musical, which was also in Danish, so I try my best. Sometimes others speak English to me if I need it, but I can normally understand it if they speak slowly enough! It’s also really easy to make friends when you’re learning a language, even if they don’t speak too much English themselves. They have less pressure talking English, because my Danish isn’t that advanced either. Do you have a particular word in Danish that you constantly struggle to pronounce? Haha, yeah I do – All the “å”-sounds. Also, pronouncing rye bread is really difficult “…ru-rug-broed”. That is so difficult, and I’ve been trying for so long, but I cannot do it yet.
Thank you for sharing, Amy! You can check out Grenaa Gymnasium and find more information about their educational portfolio here: http://www.grenaa-gym.dk/ib-2/