Norwegian in 10 Minutes a Day

This book is just what I was looking for. I am so glad I purchased it.

I bought this book for my boyfriend who had recently been to Norway and fell in love with the language and wanted to learn. He has told me only wonderful things about it and uses it every day. He says it is easy to follow and provides for great practice. He has even been able to hold a conversation with his Norweigan friend quite well since using it. I would highly recommend this book.

This book may not be the ultimate resource for learning Norwegian (it has no audio recordings to help master pronunciation), but it is an inexpensive and very helpful way to get started with the basics of vocabulary and grammar. It is like a child's workbook, with illustrations, games, exercises and lots of helpful guidance to make everything perfectly clear. I would say it is an essential starting point for anyone who has never studied a foreign language, and a great help to experienced linguists who are taking on Norwegian self-study. Match it with Einar Haugen's Norwegian English Dictionary, Pimsler's audio program to master pronunciation, and Norwegian: An Essential Grammar, and you'll be building a firm foundation for later intermediate study.

I can't say enough good things about this book. There's so much useful information, including common words and how to pronounce them. Best of all, it's presented in an entertaining, fun way that makes you want to use it. In addition to reading, you have to write the words and phrases, which as anyone knows from school is the key to remembering what you've learned. I particularly like the stickers for rooms and items around your house. Every time you look at the item or room you see the sticker and this helps to reinforce the Norwegian words. Before long you're counting to yourself or looking at things and mentally saying the Norwegian word. Finally, there are cut-out flash cards and a laminated pocket guide to take with you so that you can work at learning Norwegian wherever you are. I wish there were intermediate and advanced versions of the book. This truly does make learning fun. I highly recommend it.

I teach English to immigrants and international students in the U.S., so I'm very familiar with techniques for teaching and learning languages. If you are not planning on actually taking a class, I would say that this book is excellent. It provides tips on pronunciation based on American English. (Most other books don't have the pronunciation tips, but you have to spend extra money on a cassette or CD.) The person who complained about the book missed one important factor. This book provides language than gradually integrates it into the "directions." Most book give directions in English only, this one substitutes those words that you've learned already in Norwegian! It also does what is called "Scaffolding" - they introduce an idea or word in one place, then re-introduce it later. This book is also very colorful and offers flash cards, sticky-labels and more! Personally, I recommend the English as a Second Language version of this book to my beginning level students- because if you really are interested in learning the language, this is a very inexpensive and effective tool. The down side to this book is that some of the sticky-labels don't make any sense. For instance, where are you supposed to stick "Good morning???" Others, like "Kitchen" or "glass" are better. I would recommend doing this book first and then moving on to "Teach Yourself Norwegian" - or use both at the same time, because they reinforce each other.