Learning Norwegian

Learning Norwegian online

An interview with Ambrein Shabana

Ambrein Shabana is a trainee and online course developer at NooA. She has finished her bachelor in Computer Science in her native land of India. She is married, lives in Norway and has two children – one in a Norwegian kindergarden and one in an international school.

Why do you want to learn Norwegian language B1?

Basically, I am an immigrant who came from my native land to live in Norway. I wanted to learn the native language of the people who live in Norway. I came here for a family reunification with my husband who was working here, and it is six years now since I came to Norway with my children.

I learned Norsk A1, primarily by studying at home by myself, and finished the level by passing the exam. To get residence permit, we must complete the A1 level given by the government and UDI. For the next level, Norsk B1, I searched for more opportunities to study and learn Norwegian. By that time, I came to know about NooA, and enrolled in NooA’s Norwegian B1 course. This helps me to speak, learn, understand and cultivate my knowledge of Norwegian. I feel this country is the best place for me and my family. I thought that having some friends from the place where we live will add more value to our lives so I tried hard to succeed in life.

What do you think about NooA’s course material and teacher?

As the course started, I worked with many units focusing on:

  • Family
  • Social
  • Children and Kindergarten
  • Jobs
  • Media
  • Grammar and lot more

After finishing the units one by one, I had the opportunity to speak with my teacher, Tove Andersen, in a video meeting. She is one of the nicest person I have met. She was so friendly and her teaching was so nice that I could understand the concepts easily.

I was overwhelmed with her friendly approach, and as far as I work on the course materials (Veien inn), it’s the best online resource which we mainly use to learn the course.

It’s a paid online resource. It includes rules and comments on how to work with the resource and we will be having a follow up with our teacher who can correct our mistakes and prepare us for a strong communication with others.

What do you think about the course assignments?
In the course module, we are directed to the online resources which include many assignments. At the end of each and every unit, we have an assignment to finish and we will be getting the results at the same time of our submission. This help us a lot in correcting our mistakes, at the same time we get the scores (grades) that we have attained in order to motivate us in learning more. I felt this course as an exciting way for learning on our space.

Will you go for an exam? If yes how?
After I finish my Norwegian course, I will go for an exam when I feel that I am ready. As I said earlier, I did my Norsk A2 exam when I felt I was good enough to give it a try. I started to search in VOX.no to enroll for an exam. This is an online examination centre for all https://www.kompetansenorge.no/.

At first, I felt a little nervous about the exam, but as the days pass by I feel more confident. The examinations come twice a year and we should check the website so that we will get to know the enrollment date and examination dates. After enrollment, we must pay the examination fees, we have to prepare for the exam, we can also select the «kommune» and exam centre where it will be comfortable for us to give exam.

How do you combine your studies with job and family responsibilities?
As a parent, it’s a little difficult to focus on all the tasks with equal percentage of work, it can only be done through scheduled work and planning.

If you ask me, I always plan my day before night. I can learn new things when I am alone, so I always prefer night times to study, after my children fall asleep and I get a time of peace for my work. So, I mostly prefer NooA. It gives me flexibility and good opportunities to fulfill my dream and learn new things.

I can always combine my studies with jobs and family by teaching Norwegian to my children. I try to speak Norwegian with my family members and I am trying to create ideas to develop Norwegian based courses that could be helpful for people like me who want to study in their own pace and gain their knowledge without unnecessary delay.