Language is the most important tool

How does the use of parallel languages affect your work life at the University of Copenhagen?

I meet parallel language use every day, because I work in an international environment. I speak English to my international students, and both Danish and English to my Danish colleagues. Moreover, I teach in Danish, but I often feel that there is a language barrier between me and the Swedish and Norwegian students in the class. I understand that it is a political decision that you can speak all the Nordic languages at the University of Copenhagen. But it is a challenge in my teaching, and therefore I am considering getting a little help with my Swedish and Norwegian at some point.

What linguistic challenges do you experience in your everyday life in Denmark?

I still can't express myself ironically in Danish, and sometimes I find it difficult to join discussions at large events. At home we speak three languages: Danish, Turkish and English. My biggest linguistic challenge was to learn all the Danish children's songs in ‘de små synger' within 10 days to be able to sing them with my 6 month old daughter when we attended baby music classes.

What thoughts did you have about learning Danish when moving to Denmark?

When I first came to Denmark, I had no plans to stay in Denmark, but I still decided to learn Danish in order to understand the news on TV and to join the small talk in the coffee breaks without interrupting too much. Even though I started Danish language training right away the second time I moved to Denmark, it has taken a bit longer to finish it due to projects and for private reasons. It was not an absolute necessity to speak Danish at the time, because I worked with young students and laboratory technicians who were happy to speak English. But for me, it has always been important to understand everything, and therefore I read the newspaper and watch Danish TV shows every day.

What have you done to learn Danish?

I have participated in the state-funded module courses at Studieskolen and the former KISS. Hereafter, I have participated in some of CIP's Danish courses. It was fun to meet other international colleagues from KU at CIP's courses, and it has also been interesting to see the level of my Danish compared to the others'. I especially gained a lot from getting feedback on my teaching.

How do you intend to continue learning Danish?

I would like to continue taking classes at a higher level at CIP.

Do you have any advice for international and Danish employees working at a work place with parallel language use?

I only have experience from The Kennedy Institute and the University of Copenhagen, where respect and acceptance was shown to the international staff. I believe it is important to understand each other and to be understood, and language is the best tool to achieve this. I don't know if it is so important in what language you communicate, but it is very important to learn or to try to learn about each other's cultures and ways of thinking.