Valerie juggles studies in Human Nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, Danish language courses at UCplus, and an active scout life with The Danish Scouts on Holmen in Copenhagen.

Weekly lessons at UCplus Language Center

Valerie is passionate about nutrition and health, and she wants to contribute to solving global health problems. She also loves Denmark and was an exchange student at the University of Southern Denmark in 2023. She got a Danish boyfriend, which made her wish to continue her studies in Denmark even greater.

Now, she has moved from Maastricht to Copenhagen to pursue a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition.

Valerie juggles a number of things in her daily life. She not only follows lectures at the University of Copenhagen, she also wants to become proficient in Danish to make it easier for her to speak with her boyfriend and his family. So, she is happy that she can take the Danish language course for free, and she has chosen to attend classes at UCplus’ Language Center in Copenhagen.

“It’s fun to learn Danish here. There’s a very friendly atmosphere at the Language Center, and everyone in my class is very motivated to learn Danish. It’s good to be able to speak Danish for daily life, and it can give us more job opportunities if we want to stay here in Denmark.”

Scout life provides great experiences and improves language skills

Valerie has been active in the Dutch scouting movement for the last 11 years, where she also served as a scout leader for 3 years. She was very keen to continue as a scout leader in Denmark, so it didn’t take long before she became a member of a scout group at Holmen. Here, the scouts meet outdoors every Tuesday from 17.00 to 18.30. Together with the other leaders, she helps organize the activities the young scouts will try, which can range from cooking over an open fire to crime investigation games to canoeing.

Valerie’s university studies are conducted in English, so it is primarily during scouting that she gets the opportunity to practice the Danish she has learned at language school.

“At first, I was a bit nervous about speaking Danish, but the young scouts in my patrol are incredibly welcoming, and now I’m starting to feel more confident speaking Danish.”

The Official Danish Education helps you become proficient in Danish

UCplus offers the three official Danish language courses, which grant you access to official exams and a good start in Denmark. The education is offered at three levels, and each level consists of six modules. You will be offered to start at the level that matches the number of years of schooling you have and your qualifications.

Read more about the Danish education and sign up here

Danish lessons at the workplace are effective and increase employee satisfaction

At Alfa Laval, it’s a given that the company offers its foreign employees the opportunity to learn Danish. It’s Alfa Laval’s experience that when they learn the language, their everyday life becomes easier, both when communicating at work and especially when they are not at work and need to navigate through daily life, whether it’s everyday shopping or speaking with a doctor or the staff at, for example, their children’s daycare. The Danish lessons not only create a better understanding of the Danish society, but they also increase the employee’s attachment to the country.

HR Partner at Alfa Laval, Michael Dichow Lund, sees the Danish lessons as an important part of the employees’ well-being, and he experiences that the employees are very enthusiastic about being able to learn Danish at Alfa Laval.

“We receive very positive feedback on our offer of Danish lessons. Our foreign employees really want to learn Danish. They are committed to Alfa Laval and to Denmark. And they really appreciate that they can learn Danish during working hours. Many of them have families, and it makes their everyday life much easier that they can take lessons with us.”

Conversations that build confidence

The Danish lessons take place once a week for 3.5 hours, where the foreign employees gather in one of the company’s meeting rooms. Emphasis is placed on employees getting involved as much as possible, hence the lessons always start with oral activities, where employees discuss everyday topics, for example, what they did over the weekend. Language consultant Alice Yang Andersen points out that it’s important for the employees to spend plenty of time practicing with each other, as it gives them the confidence to try speaking Danish with other colleagues at the coffee machine, during lunch, or between meetings.

“We particularly focus on the employees’ oral skills. They need to learn to navigate Danish in informal situations, so we practice a lot of small talk,” Alice Yang Andersen explains.

After the oral warm-up, the lessons continue with carefully planned sections, where the employees go through a broad range of linguistic skills, so they also practice reading, listening, and writing in Danish.

“We continuously work on building the employees’ vocabulary, so they learn new words and phrases every week, while also getting exercises that activate what they’ve already learned. Because it’s through the repeated use of the language that they become confident in how to use it. They try different role-plays, which resemble authentic situations they might encounter, so the language they learn is always applicable.”

The employees also receive homework; often small writing tasks, listening exercises, or a short oral presentation, which needs to be prepared. This way, their language learning is maintained from session to session, giving them the opportunity to work independently with the language.

Networking at work and in leisure time

Cenk and Martin are two of the participants in the course. Cenk moved to Copenhagen with his wife and their two-year-old son from Turkey. Because he has come to Denmark with his family, he is very pleased that he can learn Danish during work hours:

“It makes it easier to manage everything when we can learn Danish here. My son attends nursery, where he is beginning to speak Danish, and I would very much like to understand him and be able to talk with the nursery staff and my colleagues.”

Martin moved to Denmark from France and has been learning Danish for six months. He is also enthusiastic about Alfa Laval’s offer:

“It’s good that we have lessons together because we speak more Danish, and we also create a good network with the others in the class. For me, it’s important that I learn Danish, because I want to be part of the society in Denmark. And I want to understand what I read, for example, official documents, and that sort of thing.”

Besides practicing his Danish when participating in the weekly lessons at Alfa Laval, Martin also uses his Danish in his leisure time when he plays badminton.

“I’m the only one who doesn’t speak Danish at the club, so it’s a good challenge for me to speak with the other players.”

Help your international employees learn Danish

UCplus offers a range of flexible solutions for company Danish. Lessons can take place at the workplace, at the nearest language center, or through online instruction.

UCplus handles all coordination and provides skilled instructors who conduct Danish lessons at the employees’ level.

It is possible to apply for lost earnings if the lessons are held during working hours. UCplus also helps with the application process.

Read more here

Or contact Language Center Manager, Mette Lherbier, at tel.: 22 70 42 26 or email: mel@ucplus.dk, if you want more information.

Learning Danish opens many doors – both professionally and socially

When Utsav first arrived in Denmark, he felt out of place because he could not speak Danish. He found that his lack of language skills created barriers for him, making it difficult to form new relationships. He sensed the need to start professional and structured language lessons, but the training had to be compatible with his frequent travels for work. With help from colleagues, he found out that UCplus offers online Danish lessons.

“UCplus’s online lessons were the right solution for me. The flexibility suited my busy schedule, and the interactive approach kept me motivated. My teachers guided me patiently, reminding me that even small steps are progress.”

Learning the language and immersing himself in Danish culture and values have made a significant difference for Utsav. The barriers no longer exist, and now he can communicate much better.

“I’m a valued friend and colleague, not just the quiet IT guy anymore. I can finally express myself clearly. I can understand the news and chat with neighbors, and now I feel like part of the community in a way I didn’t think was possible.”

Danish Lessons paved the way for permanent residency

Utsav has long dreamed of settling in Denmark, so it was a significant and important step for him to take the Danish lessons and prove he had passed the PD3 exam, which then led to him obtaining permanent residency:

“It was a door opening to a whole new world. It’s not just a piece of paper for me, it’s a symbol of belonging. It has given me a sense of security that means I can thrive both personally and professionally.”

Three tips if you are a newcomer in Denmark

Get help from your teachers

Learning Danish is not always easy. Remember, you can seek support from your teachers. Tell them how you’re doing, and they will definitely help you, so you can make progress.

Find your superpowers

Dedication, determination, and discipline are your superpowers. Dedication means focusing on learning Danish. Determination keeps you going despite challenges, and discipline helps you keep at it every single day.

Be kind to yourself

Learning a new language is an adventure! You leave your comfort zone, and you will meet challenges along the way. Remember to celebrate your progress, it makes the learning process much better.

Learn Danish at UCplus

UCplus offers the three official Danish Education programs, which grant access to official exams and a good start in Denmark. The education is offered at 3 levels, each consisting of 6 modules. You will be offered to start at the level that matches your years of schooling and your qualifications.

Read more and sign up here

Julianna, Bilyana, Maya, and Alexander take a quick photo break from their Danish lessons. They come from different countries, but all share the same dream of learning Danish and finding work in Denmark.

From Syria to Belgium – From Cosmetologist to Geologist

One only needs to take a quick look inside the classrooms at UCplus’ Language Centre in Greve to see that the centre provides a setting for people from different countries and with different educational backgrounds. However, they all share the same goal; to learn Danish and find work in Denmark.

22-year-old Julianna from Israel came to Denmark for love. She is trained as a cosmetologist and hopes to continue working in the industry as soon as she learns more Danish.

Bilyana is an economist from Macedonia. Her parents live in Denmark, and now she has come to the country to be close to them and dreams of finding work in the banking world.

Maya, 27, is from Syria, where she has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. She hopes to continue her studies at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Alexander is a geologist from Belgium, specializing in soil contamination. His girlfriend has already found a job in Denmark, and now he is working hard on both job applications and Danish lessons, hoping to also find work.

Their diversity becomes a strength in the classroom, whether they are learning about Danish culture, sentence structure, or pronunciation, as they support and help each other through the process.

Danish is the key to the job market

Natalie came to Denmark when the war broke out in her homeland, Ukraine. She has expertise in didactics and learning and hopes to find a job as an educator.

“Danish is the key to finding work,” she says, and her study partner Eric, who came from neighbouring Germany, nods. They both really want to become proficient in speaking Danish and to become part of a community at a Danish workplace.

Effective language lessons and networking

The students are happy that they are enrolled in the Danish language program at an official language centre because the teaching prepares them very well for their everyday life in Denmark.

Natalie is particularly pleased that she can learn Danish in a structured way:

“We work with both reading and writing, and it’s good that we focus on our problems and how we can improve them.

Moreover, she thinks it’s best to learn languages with others. Her classmate, Eric, nods and adds:

“It’s also fun to meet other people, and it’s good that we can get to network.

Julianna has also tried to learn Danish through an app, and although the app makes it easy and flexible, she has noticed that her Danish has improved after she started at the language centre.

“It’s easier to improve when you practice with real people.”

Last but not least, the students see it as an advantage that the teaching also covers Danish culture and social conditions. It’s easier to talk to Danes when you know a little about the country’s history and which traditions are important in Denmark.

UCplus helps you learn Danish properly

UCplus Language Centre Greve is located just 500 meters from Hundige Station at Frydenhøj Allé 73 in Greve. The language centre offers Danish instruction at all levels within both the Ministerial Danish Education and FVU Danish and Mathematics.

The language centre has 400 active students distributed across the three levels of the Danish Education program. The students come from all over the world, in addition to the mentioned countries, there are students from over 40 different countries.

You can also attend Danish lessons online or at UCplus’ other seven language centres distributed around the country.

You will be offered to start at exactly the level that suits the number of years of schooling you have, and your qualifications.

Read more about the Danish education and sign up here

Danish lessons at the company improves daily communication

The small Jutland company Combitherm, which designs and produces energy-saving thermal solutions for protecting temperature-sensitive goods and processes in several different industries, is doing really well. This has led to a busy schedule for the company’s 33 employees, more than a third of whom are from Syria.

To handle the increasing number of orders, a process has begun to see how the company can reduce waste and streamline all production processes. This also involves a heightened focus on language, explains Combitherm’s COO, Torben Hallstrup.

“We are going through a process where it will be important for us to communicate effectively and precisely about what is happening in production. And we want all our employees, including our Syrian employees, to contribute to this process. Many of them have been working for us for several years now and have valuable insights into the specific work tasks, that we need to hear about.”

The Syrian employees can speak Danish but are often a bit reluctant to come forward and talk about professional topics. And Torben Hallstrup wants to do something about this.

“We need to help them, so they gain more confidence and can express what they have observed in production.”

Therefore, Combitherm has now made an agreement with UCplus’ Language Center in Silkeborg to organize a program that will strengthen the Syrian employees’ language skills through Danish lessons at the company three hours each week.

Focus on work-related language

Every Thursday afternoon, UCplus’ language consultant Jette Kaspersen turns up at Combitherm’s canteen, and instead of open sandwiches, the lunch tables are now covered with conversation cards and other objects that can get conversations started.

The lessons aim to strengthen and expand the Syrian employee’s linguistic competencies. Therefore, the focus is on increasing their vocabulary and making their pronunciation more precise, explains Jette Kaspersen.

“They practice talking about what they have done during the workday, and we focus on the special words that are relevant for them at the company. For example, ‘I was sewing on the overlock machine’ leads to us focusing on important words from the work tasks, besides, we practice pronouncing the Danish vowels, for example, ‘y’ in ‘sy’ and ‘å’ in ‘tråd’.”

We train common speech acts, such as what to say when asking for something or offering something. The oral language is supported by reading and writing exercises and the use of WhatsApp, where we take pictures of the machines and record what they are called.”

All this helps to expand the employees’ vocabulary and make it more precise, thereby improving communication throughout the workday, both when employees meet at the coffee machine or lunch table or when tasks are handed over at the large sewing machines.

Learning new words helps

Mustafa Mustafa and Abdul Rahman Mustafa both came to Denmark in 2015. They explain that the situation they came from with the civil war in Syria and the many relocations they had to go through to find safety as refugees in Denmark made it difficult to learn Danish at first. But they are happy that with the new language instruction they can become better at speaking Danish.

Abdul Rahman Mustafa explains that he becomes shy speaking Danish, especially if there are words he can’t remember. But the lessons help him get going.

“It’s good that we practice, and I hope that I’ll learn to speak more.”

And colleague Mustafa Mustafa agrees:

“It helps that we learn new words. It makes it easier to talk together.”

Help your international employees learn Danish

UCplus offers a range of flexible solutions for company Danish. Lessons can take place at the workplace, at the nearest language center, or through online instruction.

UCplus handles all coordination and provides skilled instructors who conduct Danish lessons at the employees’ level.

It is possible to apply for lost earnings if the lessons are held during working hours. UCplus also helps with the application process.

Read more here

Or contact the Language Center Manager for UCplus Silkeborg, Sarah Smedemark Johnsen at tel.: 25 43 41 41 or email: ssj@ucplus.dk if you want to learn more.