Danish Language and Culture for Full-Year Students

About this course

This section of Danish Language and Culture is designed specifically for full-year students at DIS. The course allows you to delve deeper into Danish language and culture as you take Level I in the fall semester and Level II in the spring semester with the same dedicated faculty member and fellow students in both semesters will provide you with an enhanced perspective and consistency in your learning throughout your year in Copenhagen.

In this class we focus on Danish language and culture as integrated components and the study of the language is used as an opener for studying the culture, and vice versa. We will approach both the language and the culture from multiple perspectives.

Over the fall and spring semesters, we lay a solid foundation for your language comprehension (speaking, listening, reading, and writing abilities). We study Danish grammar, implementing it in your active spoken language as well as practice grammatical analysis of various texts in Danish, including newspaper articles, excerpts of literature, and Danish poetry.

We will delve deeply into the identities and cultural representations of Copenhagen, Denmark, and beyond. Through film, drama, television, and contemporary political debates, we will explore key aspects of Danish culture and society. To enrich our understanding, we will broaden our perspective by incorporating insights from Malmö in Sweden, Greenland, and other Danish regions.

Our studies will include an analysis of governance as well as a review of contemporary approaches to cultural heritage A central component of the course is your personal observations and critical analysis, enabling you to draw connections between your experiences and the topics we explore.

Faculty

Nina Honoré Lahav

Master’s degree in teaching Danish as a Second Language, Aarhus University (2001). Bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish Business Language, Copenhagen Business School (1992). Hebrew studies in Israel (1993–1995). Courses in linguistics and psychology, Harvard University (Full year 1996–1997). Teaching at DIS Copenhagen since 2001.