General provisions

The course is a freestanding course.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements (except the Swedish language requirement). The course Basic Swedish 3 (or the equivalent skill in Swedish) is also required.

Learning outcomes

Part 1: Reading comprehension and Written Proficiency (4.5 credits)

On completion of the course, students will

• demonstrate knowledge of and fairly safely and correctly be able to apply basic grammatical structures in Swedish
• be able to acquire understanding of Swedish fiction and be able to follow the fundamental features of complex texts that treat current phenomena and that express attitudes and opinions
• be able to write clear and detailed text within their fields of interest, and write a thesis or report that communicates information or gives causes for or against a certain position

Part 2: Listening Comprehension and Oral Proficiency (3 credits)

On completion of the course, students will

• be able to comment clearly and in detail pertaining a large number of different subjects, and discuss advantages and disadvantages of different solutions
• be able to take active part in discussions about well-known subjects and explain and defend their opinions
• be able to show understanding of the greater part of news and current programmes on radio and TV, and be able to acquire understanding of longer productions, e g lectures, where the subject is fairly known

Content

This course aims at students with foreign education background and a native language other than Swedish who want to gain basic proficiency and insight into Swedish culture and society.

This course provides a systematic orientation in and practice of fundamental structures in the Swedish language on a basic level through reading simple texts and fiction, writing exercises, and exercises in pronunciation, listening comprehension, and oral communication. This course contains a variety of tasks and exercises, individually and in groups.

Instruction

The instruction consists of seminars and group exercises.

Assessment

The course objectives are assessed both orally and in writing through four final exams

A two-grade scale (Pass, Fail) is used for this course.

For students who fail to pass the regular exam, a re-exam is organized within a reasonable time after the first one. After contacting the head of the department, a student who has failed a particular exam twice has the opportunity to change the examiner or the form of examination.

If there are special reasons, the examiner may make exceptions to the specified examination method and allow a student to take a different test. Special reasons can, e.g., be notified of special educational support from the university's coordinator.

Other directives

The course is intended primarily for exchange students of all levels and Master's students but, subject to availability, other students with foreign educational backgrounds may be considered. In both cases it is necessary for the applicant to be enrolled in the student register of their main department at Uppsala University before an application can be granted.