For the teacher
 

Dansk version

NetDansk has been developed for students or young professionals coming to Denmark to study or work.

There is a small group of recurring characters in the stories and dialogues. Like the primary NetDansk target groups, these are young people, students and others making a career for themselves. The content, and the situations in which these young people find themselves, will therefore be familiar to the learners. In addition to this, there is information about Denmark, Danish culture and everyday life in the country. Especially NetDansk 2 comprises a substantial amount of information in the info texts and in the dialogues.

It is taken for granted that the learners have an academic background and are used to studying and learning on their own. Learners are therefore also expected to be computer literate and used to working with standard software on the Internet. This has implications for the content and the form of the material, and for the way it is presented on the web site. Progression is fast because the material is targeted at a well-educated and highly motivated group of learners.

NetDansk is divided into two parts, NetDansk 1 and NetDansk 2.

NetDansk 1 covers basic Danish grammar and vocabulary in 17 metro lines (units). These 17 lines have stations with texts, dialogues and exercises. There is a clear progression from line 1 (no knowledge of Danish) to line 17. The web version has sound files (texts and dialogues); it is intended for individual learning (self-access or e-learning) and / or for use in classroom teaching.

The last lines also include small sections on Denmark. This is further developed in NetDansk 2.

In addition to the web version, there is a printed version of NetDansk 1. This is intended for use in classroom teaching. The printed version will be published. Further information on this will be found on this web site in due course. Until then, anyone interested in the project may contact the project coordinator, Karen M. Lauridsen, at kml@asb.dk.

The two versions of NetDansk 1(web and print) may be used together. Participants in classroom teaching sessions can thus work with the web version as a supplement to what goes on in class.

It is foreseen that NetDansk 1 can be completed in approximately 70 hours. It is therefore well suited for relatively short language courses for foreign students before or at the beginning of their first semester in Denmark. In this context, the web version allows students to start preparing themselves at home. Experience shows that this enhances rapid learning after their arrival in Denmark.

NetDansk 2 is intended for the learner who has completed NetDansk 1 and has come to Denmark or is going to Denmark shortly. NetDansk 2 consists of 28 metro lines (web units).

NetDansk 2 is quite challenging. There is no progression through the material; rather, it covers different situations relevant to the target group and offers further information on life in Denmark, Danish culture and traditions as well as practical information (public transport, living in halls of residence, seeing a doctor, etc.) NetDansk 2 thus encourages the students to keep developing their linguistic and intercultural skills before or after their arrival in Denmark. Each unit concentrates on a specific topic, and it is then up to the students to choose what is most relevant or interesting for them.

NetDansk 2 is only available in the web version.

In view of the intended target groups, NetDansk as a whole is thus characterised by

  • rapid progression;

  • constant repetition of vocabulary and grammar;

  • longer texts introduced relatively early;

  • the use of qualified guessing aided by recognisable and/or international words

  • the same group of young people throughout the texts and dialogues;

  • contemporary (neutral) language;

  • texts with a content (e.g. presentation of life in DK);

  • course participants encouraged to deduce grammatical rules;

  • an intercultural dimension – e.g. daily life in DK, how students live, what they do in their spare time, what they eat, etc.

The web versions of NetDansk 1 and NetDansk 2

  • are intended for autonomous learning;

  • use instructions in English and Danish for the first 7 metro lines in NetDansk 1; from line 8 onwards, learners are expected to cope with the instructions in Danish;

  • have varied exercises;

  • offer the learners the possibility of repeating exercises if and when they so need;

  • use a combination of sound, text and pictures;

  • train listening comprehension, pronunciation; reading comprehension, writing, and vocabulary;

  • include communicative exercises (speech & writing) when possible;

  • can be used for differentiating between learners at different levels in class;

  • promote knowledge of Denmark (the people, culture and traditions, information on everyday life, especially for young people).

Learning styles

In NetDansk we have taken learning styles into consideration. Apart from the fact that learners have the opportunity to work autonomously, we have also designed the structure of the web-site to accommodate both global and analytic learners.

Learners can get an overview of the units (the metro lines and the individual stations) if they prefer to do so, or they may progress one step at a time. While at a particular station, they may either see everything at once by scrolling on the screen or answer questions / solve tasks one by one as they see fit to do.

Finally, we have chosen a colour scheme that should not be offensive to anyone.

Read more about learning styles and the Building Excellence test that we recommend on the Learning styles metro line.

Teachers are also encouraged to familiarise themselves with the content of the User’s Guide and the Toolbox before starting a NetDansk course.