Danish Lessons

Danish Lessons - Beginner's Courses

Danish Lessons in Sydney... Nu skal vi lære dansk! Culture Unlock - Danish will teach you not only about the Danish language, but also about the interesting cultural facts in all areas of Danish life such as lifestyle, architecture, design, Hans Christian Andersen, Jørn Utzon, fashion, food, "hipster lingo", work culture, the importance of birthdays and bike-riding etiquette. :)

Culture Unlock - Danish provides you lessons with:

Fun and energetic classes on basic Danish grammar and vocabulary - covering listening, speaking, reading and writing
Written material handouts for each class
Homework to complete between classes (online and handwritten tasks)
Social meet ups to practise listening and speaking Danish

Danish Lesson Timetable

** Unfortunately we are currently unable to accept any more clients. To be notified about classes in the future, please fill out this form! **

Danish Absolute Beginners 1 - Ten week course
Don’t know a thing? Know a few words? Need to revise the foundations? This one’s for you. This course covers:

Alphabet and pronunciation
Forming basic sentences in the present tense
Introducing yourself and others
Talking about your interests, profession and/or studies
Asking basic questions
Numbers and telling the time
Verbs and adverbs
Noun forms - definite (“the”) vs. indefinite (“a”)

Danish Beginners 2/Intermediate 1 - Ten Week course
(prerequisites: Danish Beginner 1 or equivalent*)
Got a hold of the basics? Completed Beginners 1? Take a look here. This course covers:

Revision of Absolute Beginner 1 content
Pronunciation
Plurals
Adjectives
Possessive determiners and pronouns
Introduction to the past tenses

Danish Intermediate 2 and Conversation - Ten Week course
Keen for freeform discussions? Completed Intermediate 1? Go for it! This course covers:

Revision of Intermediate 1 content
Continued refinement of grammar and pronunctiation
Analyses of various real life written articles, videos, music and other media
Discussion of current affairs and writing tasks

* Get in touch to see what your level of Danish is if you have previous knowledge, to know what class is best for you!

The group classes include a number of very special things:

a weekly group lesson
written homework
online homework
lesson handouts
being part of our super cool Danish community of Danish enthusiasts! Occasionally the group meets to practise their language skills over a Tuborg, while eating smørrebrod (Danish open faced sandwiches on rye bread)...

Private Danish Lessons are also available (via Skype or in person)
Private lessons are a great alternative if you can’t commit to the group courses, for instance if you travel for work. It is also great for students wishing to learn at their own pace, particularly those who are time poor and need to learn quickly.

Our students already enrolled in group classes occasionally take private lessons too, either if they missed a class, or if they are struggling with certain parts of the course. Privates are very beneficial as the teacher focuses fully on you!

You can also share a private class with 1 or 2 others. Privates lessons are available (in person or via Skype) by appointment.

$100 per week for 1 person (includes a 60-minute private lesson)
$70 per student per week for 2 people (includes a 60-minute private lesson)
$50 per student per week for 3 people (includes a 60-minute private lesson)

Check out what we get up to on the Culture Unlock - Danish Facebook Page!
Questions? Get in touch!

** Unfortunately we are currently unable to accept any more clients. To be notified about classes in the future, please fill out this form! **

Our Danish language students in Sydney at a social gathering to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s birthday (we sang to her in Danish!)

Your Teachers!

Founder and Teacher: Caroline Grandjean-Thomsen (hanging out with HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark!)

Caroline with His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen

"I am a half Dane, half Indonesian living in Sydney. I am passionate about Denmark, the Danish language and its culture - having completed my Master in Architectural Engineering as well as all modules of the national adult Danish language exam (Prøve i Dansk 3).

"I learnt to speak Danish as an adult - so you can too!"

It is obvious that native speakers will always have a special intuition about their native language. But a native speaker's intuition doesn't automatically translate into effective language teaching.

I am a non-native Danish speaker, and with this title I hold a unique advantage - I can closely empathise with the Danish language learner.

I learnt Danish from scratch at 22 years of age. Therefore, I understand the difficulties of learning Danish and the persistence, dedication and practice it takes to become fluent! My personal experience in learning Danish motivates me to inspire other beginner students, who may not believe that they can ever learn Danish. Because you can, and I will show you how!"

You can listen to Caroline's radio interviews with SBS Radio Denmark:

Insights of Sydney Opera House (In Danish & English)

MADE by the Opera House (in Danish)

Teacher: Liam Casey

"I understand the challenges of learning Danish from scratch because I have faced them myself."

"I am an Australian living in Sydney. After spending a few years living and working in England, I visited Denmark and immediately fell in love with its history, culture, traditions, food, music, literature, and language. I began learning Danish in 2009 and have studied in London, Copenhagen, Helsingør, and Sydney. I also have a Danish great-great-grandfather, but those genes haven't made mastering the Danish vowels any easier!

I believe the challenges of Danish are precisely what make it such a fun and rewarding language to learn, and I look forward to helping you distinguish 'skal' from 'skål', and much more! I have spent many years coaching students in debating, and bring the same focus on using tone and structure for effective communication to Danish lessons.

I love being a part of Culture Unlock's team and sharing Danish culture with a like-minded community. I am especially passionate about Danish baking, and look forward to getting you hooked on brunsviger, drømmekage, æbleskiver and other traditional Danish treats!"

Check out what we get up to on the Culture Unlock - Danish Facebook Page!
Questions? Get in touch!
Ready to enrol in a class or private lesson? Click below!

Enrol Now!

Our Beginner students communicating in Danish!

Testimonials!

"It has been an extremely rewarding and fun experience learning Danish with Caroline and Culture Unlock. Before starting the course I had zero comprehension of the Danish language and now thanks to Caroline I have emerged from this course with the ability to both understand and speak Danish at a conversational level. This achievement is very important to me as I work in an office filled with Danes and I also work directly with Danish clients. Caroline is a great teacher and always provided a clearly articulated lesson plan with a structured approach to explaining how the language works in terms of sentence structure and grammar. Caroline is also very knowledgeable about the Danish language which made it easy to ask any question (no matter how random) and always get a response that helped to gain a quick understanding, instead of remaining confused. I am very keen to continue Danish lessons with Culture Unlock and I would highly recommend this course and Caroline to anyone who wanted to quickly and confidently learn Danish in a fun way!"

- Daniel Spencer, Trade Advisor, Royal Danish Trade Council

"Culture Unlock's Danish classes are fantastic. Caroline is an interactive and patient teacher whose energy can only be described as infectious. The lessons are well structured and fun, with plenty of useful phrases introduced each week. This is complimented by tips on grammar, pronunciation and Danish culture.The classes are filled with people who love all things Danish - so much so that lessons are often complimented by a home-made kanel snegl or Danish treat. Tak Caroline - jeg elsker min dansk klasse!"
- Jen McMaster, Architect

"Caroline learnt Danish fluently herself when it wasn't her first language so she has a unique angle on which to teach Danish. I did the Absolute Beginner's Danish course as private lessons. Great combination of listening, writing and speaking tasks with a variety of different materials. Caroline is very enthusiastic and organised! Definitely recommend."
- Rosalie Vale, Nurse

"I really loved the vibe of Caroline's class. So much fun every week, and always something new to learn which was made super interesting."
- Gus Geyer, High School Student

"It was always so vibrant and welcoming which made it easy to contribute in class. I definitely made some long-life friends."
- Jasmine Amitzboell, Bridgidine College School Student

"Caroline's fun Danish classes were so enjoyable, I looked forward to class each week and feel confident to put what I have learnt into practise with the Danes!"
- Helena Amitzboell, High School Student

"A huge thankyou to our fantastic Danish teacher Caroline. We have had such a great time this term and we can't wait for next term to begin. So much fun and a great group to learn with. Tusind tak!"
- Simone Amitzboell

"Tak Caroline, for the first semester of Beginner's dansk. Great group of students and your excellent methods resulted in good results for us all - evidenced by the eagerness of everyone to start on the next stage of the learning process in October! Fantastic Danish feast to end the semester. Mange tak."
- Susan Foy

"I had a great time at culture unlock. Such a great environment to learn in. Caroline always made the classes enjoyable and interesting and they move at a good pace. I took the classes to do something a bit different and will definitely be going back for the next course, one of the highlights of my week!"
- Imogen Dixon-Smith

"Caroline is SUCH a great teacher. She is passionate and knowledgeable, and makes every lesson fun and varied. She is warm and friendly, and encouraging of students at all levels. She also puts a lot of energy into organising social and cultural events so students can have fun and get to know each other and Danish traditions (most of which seem to revolve around eating and drinking too much!). Having learned Danish as an adult too, she understands what makes it a tricky language for non-native speakers. Danish is a weird and fun language to learn, and I recommend doing it with Culture Unlock."
- Liam Casey, Psychologist

“Classes with Caroline are amazing, I learnt so much and always had fun! As someone with little experience with language classes, I wasn't sure what to expect. Any expectations I had were definitely exceeded! New vocabulary and grammar was paired with conversation and other exercises really effectively, helping me learn and retain a lot. I also got to learn a bit about Danish culture throughout which was really enjoyable :)”
- Jacob Levy, Architecture student

“I had some awesome one on one classes with Caroline and it has been incredibly helpful. I really love her energy and enthusiasm. Danish is a tricky language but Caroline makes it relevant and her passion is totally motivating. Thanks Caroline! Can't wait to do some more lessons soon!”
- Athena Maroulis, Business Owner

"Dear Caroline, The best danish teacher in all of Australia... I have absolutely loved learning Danish this year! It has been so fun! I have learnt so much. Learning Danish has made my love for Denmark even bigger. You are so talented Caroline and have an amazing gift of communicating, teaching and sharing culture! Thank you for making every Wednesday fabulous! Love from Lizzie."

- Lizzie Nicholl, Midwife (and who actually wrote the message in Danish below!)

Check out what we get up to on the Culture Unlock - Danish Facebook Page!
Questions? Get in touch!