Product Description

A combined book/CD pack, TEACH YOURSELF SWEDISH is the course for anyone who wants to progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Swedish with confidence. Although aimed at those with no previous knowledge, it is equally suitable for anyone wishing to brush up existing knowledge for a holiday or business trip. Key structures and vocabulary are introduced in 18 thematic units, progressing from basic greetings and introductions and dealing with everyday situations to writing a formal letter and business communications. The emphasis is on communication throughout, with important language structures introduced through dialogues on the accompanying recording. There are plenty of exercises to practise the language as it is introduced and tips throughout to help with pronunciation and grammar. Cultural information boxes give useful advice and information for anyone planning a trip to Sweden.

The accompanying brand new double CD gives approximately 2 hours of pronunciation guidance and listening material. It is available separately (ISBN 0340 887540), as is the book (0340 887524).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11398 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
Vera Croghan started teaching Swedish at Aberdeen University straight after her second degree from Lund University, Sweden. After her marriage, she moved to Edinburgh where she gave private lessons and translated and interpreted for the Swedish Consul and businesses. She began teaching at the University of East Anglia when it opened in 1963 and taught there for 30 years.

Customer Reviews

A good guide to the Swedish language
This is definitely one of the better items in the Teach Yourself series. The grammar parts bring you a surprisingly long way, and the topics covered induce a wide vocabulary for a book for beginners. If you need Swedish only for your holidays you can still decide to skip the passages dealing with history, the school system, etc. The one decidedly negative aspect is that not enough emphasis is laid on the tonal system of the language. This is essential from the earliest stages on and therefore it would deserve more attention. The cassette is quite helpful in this respect but still questions with respect to tone are left open.

LEARN SWEDISH THE EASY WAY!
This teach yourself book on how to learn the Swedish language was one of the first books and tape packs I got on learning the Svenska. It starts really as a kind of story book following the Taylor family who arrive for a vacation in Gothenburg. It tells the story as well as learning you useful phrases on how to say things for a trip to Sweden. The beauty of this book is that unlike most teach yourself language titles it does not start with My name is....?

It in a way throws you in the deep end learning what would happen when you arrive at a ferry terminal. The tape included guides you throw each stage and is presented by two Swedish speakers.

In my experience as this was the book I got first on teaching myself Swedish over 6 years ago, I still refer to it as one of the best to start learning a new language. I am about to aqquire the Finnish one in the same format to begin a new language yet again.

A valuable resource
The book and CDs together really do make a complete course for you to follow at home. Presentation in good within the constraints of the small format and lack of colour printing/illustration. Each chapter is very well organised and follows a logical format. Grammatical points are explained succinctly. There are exercises and dialogues and also a focus on an aspect of Swedish culture within each chapter. The variety is very welcome. There is a lot of information in each chapter, and you should not expect to progress particularly quickly after the first few chapters. The CD is essential as a guide to the sing-song pronunciation of Swedish. I do not think this book could be improved within its price bracket. It does take a more scholarly or academic approach to the learning of a language. If you have learnt another language previously, you should feel at home with this format