This book includes 16 chapters of study, as well as an introduction, a guide to pronunciation, a key to the exercises, grammar explanations, and a Norwegian to English vocabulary list.
Over 60 languages are taught through the Teach Yourself textbook range, and for a number of years they have been helping many students, whether at beginner or intermediate level, gain a foothold on their chosen language of study. As the rather self-explanatory title suggests, these books are designed for self-study students. This particular book includes 16 chapters of study, as well as an introduction, a guide to pronunciation, a key to the exercises, grammar explanations, and a Norwegian to English vocabulary list. The contents page gives the student a preview of the topics that will be covered in the following lessons. At first glance, readers will notice that the lesson topics are a bit more interesting than the common language textbooks; some of the lesson topics include Norwegian party customs, national holidays, traditional foods and skiing.
"The author Margaretha Danbolt Simons is a very experienced teacher and translator and she has really made this format work for her rather than the other way round."
Before beginning the first chapter the student is introduced to some pronunciation and basic phonetic rules, this section is very straight forward and extremely easy to follow. The sounds are listed by vowels and consonants and an example in English is given for each sound. With this in mind the student is ready to begin. As expected, the first chapter starts with relatively simple sentences which are typical for any beginner book, they are first given context through the use of two dialogues, but it must be mentioned that there aren’t any English translations. In this section the student has to decipher the dialogue via the supplied vocabulary box and learn new words by applying it to the context provided. In total there are three dialogues, each one of which offers something different in terms of phrases and vocabulary. The information covered in the dialogues is then reviewed in the “How to Say It” section which lists all of the words and phrases and their English translations. The next section (Language Patterns) explains some important grammar structures and rules; it is rather straightforward and very easy to follow. In the final section of the chapter students will come across fill-in-the-blank and word search activities, informative cultural notes, and one final exercise which require the student to do a bit of translation. It is a relatively smooth beginner chapter that doesn’t overload the student with too much but at the same time manages to teach quite a lot.
The following fifteen chapters follow a similar pattern, and it is quite surprising how much can be learned after finishing the first half of the book. By this point students should be able to talk about themselves, count, express needs and wants, order food, understand directions, make appointments and even describe things they strongly dislike or find annoying. There is also plenty of grammar structures and vocabulary lists that students will be provided with. In many respects, it is quite possible to feel like one has reached an intermediate level after working closely with the book.
Although the Teach Yourself series of textbooks tend to have a similar format there can be a huge difference in how the author of each particular book can incorporate their style of teaching within that format. The author Margaretha Danbolt Simons is a very experienced teacher and translator and she has really made this format work for her rather than the other way round. Although the book is meant to be for students studying at home on their own, it could easily be used in a group or one-to-one class. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get a head start in learning Norwegian or anyone with knowledge of the language who wants to improve their skills a bit more.
