Oslo Adult Education Centre

I registered about three weeks ago and I'm still waiting to be placed.

How the did you get it for free? I have to pay 3,500kr and I'm not happy - literally everybody else in the registration centre got it "gratis".

I'm getting in under "persons with a permit for family reunification with a Norwegian citizen." At least, that's what velkommenoslo.no tells me (http://www.velkommenoslo.no/english/norwegian/right.htm).  Please correct me if I am wrong. 

What does 3,500 get you?  (hours, days/week)

It gets me the same as everybody else. Apparently I don't qualify as I'm from an EEA/EU country and because I work.

What are the grounds for family reunification? My partner and I moved to Norway so that she should could be closer to her sons.

I'm an American citizen joining my Norwegian wife to live in Oslo.  My permit has been processing over one year due to a lack of case workers to handle the number of cases. This is another reason why I'm most likely going to enroll in a private language course as it may take more weeks to receive a decision.

Hmmm. My partner and I aren't married - I guess that would probably exclude us from "Family" clauses.

to godsavetheking :
yes thts right....
I joined the Folkuniversetet Norsk course yesterday, I had to pay 4675NOK for the course and 800nok for the books...I just hope the course can make me speak basic norsk...
Here are the links for the course:
fuoslo.no/kurs.asp?avd=79&kurs=66419&lang=2&kursnavn=Norskkurs+1+kveld+%2D+B%E6rum+%281026491132%29

But hear tht its free here english.oslovo.no/praktisk/praktisk2.shtml

godsavetheking wrote:

Hmmm. My partner and I aren't married - I guess that would probably exclude us from "Family" clauses.

Yeah, thats it. I'm engaged to a Norwegian but we're not getting married for a couple of years, so nothing free. Courses are so expensive.

Yeah, I'm quite annoyed by it all. Literally I was told "oh, you're English? You must pay."

I'm not asked about my circumstances, income or anything.

Yup. Its just assumed you can. I can't afford one right now so I'm screwed. Theres only so much you can do learning alone or with your partner (and lets face it, thats not easy) etc, its not really a substitute for a decent course. Bah! I could rant about it for ages especially as a friend of mine has moved from Norway to Sweden and gets a free, full time course. Basically the same hours etc we are paying so much for.

AmzC wrote:

Yup. Its just assumed you can. I can't afford one right now so I'm screwed. Theres only so much you can do learning alone or with your partner (and lets face it, thats not easy) etc, its not really a substitute for a decent course.

What's a decent course?  Most courses are terrible compared to the real world.  You're in a class with maybe thirty other people, for a couple of hours a week, none of whom (bar the teacher) actually speaks the language you're trying to learn.  Outside the classroom, however, there are over 500,000 speakers of your target language.  Inside the classroom there is one book in your target language (maybe two).  Outside the classroom there are several libraries full of books, CDs, articles, newspapers, TV shows, etc. in your target language.

Everything you need to learn Norwegian can be found on your doorstep (in your own house, even!).  What's missing is commitment.  I'm not talking about an hour a day commitment; I'm talking about a sixteen hours a day commitment.  Norwegians aren't great at speaking Norwegian because they do it for an hour a day.  they're great at speaking Norwegian because they do it all the time.  Norwegian is their default setting.  If you want to be good at Norwegian, you've got make Norwegian your default setting too.

It's tough, but the rewards are greater, and it's pretty darn cheap in comparison.

Thats a fair point. However I do think taking a course is important too, to iron out any grammar/technical stuff for example. Also to meet others learning. People learn in different ways, I do a lot of the stuff you mentioned, books, tv, radio, newspapers. Personally, I'd rather do a course as well as all that, thats just me.

Hey all,

It's interesting to read the different opinions on here. I've just decided to register for a course but didn't realise that there was a stand-down period.

Agree re comments about cost, especially considering that there are 7 courses so I assume you'd need to pay seven times to be a really confident speaker.

I've tried with books and have just bought some CDs (and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to have lessons with my Norwegian boyfriend) but have decided to go with the course as a way to hurry me along a little and hopefully meet some more people.

Any recommendations for the best places to register?

Cheers,

Steph

I'm going to go for level 4 at folkeuniversitetet when funds allow!

sctld wrote:

What's missing is commitment.

This isn't the case - what time and energy I can commit, I do.

My co-workers try to speak Norwegian with me and that's helping but most people will usually just speak English when they hear that your not fluent.

I've been in a kiosk and spoken only Norwegian and the salesperson only responded in English - must have been my accent or something.

I agree.  Most of the time people respond in English when they hear you are not a native speaker.  On several occasions, when I thought the end result wasn't crucial, I would respond with, "Jeg snakker ikke engelsk."  Depending on the situation the native either chose to work with me in Norwegian (ex. when I was the customer) or simply walk away.

godsavetheking wrote:

sctld wrote:

What's missing is commitment.

This isn't the case - what time and energy I can commit, I do.

My co-workers try to speak Norwegian with me and that's helping but most people will usually just speak English when they hear that your not fluent.

I've been in a kiosk and spoken only Norwegian and the salesperson only responded in English - must have been my accent or something.

Getting your co-workers to speak only Norwegian with you is a great boost, well done!

If people out in the blue yonder speak only English with you, you have a couple of choices:
1. Ask them politely to speak Norwegian with you.  Most people will be happy that you're trying to learn Norwegian, and will want to help you.  The rest are idiots.

2. Simply continue to speak Norwegian.  No matter how stubborn the other person is, you can always be stubborn+1.

3. Improve your accent.  Pop down to your local library and get some audio books.  Rip the audio onto an mp3 player, and listen to that whenever you're not listening to a person right in front of you speaking (you can still listen even then, just with one headphone).  As well as helping with comprehension, 8-10hrs a day of listening will also help with your accent.  It won't happen all at once, and it might take a bit of time, but one day, things will just click, and you'll be making perfect øs and ys.  The vast majority of audio books are in Oslo/Østnorsk, so you've got an advantage there.

When I first moved to Norway, I listened to audio books every available moment (often, my ears aren't really doing anything anyway).  Then, because most audio books are in Oslo/østnorsk, and I live in Bergen, I began listening to P1 Hordaland instead.  I've received compliments on my accent to the effect of "almost no accent", "speak just like a native", etc.  Someone once asked me where in Sogn I come from.  Which is a nice compliment, but I was aiming more for Sunnmøre.

The listening is a very good idea. I've been told my prononciation is very good

Radio is good to listen to as well.

AmzC wrote:

The listening is a very good idea. I've been told my prononciation is very good

Awesome!  Congrats!

AmzC wrote:

Radio is good to listen to as well.

I think it depends.  I mean, obviously, any contact with Norwegian is good, but I tried listening to Radio Norge once, and it was about 90% songs in English, and 10% Norwegian - totally not worth it.  NRK P2 and NRK Stortinget is all talk, all the time (okay, you get a bit of avant garde music on P2, but at least it's not in English), so that's pretty good value (but can also be really boring).  NRK P1 has a good mix of music and talk, it's just about right for me, and you can even choose local versions if you listen online, so you can practice the different dialects for comprehension.

I think the biggest advantages of audio books / your own music is that you're *guaranteed* to have something you actually want to listen to going into your ears; if you get bored, then you can leave it for a bit, and come back to exactly where you left off; and if you really like the content, then you can listen to it again and again.

Radio, of course, has the advantage that they never run out of content, so there is always something to listen to, even if you're not "really" into it.

I listen to the talk radio, sometimes kids radio too.

I think I'll give the audio books a try now!

Godsavetheking - you need to check with UDI, even if you not married you are allowed to get the special visa as a "samboer" which means in norwegian: "person living together". The thing is that people from EU are out of the "free course list" if they move for work or just because thay want to.. you kinda "follow your partner" and in this case you have a right to get family visa. But you have to apply for it separatly - if you just go to police station you will get a "normal EU permitt"..
well, anyway go to UDI website and read about it.

cheers,
Klaudia

godsavetheking wrote:

Yeah, I'm quite annoyed by it all. Literally I was told "oh, you're English? You must pay."

I'm not asked about my circumstances, income or anything.

i am canadian and engaged to my norwegian, but we lived together for 2 years in an eu/eec country before moving here. that is the minimal requirement for the family reuniting visa...the fact that you are english is what is holding you back from that "free education". it is my understanding that those from the eu and the like are not eligible. a french friend of mine had the same problem, although she was in the exact same situation as me..

sorry

If that's the reason then I'll be really angry.

i am nothing if not the bearer of bad news.

but at least you have the employed thing sorted out. i am a primary school teacher, and not of the tesol variety either. therefore my only real job option if i want to stick directly to my field is the oslo international school. that does not seem to be reeking with opportunities.

soniag wrote:

i am nothing if not the bearer of bad news.

but at least you have the employed thing sorted out. i am a primary school teacher, and not of the tesol variety either. therefore my only real job option if i want to stick directly to my field is the oslo international school. that does not seem to be reeking with opportunities.

It's not exactly primary teaching, but there are many private nursery schools who are more than willing to take on nursery teachers/nurses from overseas (there are a few 'horror stories' about Polish nursery nurses who can only sing songs and count to ten in Norwegian - probably an exaggeration!)

well guys, i do not agree:
one of my students: he is from England and he has a course for free. he is married now to his girlfriend, but he got a course for free when he moved here as her samboer.
Like i said: it is not where you come from but on what bases.. when you register for a course, school needs to check your personal number or KF number that tells if you can get a course for free or not. It is UDI that gives you allowence to be in Norway. School just follows the information given by them in your number.
Most of "EU people" when they move here, they do not go through the process of getting a special permitt. Why should they if they can just" register and live here". but then you might not have a right for a free course even if you married with norwegian..
get in touch with UDI or Police for more information about visa or read more at udi.no
cheers:)

Hi Soniag:

I am a Canadian too, planning to move to Olso mid of this year to be with my boyfriend.  We are not engaged yet, am I entitled to free classes?  I took courses at Lauguage Powers before. It would be nice if there is free class.

Mel

Hey MerlotSweet:

to be perfectly honest, i am not sure.. where are you and your boyfriend living right now? how long have been together. The reason why i was able to get the classes that i did was that i applied for a reuniting family visa under thee EEC rules (which means that we had lived in an EEC country: for my example, England, TOGETHER, IN THE SAME HOME,  for at least 2 years before applying for the visa to Norway). 

I am not sure if that clarifies anything for you. I do know that when providing documentation for this particular visa, most of the onus was put on my boyfriend (at the time), having to prove that he has the financial means to support me in norway if i was not able to get a job, and the likes....).

Good Luck!!
Oh, also...i moved to Norway last August, rumor has it that they are going to be tightening the borders a bit (or so i have been told). So if changes have been made, i dont know about them.

Hope this was somewhat of help..UDI, is the best place to check for information, but make sure you know your facts when you go to the embassy to apply.  When i went spouting off about the EEC contingencies, they had no clue what i was talking about..handouts were provided, and arguing from my norwegian boyfriend who i had to call in as backup. This was in London, so i hope your experience is easier..

ok..i am  now...umm...DONE

Klaudia.kj wrote:

Why should they if they can just" register and live here". but then you might not have a right for a free course even if you married with norwegian..
get in touch with UDI or Police for more information about visa or read more at udi.no
cheers:)

What special permit is this then? The Police, UDI and NAV know nothing about any special permit. When I moved here not even the UDI would help me - they just sent me to a bank to register for a D-Number.

I asked specific questions related to "special" permits such as those for reunification reasons but was told none of that was necessary and  I should fill in whatever forms they gave me.

Even at the time I was out of work and trying to get dagpenger from NAV (paid for by my tax money from my home nation) I was still not "entitled" because I come from the UK.

We got married in mid June, and I started the Norwegian Course around August, but that was like back in 1999.  I think it was free as well if I remembered it correctly, or maybe it cost a little?!  Hmm...

I took my Norwegian Language Course @ Oslo Voksenopplæring Rosenhof

http://www.rosenhof.oslovo.no/

The teacher I got was a very good one, a middle aged man.  I think his name was Harald.

Has anyone taken a course from either of these guys?

http://www.alfaskolen.no/#!norwegian-la … urses-oslo

or

http://www.learnnorwegian.no/english/beginners.html