About this course
This course is an integrated language and culture course with a major focus on learning Danish through music, rhythm, and song. Music has proven highly beneficial to second language acquisition as pronunciation and vocabulary is learned in playful ways through repetition and engagement. At the same time, lyrics and rhymes are rich sources of information about cultural values, beliefs, customs, relations, and national narratives as well as cultural differences.
The class is based on a high degree of experiential learning by using musical elements and the city as our classroom. We will approach Danish culture from both a historical and contemporary perspective.
When studying the Danish language, we will employ a communicative, functional approach, so you will be able to use the language actively on a basic level, thereby giving you a valuable basic for intercultural encounters during the study abroad experience. Through rhythm and song, the course will focus on everyday Danish, reading comprehension, and basic grammar. The course will explore how culture is reflected in language through lyrics and other sources. By analyzing keywords and concepts and applying appropriate etiquette, you learn how to navigate in a foreign culture. An important component of the course is your own observations of the Danish society as well as critical analysis of the presented materials.
Syllabus
Course note
As an alternative to this specialized section of Danish Language and Culture, DIS also offers a general Danish Language & Culture Level I course. The general course provides multiple perspectives on Danish society, history, and culture. Topics range from the Viking Age to the recent New Nordic Wave, Denmark under German occupation during World War II, Greenland and Denmark’s colonial past, the modern Danish welfare state, and concepts such as hygge, happiness, equality, and trust. Read more about Danish Language & Culture Level I course here.
Faculty
Camilla Kirchhoff
FacultyM.A. (Danish as Second Language, University of Copenhagen, 2014). Cand.Mag. (Danish, University of Copenhagen, 2007). Cellist, Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, 1988. Research focus includes Danish literature, youth novels from 1930-1960, and music and language acquisition. Editor for Society for Danish Language and Literature. Teacher at Copenhagen Language Center and Hvidovre School of Music. With DIS since 2015.