SFI (pronounced ESS-EFF-EE) is the government-run program that all newcomers to Sweden are entitled to enroll in once they get a personnummer. Uppsala University also runs Swedish classes for International Students but I never bothered to try and get into one of those classes since we were told repeatedly that 2-year master's students were at the bottom of the priority list for being given places (which I never understood).
I thought, naively as it turned out, that getting my personnummer wouldn't take very long and that I could enroll in SFI in either late 2012 or early 2013. But in fact it took about 9 months for me to get the ten-digit number that is almost essential for life in Sweden and thus I did not get signed up for SFI until September of 2013. I decided to try distance in the first place but this was a mistake and after a few weeks I gave it up altogether as I was finding the pressure to keep up with my self-imposed standards for homework accomplished and results obtained in conjunction with a heavy courseload at school was turning me into a very unhappy individual.
I started again in February 2014 at a Saturday class that ran for 3 hours from 10:00 am to 13:00. The method for which class you are put in for SFI is quite interesting - it is not based on your knowledge of Swedish but rather your educational background from your home country. I guess this makes sense and indeed I have seen how difficult the reading and writing part of learning Swedish is for people who have very little formal education in their past (especially true if they are from a country with a language that doesn't use the Roman alphabet like Thailand or Syria). As you might guess my reading and writing are at about a C level but my speaking and listening skills are abysmal.
I have made not much progress but to be truthful I also haven't tried very hard. Obviously I am in a privileged position as an English speaker - there is an excellent chance I can make myself understood with 99% of Swedes I may encounter - plus there is very little incentive for me to apply myself. I was going to go to just a few more classes before I left Sweden but our teacher, the delightful Åsa, dropped a bombshell yesterday telling us that the outfit she works for, because of a shortage of teachers, has decided to eliminate most of the Saturday classes. Now the Saturday class will be just once every four weeks. I could try and get into an evening class or switch to the only other outfit in town that runs classes on Saturday (Hermods) but I think I will just let it go.
Here is a writing assignment we did in class. Apologies to my Swedish friends since it is probably riddled with errors. And thanks to Åsa for her patience and good humour with our class.
******************************************************************************
I thought, naively as it turned out, that getting my personnummer wouldn't take very long and that I could enroll in SFI in either late 2012 or early 2013. But in fact it took about 9 months for me to get the ten-digit number that is almost essential for life in Sweden and thus I did not get signed up for SFI until September of 2013. I decided to try distance in the first place but this was a mistake and after a few weeks I gave it up altogether as I was finding the pressure to keep up with my self-imposed standards for homework accomplished and results obtained in conjunction with a heavy courseload at school was turning me into a very unhappy individual.
I started again in February 2014 at a Saturday class that ran for 3 hours from 10:00 am to 13:00. The method for which class you are put in for SFI is quite interesting - it is not based on your knowledge of Swedish but rather your educational background from your home country. I guess this makes sense and indeed I have seen how difficult the reading and writing part of learning Swedish is for people who have very little formal education in their past (especially true if they are from a country with a language that doesn't use the Roman alphabet like Thailand or Syria). As you might guess my reading and writing are at about a C level but my speaking and listening skills are abysmal.
I have made not much progress but to be truthful I also haven't tried very hard. Obviously I am in a privileged position as an English speaker - there is an excellent chance I can make myself understood with 99% of Swedes I may encounter - plus there is very little incentive for me to apply myself. I was going to go to just a few more classes before I left Sweden but our teacher, the delightful Åsa, dropped a bombshell yesterday telling us that the outfit she works for, because of a shortage of teachers, has decided to eliminate most of the Saturday classes. Now the Saturday class will be just once every four weeks. I could try and get into an evening class or switch to the only other outfit in town that runs classes on Saturday (Hermods) but I think I will just let it go.
Here is a writing assignment we did in class. Apologies to my Swedish friends since it is probably riddled with errors. And thanks to Åsa for her patience and good humour with our class.
******************************************************************************
Hej vänner! Åsa,
min SFI lärare, har bett oss att skriva ett brev om vad du gör en vanlig dag.
Här är mitt brev.
Jag vaknar
klockan halv åtta. Klockan halv nio äter jag min frukost. Sedan läser jag
e-mail och facebook. Jag promenerar till skolan. Jag arbetar på min uppsats. Klockan
tolv äter lunch men vänner. Nu när vadret är vackert på terrassen i solskenet.
Efter lunchen springer jag vid en å. Efter springtaren arbetar jat på min uppsats
i två eller tre timmar. Omkring halv fem promenerar jag hem. Jag lagar middag i
det gemensamma köket och äter på mitt rum. På kvällen tittar jag på teveprogram
på min dator eller så läser jag en bok från biblioteket. Omkring halv elva
lägger jag mig.
Du får A på skrivning! Tänker på dig och de andra kursdeltagarna. Jag saknar vår lördag! Good luck with your thesis! /Your proud teacher Åsa
ReplyDeleteÅsa - you are just too kind. Since we did this exercise in class AND you corrected it I should hope that I would do it properly. I miss Saturdays as well but looking forward to seeing you one last time on May 31.
Delete