Books : Teach Yourself Norwegian Conversation (3CDs + Guide)

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by: Margaretha Danbolt Simons

: Teach Yourself Norwegian Conversation (3CDs + Guide)

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Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 439
EAN: 9780071485043
ISBN: 007148504X
Label: McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
Number Of Items: 3
Number Of Pages: 48
Publication Date: April 18, 2007
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Sales Rank: 70095
Studio: McGraw-Hill



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Product Description:


Learn Norwegian in just 10 lessons!



Perfect for complete beginners or those in need of a brush up, Teach Yourself Norwegian Conversation introduces you to the key words, useful phrases, grammar, and sample conversations you will need to start speaking Norwegian immediately. In this audio program there are plenty of review opportunities, so you can gauge your progress and reinforce what you have learned.



You also get additional guidance on holding two-way conversations, addressing such issues as speaking with people who talk very fast or use words and phrases you don't know.





Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A great way to learn the basics while driving to work
I'm shortly travelling to Scandinavia. After some online research I came to the conclusion that Norwegian was going to be the easiest to learn for an english speaker and the most versatile of the similar languages in Scandinavia being understood in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

The course starts out a jog and gets quicker. It can require some skipping back a fair bit to learn some of it. That said, it is structured well and it's not difficult to learn the basics using these CD's. I've been listening in the car on the way to and from work for the last two weeks and I feel that I have a good enough grasp on the basics to get by in some rudamentary conversation with people who are prepared to speak slowly enough.

The CD's are self-contained and although there is a booklet with the transcriptions in it, you don't need this to learn how to listen to and speak norwegian.

The first two CD's are divided into brief conversations, which build into a story as the CD's play though. Each conversation between two characters is listened to in full and then broken down and explained and then the listener is given the chance to play the part of each character in the conversation to test their skills. It works well and is easy to follow. The third CD focuses on being able to pickup the jist of other peoples conversations by listening for key words and phrases not by understanding it word-for-word. These conversations are spoken clearly but are in real-time, not slowed down, so it's a good opportunity to see how much you've learnt in a realistic situation.

3 CD's isn't enough to learn the whole language by a long-shot, but it will get you started with introducing yourself, talking about likes, dislikes, ordering at a restaurant, booking a hotel, meeting friends, counting from one to one hundred, days of the week, and asking for things from a tourist office. It's a great head-start for anyone wanting just a little bit of an edge when they travel and don't want to have to always rely on english.




Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Rosetta Stone isn't available in Norwegian. This fills the need.
I had the need to learn basic Norwegian while on a 10 hour flight to a meeting there. I took a gamble with this product, since there aren't that many options out there for Norwegian. Turns out, it's a good product, and it met my need.

They start you out right away with simple common conversations, and offer them a number of different ways: boy and girl talking Norwegian, boy and girl English translation, boy left out (so you can speak it) and girl speaking, girl left out (so you can speak it) and boy speaking. They encourage you to speak the parts out loud, which does indeed bring you into the spirit of Norwegian much faster and turns the whole process into fun.

You feel quite at home very quickly. They don't stuff "fundamentals" down your throat before allowing you to try things. Quite opposite, you find that you're learning fundamentals almost without realizing it.

It doesn't make you a master of the language, but gets you to the point that you can easily have basic conversations with Norwegians in their home country, and to the point they feel flattered that you have made the effort. Most Norwegians know English, but many don't use it enough to use it as their primary language. Having a basic understanding of Norwegian makes their efforts to communicate to you in English much easier on them. And they are generally very pleased that you try to speak their language and are quite willing to help you along if you prefer to stay in their language.

A good course. Recommended.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Good listening- starts easy, gradually faster and harder!
The three cd's start off rather easy if you have a bit of background with Norwegian. The conversations gradually get faster and use more vocabulary. Repeat listening to the easier lessons until they are easily understood before going further. Having the booklet is very helpful showing the written form of the conversations. A reasonably priced bit of audio help in learning Norwegian!....makes you wish for a fourth CD!


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Good, not great
I got this in addition to "Teach Yourself Norwegian". While I feel it's a worthwhile addition to my studies, there is something that bothers me much more than the annoying song:

The speech patterns of the people reading the conversations are NOWHERE near natural. They read each word slowly and deliberately, and pause after each and every one. While this can be useful for hearing the exact pronunciation of each word, at least reading the conversations ONCE with a natural speaking pattern would be immensely helpful. In my experience, Norwegian isn't always pronounced with a deliberate pause after every word. Lots of words run together, or very close, when someone speaks a sentence, and hearing someone speak in a natural way would give the reader an idea of how to do that.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - A Worthy Supplement
For learning any language, one needs a variety of tools and resources. Some of these resources should be considered primary and some should be considered secondary. In my opinion, "Teach Yourself Norwegian Conversation" is a well-made and valuable secondary resource that goes along very well with the main "Teach Yourself Norwegian" book.

The three discs that this program consists of are filled with good conversations and helpful walkthroughs. Though I wouldn't necessarily recommend this product alone to teach conversational Norwegian, I feel that it is definitely a worthwhile supplement. If you can bring yourself to tolerate the little song played at the beginning of every track, I think you should find this to be an excellent way to hear some spoken Norwegian. With this and the "Teach Yourself Norwegian" book that comes with the CDs, you're well on your way to speaking one of the great languages of the North.

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