Projects about Danish as a second language

Projects with a focus on Danish as a second language

The Language Strategy has revealed that an increasing number of non-native-speakers of Danish struggle with academic Danish. Some students claim that they function well in Danish in general but lack sufficient academic Danish skills. Other students say that academic Danish is not a problem for them, but the social and cultural aspects of Danish language use can be highly problematic: A fourth-year bachelor student of Medicine, for instance, found the linguistic and cultural nuances of social situations seriously challenging:

”Enormous problems when it comes to social situations. Also problems when it comes to communicating with patients. There are giant gaps in my vocabulary, for example, short and friendly but meaningless expressions that lubricate the conversation and/or calm people down, and expected/appropriate responses to people’s jokes, etc. I feel like an alien most of the time (and people ofte react as if I am)”.

The Language Strategy has completed two projects with a focus on Danish as a second language, available to all who may be interested to avoid singling out a particular group of people. These projects have integrated language elements into existing courses. Surveys have shown that Danish as a second language requires more attention at the University of Copenhagen.

• Academic Danish at IT and Health
• Written Danish for dental hygienists

If you need more detailed information about the pilot projects, you may find it in Danish on our Danish website (https://cip.ku.dk/sprogstrategisk-satsning/udviklingsmidler/ ), or you may contact the Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use at cip@hum.ku.dk.