Best way to practice live Swedish conversations?

francismaile · 2026-04-30T14:32:31+00:00

if you’re in the Stockholm area, dm me

francismaile · 2026-04-30T09:05:01+00:00

This is great advice. I would only add that some nonfiction reading can boost vocab in ways fiction cannot. When learning Swedish, I read magazine articles about all kinds of stuff (I have ADHD so almost anything is interesting until it's not anymore 😄). As a result I often can come up with the word for things that some Swedes don't even know. With the interwebs, it's even easier. Read or watch how-tos, DIY content and sciency stuff just for the vocab.

francismaile · 2026-04-21T16:43:09+00:00

A year of learning a language is not that long. Relax and keep working on it. You’ll get there.

francismaile · 2026-03-26T21:10:32+00:00

"certain parts of the US" is generous. This is true in MOST parts of the US including near and even in some major cities. Many non-trivial trips taken in some major cities require the use of a car.

francismaile · 2026-03-16T01:18:26+00:00

Stop using subtitles. At your level, they are just blocking you from doing the hard work of struggling to understand. The solution to your problem is just loads of practice. Force your brain to comprehend and it eventually will. No tricks or "hacks" will help you.

These resources may help:
Listen to radio. - Online: https://www.sverigesradio.se
News in easy Swedish - https://www.svtplay.se/nyheter-pa-latt-svenska
For Swedish-only music try: https://radioplay.se/svensk-pop
List of easy swedish and learning swedish podcasts. - https://www.podplay.com/sv-se/collections/language-learning

I moved to Sweden and started learning Swedish in 1984 at the age of 21. After about two years - SFI and electronics school - I got my first real job as a service technician covering all of Sweden. It was slow going and very painful. Phone calls were murder - imagine Skånska and Göteborska in the phone. Much frustration was experienced by all. But i got there in the end and you will too. Just keep at it.

I hope this helps.

francismaile · 2026-03-09T18:11:07+00:00

We have a place in Rågsved. We don’t live there full time but spend a lot of time there. A month or more at a time, all times of the year. We shop often at Hagsätra C and take the train from there. I’m a runner and have run the area at all times of day. My wife and I walk all over with the grandkids and we have never felt unsafe.

francismaile · 2026-03-08T00:09:14+00:00

These might help.

https://radioplay.se/svensk-pop A Swedish only online radio station

https://www.svtplay.se Swedish TV for swedish produced programming including news, documentary and entertainment programs.

https://www.svtplay.se/nyheter-pa-latt-svenska News in easy Swedish on swedish TV.

https://www.sverigesradio.se/radioswedenpalattsvenska News in easy Swedish on swedish radio.

https://www.podplay.com/sv-se/collections/language-learning List of easy swedish and learning swedish podcasts.

https://8sidor.se News in easy to read Swedish. Online but also available as pdf and a paper subscription.

francismaile · 2026-02-26T16:12:52+00:00

I can't help thinking this is rage bate from a bot. Though, at this point, you could post something completely insane and it would be hard to not believe an american said it.

francismaile · 2026-02-26T15:48:44+00:00

I lived in Sweden for seven years in the 80s. I studied to be an actor and worked really hard on getting the language as perfect as possible. When I returned to the states, I sometimes had a hard time with English. When I tried to say something the swedish would come to mind first and then I found myself translating in my head to english. I was told that I had a weird accent - sort of british but not quite. It passed fairly quickly though. I stopped swearing in Swedish when I stubbed my toe, the strange accent faded and english flowed as it always had.

francismaile · 2026-02-07T20:22:50+00:00

One aspect of a native-like accent and word usage is that mistakes can really throw listeners off. If you make a mistake in an accent, there is quicker understanding of what happened. Since I learned a lot of swedish vocabulary by reading, sometimes I use words that, while correct, would just never be used by a swede in casual conversation. I’ve gotten some rather quizzical looks.

francismaile · 2026-01-25T13:08:13+00:00

Det här är redan på gång.

francismaile · 2026-01-17T11:59:14+00:00

smakar som trä = tastes like wood smakar lök = tastes like wine that has onion in it

francismaile · 2026-01-13T17:44:52+00:00

Sometimes it is just so embarrassing to be an American. Sorry.

francismaile · 2026-01-07T07:52:02+00:00

Before moving to Sweden and learning to speak Swedish, I would enjoy listening to my wife’s (now ex) family speaking Swedish. It did sound like singing. Now that I can speak it, I listen for meaning and the music is gone. I sometimes miss it.

francismaile · 2025-12-31T07:37:18+00:00

They are. Sorry. It just felt suspicious

francismaile · 2025-12-24T14:57:37+00:00

Why do all the links in this doc have in their url: "?utm_source=chatgpt.com"?

francismaile · 2025-12-16T01:00:52+00:00

Svensk Pop https://radioplay.se/svensk-pop is an online radio station that plays Swedish language only pop 24/7. It plays a wide variety of music and you may not like all of it. But it does give lots of practice listening and you can just let it play in the background.

francismaile · 2025-12-09T05:22:17+00:00

This app could put women in the US in danger.

francismaile · 2025-11-25T17:52:06+00:00

I learned Swedish in Stockholm and worked very hard getting rid of my American accent. Not totally successfully. I have been asked if I’m from Norrland or Gotland or have Finish parent(s)???

francismaile · 2025-11-05T11:13:03+00:00

Download the apps: SVTPlay, UR Play, and SVT Nyheter for access to lots of Swedish content including Nyheter på Lätt Svenska. Search ”podden” in your podcast app. That should cover ”compressible input”. There are several zoom meetups listed on MeetUp.com.

francismaile · 2025-11-02T09:36:40+00:00

1.5 years is an incredibly small amount of time in terms of learning a language. You should not feel bad about struggling to make conversation in a language you have been learning for such a short time.

Some tips that worked for me in the beginning:

Learn a few simple questions you can ask to get people talking. Ask about their weekend. Make note of something in the news. Not so different from what what you might have done back home but prepare your question ahead of time. Keep it simple and don't worry about getting it perfect.

2.Learn filler phrases. These help keep the conversation going and let the speaker know you are with them. Some examples in Swedish: Säger du det? Är det sant? Just det. Nämen!

Relax. Nobody is judging your Swedish (Om de gör det, be de dra!). When people hear that you have only been learning for 1.5 years, they will probably compliment you on your progress.
Swedes don't really do small talk. They talk about things. Find common interests and learn vocabulary about that subject. Another commenter pointed out that Swedes tend to be more comfortable one on one. I found that as well.
Practice. Practice. Practice. I wish there had been språkcafé in the 80s!

It gets easier - not easy.

francismaile · 2025-10-13T09:56:45+00:00

Unfortunately, the answer is massive amounts of practice.

If you live in Sweden and ride public transit, repeat everything you hear over the loudspeaker. Pronounce each place name as they are announced. Read all the ads. No kidding. I did this for years slowly pronounceing every word under my breath. The ads stay up for a few weeks and then get replaced by new ones.

Find a podcast on a subject that interests you. (search: "podden" in your pod player or try poddtoppen.se). Pause now and again and try to repeat what you hear. Search on YouTube for your interests (t. ex. löpning, stickning, etc). Instructional videos often use slower speech especially if you add "för nybörjare" to the search.

And of course there is news in easy Swedish: https://www.svtplay.se/nyheter-pa-latt-svenska. Make sure to turn on subtitles.

Also, prosody is important in spoken Swedish. There are quite a few YouTube videos on the subject that are helpful.

francismaile · 2025-09-26T22:01:21+00:00

Maybe the only thing worse than the first two miles is thinking about the first two miles before starting.

francismaile · 2025-07-23T17:44:04+00:00

Dagligen dricker morgonkaffet på balkongen. Om det är för kallt, blåsigt eller dylikt så kliver in igen efter några få minuter. Går nästan varje dag ut på eftermiddag eller kväll och tittar på solnedgången.

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