General provisions

The course is offered as contract education for international researchers, lecturers and doctoral students at Uppsala University.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements (except the Swedish language requirement). The course Swedish for Academics 2 (or the equivalent skill in Swedish) is also required. Students registered in any of the courses Swedish for Academics 1, 2, or 3 are given the opportunity to take a diagnostic test at most every third term.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, international researchers, lecturers and doctoral students with foreign education backgrounds and native languages other than the Scandinavian languages and Finnish, will have to acquired basic skills in the Swedish language and some knowledge about Swedish culture and society.

Part 1. Reading Comprehension and Writing Proficiency (4.5 credits)

After completing the course, students will:

• be able to demonstrate knowledge of and apply fairly accurately the rules of Swedish language structure
• have such a developed vocabulary that they can deal with situations beyond everyday life
• be able to read and comprehend newspaper articles and other authentic Swedish texts
• be able to respond in writing and comment on various facts/opinions

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

After completing the course, students will:

• be able to hold presentations about and explain factual topics, and in doing so, use more developed language
• be able to participate in conversations and discussions about both familiar and unfamiliar topics and events
• be able to understand what is said on the radio and the TV, such as news or entertainment programs, but also some factual programs that don't make excessive demands of the student's prior knowledge

Content

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.