Beginner's Danish With 2 Audio Cds [Paperback]

There isn't exactly a plethora of Danish language learning books out there, and quite a number of those are `ho-hum.' However, this is one I can recommend if its style of instruction fits your style of learning--that is, if you are serious about learning the language and you are willing to put in the study time. If that's the case, you should like this book.

I suppose those folks who study languages for kicks all have their favorite products. I know I certainly have mine, and I can say that the Hippocrene Beginner's Series language books published within the past few years (before that, watch out!) have been extremely helpful. They aren't perfect, but I just can't say enough good about them. I have the Hippocrene Beginner's Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and I should be receiving the newly published Icelandic within a few days. All of them (hopefully including the Icelandic) are similarly formatted and pedagogically sound (not perfect, but way better than most).

With Beginner's Danish, you get a cultural/language/history introduction of around 24 pages, alphabet and pronunciation section, 13 lessons, a glossary (about 50 pages), and two well-recorded CDs. Each lesson contains a dialog, list of vocabulary and phrases, grammar, footnotes of additional grammar and cultural/language info, and exercises. Although there should be more in the exercise sections, they aren't bad considering what typical books provide. I would estimate the glossary to be perhaps 1000 words--not all words and phrases in the text are included in the glossary, however. I'd say the total is somewhere between 1200 and 1500 phrases and words in this book. The CDs are nicely done. There is a pronunciation section, which with Danish is absolutely vital! Danish sounds are rough for English speakers and they tend to drop the ends of words as the French do. The recordings for each lesson typically contain a recital of the wordlist (critical in Danish!), the expressions, and the dialog/conversation. Sadly, not all dialogs are included on the CD--I suspect this is due to Hippocrene's desire to keep the Beginner's series books containing 2 CDs consistently.

I will admit that I am a bit biased to the way I learn best, which is rather traditional grammar/exercise heavy (mainly because it saves time and I am not easily bored with academic material). But, having said that, I think this book does an admirable job of providing grammar and exercises that are vital to a time efficient language learning experience, yet not doing so in an overbearing way. It doesn't slam you with an overwhelming amount of grammar or number of vocabulary words. At the same time, the book offers the advantages of more modern techniques by including the audio and realistic audio segments. (A tip: don't discount the value of the audio segments and conversations. Being so `grammar centered,' I have tended to deemphasize audio until recently when I bought an Assimil French course and realized just how helpful it is. Practically memorize the dialogs. You'll be amazed at how helpful they are.)

Anyway, this book is a good place to start on your Danish `trek.' Good luck in your adventure!

This book really got me going with a language that I thought I would never learn.
It is clearly structured and takes me by the hand as I explore not only the language but also the culture of a Danish family. The dialogues are down-to-earth and very relevant for any student, in the classroom or at home. And I feel like I got to know the family by the end of the book!
I hope there will be a second follow-up book, so I can take the Danish I have learned even further.

If you want to learn the Danish that is spoken in Danish homes today, especially among young people, this innovative text book is for you. The stories are engaging and the situations are so true-to-life that the reader gets a real feeling of what it is like to be in Denmark. And the dialogues on the CD are so well read that you feel like you are eavesdropping. The book also includes an informative introduction to Danish history, language and culture -- and a pronunciation guide to help with the challenges of speaking Danish.

I'm not sure whether an absolute beginner will find the first chapters a bit difficult, since it doesn't start with an oversimplified "See Jens, see Jens run" kind of conversation. But for those read for an immersion in the Danish language of today, it is highly recommended. Nete Schmidt has extensive experience teaching Danish to non-Danes, and brings all her skills to play in this excellent text.