Good advice about learning Danish

Language should be used where it is learned – and learned where it is used. Therefore, CIP has assembled some good advice on how to use the language during the learning process, and how to use the language where it is used, which is at work. There are recommendations both for people who are learning Danish, and for people who know Danish and have colleagues who are learning Danish. A general piece of advice for everyone is to understand and accept that learning a language takes time.

For people who are learning Danish:

  • Speak Danish at work, but remember that it is okay to use English words and phrases when necessary.
  • Ask your colleagues to speak more slowly or say things in a different way, if you don’t understand them.
  • Tell your colleagues what you are focusing on in your Danish learning and ask them to correct you in that area.
  • Begin with things you are familiar with and switch to English when your Danish becomes insufficient.
  • Find opportunities to read and listen to Danish as much as possible, e.g. music, TV, radio, mp3 downloads, newspapers etc.
  • Write Danish as much as possible, especially in e-mails to close colleagues, instructors, or other Danish course participants.
  • Ask a colleague to whisper-interpret meetings held in Danish, or ask the organiser of the meeting to brief you before the meeting.
  • Ask your colleagues when you have language-related questions. You can also ask a Danish-speaking colleague to be your language buddy – at CIP’s Resource Site, you can find tips on how to get started.
  • Install Danish dictionaries and language tools as apps on your smartphone. 


For people who know Danish and have colleagues who are learning Danish:

  • Show an interest in your colleague’s Danish learning and inquire about it.
  • Use informal occasions to speak Danish with your Danish-learning colleagues – it is okay to change to English when Danish becomes insufficient, and languages can easily be mixed.
  • Ask if your colleague wants to be corrected when they are speaking in Danish.
  • Speak distinctly and slowly if you sense that your colleague doesn’t understand you.
  • Accept the fact that learning languages takes time, and be sympathetic to your colleague’s effort to learn Danish.
  • Agree to speak only Danish during lunch breaks a couple of times a week.
  • Prepare an English agenda when the language of the meeting is Danish and vice versa.
  • Be open to mixing Danish and English in meetings – your Danish-learning colleague might understand more Danish than he speaks.
  • Volunteer as a language buddy for your colleague, so that you primarily speak Danish with them – at CIP’s Resource Site, you can find tips on how to get started as a language buddy.
  • Remember that your Danish-learning colleagues are different and need different types of support – what works for one person might offend another, so keep trying!