It is not possible to get a permanent residency permit without being able to use Norwegian to some extent, and life is harder when one cannot speak the language.
Here at the library, we understand well that not everyone can pay a Norwegian course and pricey textbooks. Moreover, we are aware of the fact that the waiting list for certain textbooks can be long. Therefore, we are going to mention a couple of free online resources which could help you to master Norwegian.
Lear Now
LearnNow is one of the best free Norwegian courses available online. It contains everything what you need – high quality texts, word lists, grammar and listening exercises. You can choose between English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic and Tigrinya as the language of instruction.
CALST
Do you want to improve your Norwegian pronunciation? CALST is an online language training platform which covers 1000 Norwegian words and phrases. Here you can hear how Norwegian is spoken, and the best thing is that you can choose between various dialects.
Loecsen
This course is exactly what a beginner needs to know. Easy and accessible!
YouTube
If you are one of those who prefer video, then you should check out these YouTube channels. Norsklærer Karense and Norwegian Teacher Karin can give you some useful tips relating to Norwegian grammar and vocabulary. For instance, here you can learn more about the difference between Stavanger dialect and bokmål. In addition, those channels can be a good resource for those preparing the Norwegian language test (Norskprøve).
Dictionaries
Google Translate can seem as a plausible solution, but the quality of translation is often not good enough. Especially if you are trying to translate a whole sentence! In order to avoid this, you can use many other online dictionaries. Clarify is a good alternative since it contains 15 languages with a translation from and to Norwegian: Arabic, Finnish, Greek, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Croatian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Czech, Turkish and Vietnamese. You can get access through our app Bibliofil , and if you would like to know more about our digital services you can find information here.
Another option would be LEXIN. This online dictionary would be especially useful for minority ethnic pupils at primary and secondary school, and those attending Norwegian courses for adults. It covers 17 languages: Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Filipino, Kurdish – Kurmanji and Sorani, Lithuanian, Persian, Polish, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.
Grammar
Do you think that Norwegian grammar is tough? Do you understand the difference between preteritum and perfektum, or bestemt and ubestemt form? The good news is that grammar is the set of rules, and rules can be learned if they are clear enough.
Grammatikk.com offers you short and clear explanations on everything that has to do with Norwegian grammar. A range of grammatical exercises can be found at IGIN and Exploring Norwegian Grammar. From here you can download a short overview of Norwegian grammar in English.
It is worth checking The National Library’s catalogue to see if the old editions of textbooks and grammar books are available. Almost all books published before 2000 have been digitalised, and the access to those is free of charge. For instance, this book is a classic and is available both in English and Norwegian.
Good luck! Don’t forget to check out our website and visit Sølvberget’s Norwegian Language Meetup.
