Sweden is now a major force in the European Union with a strong economic and cultural development, while it continues to be the first country in the world regarding adoption and application of Information and Communication Technologies. It must be noted that Stockholm is the leading city of the world for the intellectual “capital”, and innovation. Furthermore, in the general classification, the Swedish capital climbed to the 4th place in the famous report “Cities of Opportunity”.
The Swedish language belongs to the Nordic languages and is considered a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon language. The language of Anglo-Saxons or Old Norse was the common mode of communication of the Germanic tribes who lived in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. The Swedish language seems to have been influenced by many other languages and is one with the largest number of native speakers among the Northern Germanic Languages. More specifically, Swedish is spoken by about 9.5 million people worldwide, in countries like Finland, Norway, Brazil, Argentina, Estonia and the U.S.
The key for success to speak and write in Swedish lies in three main areas: accent, intonation and word order. Good knowledge of the above key-sectors is necessary to learn Swedish at a high level.
Studies in Sweden
The Universities in Sweden are asking from pupils and prospective students to have acquired the TISUS certificate (Test in Swedish for University Studies), which corresponds to C1 level of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages. TISUS is recognized by all universities in Sweden as proficiency in Swedish for University Studies. However, there are about 600 postgraduate programs at Swedish universities who offer courses taught in English.
For those who wish to study or stay in Sweden, learning of Swedish is necessary to within an interdisciplinary presentation, where the language and culture will be interrelated elements that students thoroughly understand the Swedish language.
EMFASIS undertakes this task!
Swedish Certificates
These are divided in two categories: Swedex and TISUS (Test in Swedish for University Studies).
Read More At the A1 / A2 level, students make a basic introduction to the Swedish language and culture, learning the basic grammatical and syntax structures. At this level, students learn how to participate in simple, everyday conversations, in a phone conversation, how to make an acquaintance, how to give greetings, how to ask questions and give directions. Students also learn about the educational system in Sweden. It takes one year on average for someone to reach at the A2 level on the condition the student shows interest and diligence.
Read More At this level students improve their pronunciation in Swedish, enrich their vocabulary and become familiar with more complex grammatical and syntax structures of the Swedish language. The main objective of this level is to improve the communication skills of students in all areas.
Read More Students at this level learn to communicate more comfortably, even with Swedes, and get familiarized with more demanding structures of the written word as the development of arguments. The specific exams for Swedex – level A2, B1, B2, take place twice a year, in May and December.
Read More At this level, students can understand more challenging and difficult texts, and make use of the written and spoken word with great flexibility in an academic or professional environment. The TISUS certificate is recognized by all universities in Sweden as a prerequisite for the entrance to higher educational institutions of the country. The TISUS exams are conducted by the Swedish Embassy twice a year, while those students who wish may give the specific exams in Sweden. Another result of a comprehensive and systematic learning of Swedish is the success of our students at all levels of Swedish examinations conducted by the University Folkuniversitetet jointly with the Swedish Institute, both in Sweden and 16 other countries worldwide!