Jan Lierz wanted to learn Danish and opted for online lessons with UCplus as this gives him flexibility in relation to his university studies.

Start Danish lessons as soon as possible

Originally from Düsseldorf, Germany, Jan Lierz holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. In August 2021, he started his master’s degree in Information Management at Aarhus BSS (Aarhus University – School of Business and Social Science), while also beginning online Danish lessons with UCplus.

“I knew Danes were good at speaking English. But I wanted to be able to communicate without English. So, for me, it was important to learn Danish. And it was important that I started learning the language as quickly as possible.”

Online lessons and daily practice

Jan chose online learning because it was easy to combine with his studies during the day. He found Danish and German to be similar, so reading Danish was not too difficult. Pronunciation, on the other hand, can be a bit of a challenge, but attending lessons helped.

“Our lessons always start with each of us speaking a bit, like telling what we did over the weekend. And it really helps that we speak in all the lessons.”

But Jan was also determined to use Danish outside of lessons.

“When I go grocery shopping, I always try to speak Danish. I say, ‘I’m not from Denmark, I’d like to practice my Danish.’”

Song lyrics and daily conversations

English is spoken a lot at the university, so Jan has been looking for ways to speak Danish. For example, he applied for student jobs and became a student assistant at a large auditing firm in Aarhus, where he speaks Danish with his colleagues.

At home, he listens to Danish podcasts like ‘Danish Coffee Break’ and Danish music from artists such as Peter Sommer and Thomas Helmig, who are also from Aarhus.

Jan has enjoyed studying in Aarhus, both because of the student life and the city’s location by the sea. He is very fond of Denmark, because he thinks it is an exciting country with a lot of good ideas, and he particularly likes Danish architecture and interior design.

He would like to stay, so in addition to preparing for PD3 and completing his university studies, Jan is also writing job applications to Danish companies.

We wish Jan the best of luck with both the PD3 exam and his job search!

Learn Danish with UCplus

UCplus offers the three official Danish Language Courses that provide access to official exams and a good start in Denmark. The courses are offered at three levels, each consisting of six modules. You will be offered the level that fits your years of schooling and qualifications.

Would you like to learn Danish online? Read more and sign up here.

It is very important to Paul that he learns Danish properly, so he turns up for Danish classes at UCplus’ language center in Gyldenløvesgade in Copenhagen every Saturday morning.

It is the teaching here that makes the difference

It was a huge surprise for Paul Gordon that he could already use his Danish after just half a year. He hadn’t expected that because his previous experiences with learning languages had had completely different results.

“I’ve been learning Irish for 14 years, but I still can’t speak Irish,” Paul says with a laugh. But he also knows what it is that has made the difference.

“At UCplus, we already started practising to speak Danish in the first lesson! I had never tried that before. When I was learning Irish and French at school, it took years before we tried speaking because we had to learn all the grammar first.”

Danish lessons help with everyday situations

The Official Danish education is not only about mastering the language, the lessons also include knowledge of Danish history and culture. And in Paul Gordon’s opinion, this is definitely an advantage. During the Danish course he is attending, he has covered topics such as the Danish Parliament and the role of trade unions in Danish society. And especially the latter has given him useful knowledge.

“I am glad that I have learned about trade unions in the lessons. I understand what it means to be a member and what my rights are. And it helped me when I had to talk to my own trade union here in Copenhagen and had to fill in various forms.”

Paul has just started Module 5, and he is looking forward to learning more about politics in general. Like the rest of the class, he has the PD3 exam in his sights right now. But he is also interested in continuing with Module 6 to become even better at Danish.

Paul’s advice: Take every opportunity to speak Danish

Paul knows why he has learned to speak Danish so quickly – because he tries to speak Danish as often – and as much as possible.

Since his job takes up his time during the week, he has chosen to attend Danish team classes every Saturday morning. When he has told others that he attends lessons on Saturdays, he has experienced that quite a few people are surprised that he spends weekend time on it. But for Paul, it’s the only right thing to do. In the same way as he practices speaking Danish with his girlfriend and her parents, and with the Danish friends he has.

“For me, it’s about taking all the opportunities in which I can speak Danish. It is about being willing to go out and meet up with people. Because the more people you talk to, the better you get at speaking Danish.

I have agreed with my girlfriend’s parents that we only speak Danish when we are at their house. At first, I only understood a few words, but now it’s fine and I can follow the conversations.

I also meet with my Danish friends to practice my Danish. They help me improve because they tell me when I make mistakes. Or they explain which words I need to use if I’m at a loss for words. If you want to learn Danish, you have to prioritize it.”

The Danish education helps you become good at Danish

UCplus offers the three official Danish courses, which give you access to official tests and a good start in Denmark. The education is offered at 3 levels, each of which consists of 6 modules. You will be offered to start at exactly the level that suits the number of years of schooling you have and your qualifications.

In the first 2 modules of all 3 Danish courses, we focus mostly on oral skills and on getting you ready to speak Danish at your job and in your education. In the following modules, you will gradually get better at speaking, reading, listening and writing in Danish.

Read more and sign up here

Valentina was determined to learn Danish properly. She worked her way through Danish courses at UCplus, and has resulted in her having both passed the Danish test PD2, that she has obtained a bus driver’s license and a job with the bus company Anchersen.

From Danish courses to bus driving licenses at UCplus

“When I came to Denmark, I was completely alone. I missed my family, but I cleaned so much that I barely had time to miss them. But I wanted to learn Danish.”  In 2020, Valentina saw one of UCplus’ posts on Facebook about learning Danish online. She did not want to learn Danish that way, so she wrote to UCplus’ Language Center in Greve and asked if there were other options.  “There was an evening shift I could start on, and it suited me well because I had to clean in the morning. I took module 1 and 2 in the evening. But I wanted more hours so I could learn faster. Then I had the opportunity to come to classes during the day, and it was really good.”  In June 2022, Valentina passed the Danish test PD2. And barely two months later, she switched from UCplus in Greve to UCplus in Skovlunde, where she started the bus driver training.

Passed the driving test with ice in the stomach

In Valentina’s eyes, it was one thing to learn Danish, quite another to learn how to maneuver a 15 meter long bus.  “Before I had to go up for the driving test, my heart was beating so hard I was sure you could hear it. But I had learned a lot from the teachers. Among other things, all the mechanical expressions, but also something else. They also helped me to be calm and one of them always said to me; ‘ice in the stomach – ice in the stomach’. ”  Valentina used everything she had learned. She kept a cool head, got over her pounding heart and passed her driving test first time. She then proudly drove on to her boss at Anchersen and showed the driver’s license. And as promised, there was a job ready for her as a route bus driver.

The job as a bus driver gives a good mood

Valentina is very happy with her job as a bus driver at Anchersen. For many reasons. But at the top of the list are the nice colleagues and friendly passengers.  “I love talking to people, and at Anchersen I have so many good colleagues that I talk to when I’m at work.  It’s fun to drive a route bus, because many passengers ride the bus every day, and some of them say to me ‘Aaah, you’re new to the route’, and then they help if I’m in doubt about the route.”  Although Valentina now has a permanent job, she would like to continue with more courses at UCplus, because her dream is to obtain Danish citizenship.  “I live here. I work and pay taxes. And then I would also like to be able to vote for the Folketing.”

Danish and transport courses open new doors

If you are new to Denmark and want new job opportunities, you can do like Valentina and take Danish courses at UCplus. You can read more about both the Danish education and FVU courses here

UCplus also offers Danish and Driver training, which is for you who would like to be a bus, taxi or truck driver, but need to learn more Danish. Read more here.

The Ukrainian citizens who learn Danish at UCplus would very much like to have a job. So there were happy faces when UCplus took them on a visit to a local fishery company and a holiday home rental company.

UCplus offers job-related Danish lessons

The collaboration between UCplus and Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality has come about because the municipality wanted an educational offer targeted at the labour market in and around Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality.

“It is important to give the Ukrainian refugees a good start in Denmark, and when we collaborate with both the municipality and the local businesses, we create the best conditions for them to be integrated quickly,” says Language Center Manager Karen Poulsen.

Another important prerequisite is that the Ukrainian citizens receive job-related Danish lessons. And UCplus’ language consultants make sure of that.

“We make a great effort to ensure that the Danish that we teach is job-related. This means that we put focus on the vocabulary and grammar the Ukrainians will need to get by in a Danish workplace. We also explain how the Danish labour market works, for example why we pay tax, and how to understand a pay slip,” says language consultant Annemette Knudsen.

Holiday home rental company and fishing businesses open their doors

In addition to the Danish lessons, the Ukrainians have also visited a few of the local companies that need extra hands, e.g. Esmark Feriehusudlejning and the fishing company Insula.

At Esmark Feriehusudlejning, HR assistant, Stephanie Dittrich, is happy to be able to open the doors to the Ukrainian immigrants.

“Esmark has 3.800 holiday homes, and we have a great need for cleaning assistants. So it was obvious for us to invite the Ukranians to our new office buildings here in Hvide Sande. We can give an impression of which tasks a cleaning assistant has and we can show them how things work here, eg. that they get good work clothes. Some of our holiday homes are located directly opposite the office. You can easily walk or cycle to the holiday homes, and we can therefore show them that transport is not a problem if they are hired by us.”

It is not the first time that Esmark Ferieudlejning employs Ukrainians.
“We already have a number of employees who are from Ukraine. They arrived 4-5 years ago, i.e. before the war in Ukraine, and they are well established here in the area. They are therefore a great help, and make it much easier for us to help the new Ukrainians get going with us.”

After the company visits, the Ukrainians were taught how to write job applications, and Annemette Knudsen then went out with the Ukrainians to hand in the applications.

Cooperation between UCplus and the Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality will continue until July 2023

The collaboration between UCplus and Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality regarding the education of the Ukrainian newcomers was originally planned to end mid-December 2022. But the municipality is extremely satisfied with the course and activities provided by UCplus, and the municipality has therefore chosen to extend the collaboration until June 2023.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the collaboration between UCplus and Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality and the possibility of getting a specially tailored Danish course, contact Language Center Manager Karen Poulsen at kp@ucplus.dk or call 31 12 03 67.

And you can read more about UCplus many Danish courses here

Every Monday and Thursday the online course participants log on for 2.5 hours of varied teaching.

High quality online learning

Unlike many other teachers, language consultant at UCplus Tina Terp does not visit one of UCplus’ language centres. Tina’s workplace is at home in her private house because she is part of UCplus’ online teaching team.

The team consists of herself and two other teachers who are based in Aarhus and Aalborg, and every week they ensure that over 70 students can take the Official Danish Education online, and almost as many can follow FVU education from home.

Although Tina does not meet her students physically, due to the engaged way in which she teaches, she nevertheless gets close to them. And it is precisely this ‘closeness’ that helps students learn Danish, and seeing her students succeed, gives her joy at work every day.

“I have a lot of contact with the students. I write to them frequently, and when we have online classes, we always start with a round, where everyone talks about how they are and what they have been doing since the last time we were together online before we start with the topic of the day.”

This initial and informal chat creates a community feeling, and at the same time the students practice their Danish. And Tina is ready, both when the students need help with getting the Danish pronunciation in place, or when they need words. In the online chat, Tina gives tips about pronunciation, and she provides the vocabulary that the students need for the given topic.

Durine the online lessons, the students get both help to improve their pronunciation and to expand their vocabulary.

Full concentration and focus during online lessons

Barbara and Christian Fritsch, who come from Germany, are two of the students that attend Tina’s online classes. And had it not been for UCplus’ offer of online education, it would have been almost impossible for them to take the Danish education because they live on Læsø.

Christian has been holidaying on Læsø for many years, and his love for the island led him and Barbara to buy a house on the island. As new residents, it has been natural for them to learn Danish. Both because they want to be able to talk to their neighbors and their other Danish friends on the island.

But also because they want to gain a better understanding of Danish songs. Because not only do they love Læsø, Christian and Barbara also perform as a singing duo, and they have expanded their music repertoire to include Danish songs. They are particularly fond of some of the classic sing-along songs, such as Kim Larsen’s ‘Papirsklip’ ​​or John Mogensen’s ‘As long as I live’.

When they finish 2.5 hours of online teaching, they are as tired as after a concert.

“It is very important that we practice and speak the language. And when we have classes online, we are very focused and concentrated,” says Barbara.

And Christian elaborates:

“It’s fairly easy to learn Danish grammar, but Danish has a lot of homonyms that you have to watch out for. And then the pronunciation is quite difficult to learn. But the teaching is really good and we learn a lot every single week.”

Christian and Barbara Fritsch have moved to the Danish island Læsø from Germany, and they use UCplus online tuition every week so that they can improve their Danish and can talk to the neighbors and sing Danish songs.

Do you also want to learn Danish online?

Read more and register by clicking here.

Caption: Anna Fischer works at the Danish company Planday, and she asks the colleagues to speak and write to her in Danish.

Duolingo can’t do it all 

Like many others, Anna Fischer thought that she could use Duolingo to help her start learning Danish.

“I thought, ‘It can’t be that difficult!’ But I soon became wiser. You need help when you need to learn Danish pronunciation correctly. And I realized that I needed a real language course. Especially because Danes are very quick to speak English with you, if they can hear that your’e not that good at Danish. So I knew that I had to find a place, where I could get a teacher who could teach me about the language, and where I could practice.”

Structured language lessons save time and provide important knowledge

Anna Fischer completed all the Official Danish Education modules at UCplus Dansk, and for her, this has meant that she learned to speak Danish quickly; she has learned which words to use in which contexts, and how to pronounce them correctly. And attending the Danish course had other benefits:

“I also learned about Danish history and culture. And it’s good to get a general knowledge of Denmark. It gives an understanding of why Danes say, what they say – and why they do, what they do.”

In addition, Anna experienced that it means a lot, merely being together with others who are also learning Danish.

“It helped to know that we were all in the same situation. And it was interesting to see how others tackled the challenge of learning Danish. And we could share our experiences with each other.

Anna’s five good tips

We asked Anna about the things that she did to learn Danish. And you can get her tips and recommendations here:

1. Try to speak as much Danish as possible
   It can be difficult – especially when Danes start speaking English to you. But tell your friends and work colleagues that you really want to talk to them in Danish. And keep going in Danish 😊
2. Don’t think about your mistakes
   Remember that others can understand you, even if your pronunciation is not perfect or you use a word that is not quite correct. The most important thing is that you keep trying!
3. Remember to read in Danish
   You can read at your own pace. And you can choose exactly what you want to read. I started with children’s books because they were easier. 
4. Watch TV and listen to podcasts
   When you watch television, you get help understanding what is going on from people’s actions and facial expressions. It’s a little more difficult to follow a podcast, but it’s good practice. And you don’t have to understand everything.
5. Keep practicing – even after you’ve passed PD3
   Remember to continue with all the language training you did in preparation for the test. Try watching the news every day, so you keep up to date with what is happening.

Anna’s recommendations

Book: Ronja Røverdatter by Astrid Lindgren – because I had read the book as a child in German, so it was a good experience to read it again in Danish.

TV: Forsvundne Arvinger – because there isn’t much action, and I can understand what is going on 😉

Podcast: Sarah og Monopolet – because it’s fun to listen to, it’s everyday language and you hear slightly different Danish accents.