Any questions?  Feel free to e-mail me at jeppel@uw.edu. NOTE: I do not reply to e-mails after 5pm and on weekends.

Course Description

Velkommen tilbage!  DANISH 201 is the second year in a sequence of Danish language courses at UW.  The course is taught by a native speaker and integrates materials from Danish culture, film, politics and literature. The course is taught through communicative language learning approach with in-class activities and homework focusing on speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. Classes are conducted primarily in Danish. The learning goal is to achieve regular and lively interaction in the classroom in order to make the learning of the Danish language and culture enjoyable. The course strives for a learning atmosphere that challenges the students in a supportive way. Emphasis is given to all language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. To succeed in this course, students are expected to participate regularly.

DAN 201 is open to UW students who have completed DAN 103 as well as to students who are 'heritage speakers' or who have an intermediate level of proficiency in the Danish language.  

About Danish at UW: Vil du gerne lære at tale dansk?  (Want to learn to speak Danish?).  Danish is a modern Scandinavian language closely related to Norwegian and Swedish. Learning to read Danish is easy  – there are many cognates with English. Denmark is the gateway to Scandinavia and the North Atlantic, and Danish is an official second language spoken in Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, and Iceland. Denmark is the homeland of famous writers - including Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard, and Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) as well as of LEGO, 'Danish Modern' design and world-class cinema!

We offer three levels of instruction in Danish at UW (beginning, intermediate and advanced). Each autumn quarter a new sequence of DANISH 201-202-203 (second year) and DAN 310-311 (advanced). If you already speak some Danish, you may enroll in a higher level and earn Credit by Examination. As a student of Danish at UW, you are encouraged to study in Denmark via UW Study Abroad and are eligible for a UW ScanDesign Fellowship and other many other scholarships.

Required Textbook

Videre mod dansk (2024, Synope)  - On order with UW Textbooks.

Supplementary Material

Extra materials for Videre mod dansk can be found on Synope’s website. 

Danish dictionary: www.ordnet.dk - it also has audio pronunciation of the respective words.

Recommended Danish-English/English-Danish dictionary: www.ordbogen.com – a membership is approx. $6 pr. month

Evaluation and Assessment General Percentages

NOTE: This course does not have a final exam during finals week.

20% Weekly journal. The weekly journal is your personal learning tracker. Here, you have the opportunity to reflect upon the lessons and practice new vocabulary and phrases.

30%  Active participation. See below.

20%  Quizzes. During the quarter, 5 small quizzes will be assigned to you. These are mainly used as repetition and small check-ins. They also help you prepare for your exams.

30%  In-class exams (3 exams). The in-class exams are each 50 mins. long. You will receive a short study guide ahead of the exam to help you prepare for it.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Listening comprehension: understanding simple phrases and conversations about everyday situations/subjects in slow and clear speech.
2. Reading comprehension: understand information from different everyday texts; identify facts from simple everyday authentic texts.
3. Speaking: talking about yourself, family, living accommodations, and university studies using simple phrases and opinions; describing everyday situations and topics.
4. Communication: participating in simple, everyday conversations with slow and clear speech; asking and answering simple questions about everyday topics.
5. Writing: using simple grammatical structures to compose short texts about events and personal opinions.
6. Other: research and share knowledge of Danish society and culture.

Participation

Active participation in a language class is key to learning the language. I do not expect you to be 110% active every single class (we all have our off days!), but I do expect you to show up and try.

Participation is part of your grade: Each week you can earn a maximum of 5 points, i.e. a point per day for showing up and taking part in class activities. Active participation = actively taking part in pair/group work, discussions, and other in-class assignments.

Participation also covers completing the assigned homework, showing up prepared, and asking questions during class.

You will be able to compensate for points missed due to illness or other reasonable causes of absence.

Homework/Out of Class Assignments

Detailed assignments for each day will be posted on Canvas. Remember, the majority of language learning happens outside the language classroom. It is important that you keep up with daily assignments so that class time can be devoted to using and practicing new language structures and vocabulary. Completing assignments, preparing for class, and actively participating are key to making satisfactory progress in this language course. Be sure to let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

General Course Expectations

• Learning a language involves making mistakes, and it can be really fun if everyone acts with respect toward each other and contributes to an environment in which it is the norm. I will do everything to ensure that the classroom is a comfortable space where each and everyone feels safe taking risks.
• I strive for a classroom where Danish is the primary language being used. I will clarify tasks and assignments and cover some grammatical topics in English, but expect a lot of Danish!
• I expect students to take notes during class. This may be on your computer or tablet, but I’d encourage you to consider paper and pencil. If I write something on the board, I expect you to write it down. This is an important aspect of learning a language by embodying it.
• I expect that students will spend 8-10 hours a week on homework, preparation, practice, and self-study for this course. According to Undergraduate Advising, “College courses require much more study time than high school courses. In general, courses require two hours of homework for every hour of class.” If the assigned homework takes you less than this budgeted time, then I expect students to practice vocabulary, make flashcards, listen to Danish media, review assignments etc.
• I expect students to listen to at least 10 minutes of Danish news or radio on DR LYD daily (make it a small ritual!). Just let it flow over you. Don’t worry about understanding everything. Simply let yourself get used to the sounds of the language.
• I expect students to be mindful of how they use technology such as google translate or AI. Please write in Danish rather than writing in any other language that you speak and then translating it. Use the simple words and phrases that have been introduced – again, baby talk is the goal of this first quarter; there is no reason to make it more difficult by insisting on complex phrases or words.

Access and Accommodations

It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS on their homepage.

Religious Accommodation Policy 

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.