Danish Beginners 1

Pre-requisites for enrolment

Beginners 1 is targeted at absolute Beginners – those with no previous experience of the language.

Beginners 2 is targeted at those progressing from Beginners 1 or false Beginners – those who have had some minimal contact with the language and understand the most basic language: ‘Where are you from?’, counting, etc.

Beginners 3 is a continuation of Beginners 2. False Beginners with more confidence might find this a better place to start.

If you have any queries, please contact languagesforall@ed.ac.uk

Content of Course

The following will be covered across Beginners 1, 2 and 3:

• Greetings

• Nationalities and occupations

• Likes and dislikes

• Counting, alphabet, spelling, dates, days, etc.

• Telling the time

• The most frequent and basic structures for talking about the present

• The most frequent and basic structures for talking about the past

• Coping with basic travel situations – directions, at the airport, train station, etc.

• Talking about family, your town, holidays, clothes, your home, transport, food and drink

• Money, ordering and paying in cafes and shops

• Making and accepting invitations

The aim is for students to learn to understand others and make themselves understood in these areas. Basic grammar and vocabulary will be presented and practised in the contexts above.

Students of Arabic will also learn to decipher and produce the script at a basic level. 

The above is a sample of the core topics typically covered at Beginners level and gives an indication of the likely content of the course. The content will vary from language to language.

Teaching method(s)

The emphasis of all of our courses is speaking and listening. The lessons focus on language that is required for communicating in real situations.

The lessons include whole class activities and pair or small group work, role-play, responding to short texts and dialogues and watching video clips. Grammar is introduced in context. More extensive written exercises and reading texts are normally only set as homework.

Learning is assessed informally throughout the course with the teacher providing feedback on practice tasks at the end of the course in revision and tests.

Typically, the primary language used in the class is the language being learnt.

Learning outcomes

On completion of all 3 Beginners courses, students will be able to:

• Communicate in the most basic everyday situations.

• Introduce themselves and others.

• Ask and answer questions about personal details such as where people live, what people know and the things people have.

By the end of the courses, students will have reached the equivalent of level A1 in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions

Sources

Core Readings

• Aktivt Dansk (3rd edition) – ISBN: 978-876-3603-05-8

Web Sources

Where appropriate web sources will be provided by tutor.

Class Handouts

Handouts supplementary to the coursebook.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.