Study Swedish 20 minutes a day: a simple plan

It is better to study a little every day than a lot once a week. Your brain remembers more when you repeat often. Here is a simple plan with 20 minutes a day.

The weekly plan

• Monday: listen. Listen to a short news item in easy Swedish twice. Write the main point in one sentence.
• Tuesday: words. Write down ten new words from this week's texts. Say each word in a sentence.
• Wednesday: read. Read a short text, for example a news item or an ad. Answer the questions who, what, when and where.
• Thursday: write. Write eight sentences about your day. Use först (first), sedan (then) and till sist (finally).
• Friday: speak. Talk about your week for two minutes. Record yourself and listen once.
• Saturday: review. Go through the week's words and read your text from Thursday again.
• Sunday: rest, or watch something fun with Swedish subtitles.

Five habits that help

1. Study at the same time every day, for example on the bus or after dinner.
2. Keep a word list, in a notebook or on your phone.
3. Say the words out loud. Your pronunciation gets better when you hear yourself.
4. Dare to make mistakes. Mistakes are part of learning.
5. Celebrate small steps. Understood a news item without a dictionary? Well done!

Want free resources for the plan? Read must-have: free apps and sites.