How I Learned Norwegian in 6 Months 🇳🇴 | Bergenstesten | Move to Norway

This video is about my Norwegian learning experience and how I passed the Bergenstest / How to pass Bergenstesten (the Norwegian B2 exam) after 6 months of dedicated practice. I also tell you a bit about my story, why I decided to learn Norwegian in the first place.
When I was learning Norwegian I always found it really motivating to see other people who had learned the language (especially when those people were American, because we kind of have a reputation for not being good at learning languages.) I had planned to talk in detail about what I did to learn Norwegian, but it ended up being a story about why I learned Norwegian, which honestly might be more interesting and motivating anyway.
Also, I wasn't super clear about it in the video, but the title isn't really clickbait: I basically I learned a bit of Norwegian in 2015 and then didn't really practice at all until 2018 when I decided to schedule the Norwegian B2 exam for 6 months out. I then studied every single day using Memrise, Duolingo, iTalki, and I also read a grammar book called Norwegian Verbs and Essentials of Grammar. Other than that book I didn't use any other textbooks, but I did order an example test from a prior year from Folkeuniversitetet. To this day I kind of feel like someone made a mistake when they said I passed the test. Big time impostor syndrome? Or maybe I'm just good at taking tests.
There are a few simple grammar and word choice/word order mistakes in this video but I tried to film it in one take. There are some cuts from when I cut out long periods of me not knowing what to say next, but I tried to make it flow/coherent. I also still make errors with tonefall / Norwegian pitch accent. Just goes to show: B2 is not C2! I’ve spent just over 2 weeks in Norway so hopefully with more time and exposure to the dialect in a certain area these issues will go away. Whenever Norway opens their borders up, I’ll be on my way 😎

[@AlexBerish]

Here's some of my favourite things I did to help me learn Norwegian, I'll edit this over time as I write out some of the longer ones: 1. Watch Norwegian TV shows and movies WITH Norwegian subtitles. Pause every time there is a word you don’t know, and use Google translate on the word or the word plus a few surrounding words to make sure it gets the context, then resume the show. This makes watching TV and movies boring, but at least it becomes *actually* productive instead of just feeling productive (like watching with English subtitles) 2. Talk to yourself in Norwegian, plan your day out loud in Norwegian, etc, and when you don’t know a word, pause to look it up and then add it to your brain. 3. Get the TuneIn app and listen to NRK P3, or just NRK, or, well, any radio station in Norway. If you haven't figured out the theme yet, here it is: Pause and look up a word whenever someone says something you know how to spell but aren't sure of the meaning. You can also just try repeating the word into speech-to-text on Google Translate. 4. I had a bit of Norwegian knowledge before my pre-test 6-month push, but honestly 99% of my grammar work came from this book (not a referral link!) www.amazon.com/Norwegian-Verbs-Essentials-Grammar-Louis/dp/084428596X 5. This is the Memrise course I used when I first started learning Norwegian. I prefer it over the official courses because every day you use this course, you hear a new part of a story about a family moving to Norway. The vocabulary and sentences you hear are therefore extremely practical, and a bit more rewarding than learning how to say “the spider ate the cheese”. app.memrise.com/course/189711/a1-beginner-norwegian-with-audio/ To get the course to show up on your phone, you might have to first sign in to Memrise on a computer, and then open the link above and add the course that way. It should show up on your phone after that.

[@leah7675]

Thank you so much, I have been looking for that memrise course for ages~!

[@AlexBerish]

Glad to have helped you find it, I love it! :)

[@samanthag4851]

This is great advice!! Moving to Oslo this Jan and will have about 6 months to just learn Norwegian! After 7 years in big law I can't wait hehe 🤩

[@DillaryHuff]

I'm shocked at how good your Norwegian is, and I'm not even exaggerating. I can hear a very subtle hint of an accent in your pitch every now and then, but if I wasn't aware that you weren't born here, I'd probably assume that you had slight regional accent, or something. Also, I imagine it must be a bit frustrating to learn the "neutral" Eastern Norwegian accent if you're surrounded by people from Bergen 😅 But yeah... 2 weeks? Sounds like you've been living here for several years, purely judging by how well you speak the language. Keep it up :)

[@qywx7286]

That's exactly how I learned English, I agree

[@Flakka-]

I'm a norwegian, and your pronounciation and "tone of the sentence" is almost flawless. Like 95% of everything you say sounds 100% native. Really really impressive

[@DillaryHuff]

You made me wipe my screen!

[@Henoik]

I mean, as a native Norwegian speaker I can hear that you're not native, but you speak almost perfect Norwegian. You probably have a better Norwegian accent than I have an English or Spanish accent :) It's just a few weird Norwegian pronunciations you don't have 100% right and the "pitch-accent" (or whatever "tonem" is in English) is a little bit off some places. I bet I'd be able to have really complicated conversations with you though. I'm impressed that you've managed this in 6 months!

[@AlexBerish]

Thank you! Yeah, I can usually follow along with conversations about pretty complicated topics, but of course it's still way easier for me to express my own nuanced thoughts and opinions in English. So one of the bad habits I'm trying to break is where my Norwegian friends speak to me in Norwegian and I reply in English hahaha.

[@Luredreier]

@@AlexBerish Try to find synonyms for what you're trying to say in Norwegian (or whatever other language you're trying to speak), that'll often help with language learning, and it'll help you deal with the various dialects if you ever decide to try to learn those.

[@Usertrappedindatabase]

Alex's video here inspired me. No norwegian experience. American, know 3 years of decent conversational German. I've been toying with the idea but I find it oddly enjoyable to speak Norsk. Like I feel happy speaking it, which sounds batshit insane but yeah.

[@monstrumopanowuje2373]

@@Usertrappedindatabase Doesn't sound crazy at all, yo should go for it!

[@pavlosb23]

@@Usertrappedindatabase Same situation with me, I'm your twin Canadian counterpart 😅

[@suexoxo141]

As a Norwegian (born & raised) I would say that I have NEVER heard an American speak better Norwegian! That is absolutely impressive, especially the tone and pronunciation of å ø å, which are letters you don’t even have! I’d say you should start studying MORE languages, because this is definitely something you’re born to do! Bravo!

[@AlexBerish]

thank you so much! i have been thinking about trying to learn some other languages... just have to be careful not to undo my norwegian progress haha

[@suexoxo141]

@@AlexBerish I think as long as you choose a very different language (maybe not Swedish or Danish 😉😉) you’ll be fine! Try Italian 🇮🇹 It’s one of the most beautiful languages, and hands down the most beautiful country in the world! I took Italian when going to school in Oslo.

[@AlexBerish]

funny you suggest italian, my family is coming to visit me out here in europe for a couple weeks and they want to do a trip to italy.... maybe i'll make some italian vids hahaha, great suggestion!

[@aegean0926]

I've been learning Norwegian for couple weeks and this video motivates me a lot man, thanks! (btw it will be my 6th language :d)

[@AlexBerish]

Glad to hear it was motivating! 6 languages is a lot hahaha, I am jealous!

[@bibble6785]

Wow, what languages do you know?

[@thea9153]

Lykke til

[@anyarasan8529]

Norwegian wil be my 6th language also! After uyghur turkish chinese english dutch .

[@janajames5919]

@@anyarasan8529 you planning to move to Norway, most wouldn’t learn the language unless they want to live there as you can only speak Norwegian in Norway? It’s better if you learn a more spoken language like French where u can speak it in many countries.

[@Muchoyo]

As a native Norwegian I get the impression that you have truly got the language under your skin. You're not just thinking in English and translating. Congrats👍🙂

[@mjelves]

Cudos on your norwegian! You sound like you’ve been living here for at least 10 years!

[@AlexBerish]

thank you! hopefully someday I can say that I have been living in norway for 10 years haha

[@Storyraymond]

Even better. My wife been living in Norway for over 10 years and your accent sounds much more Norwegian than hers. Cudos!

[@Luredreier]

@@Storyraymond Agreed. He's doing way better then someone who has lived here for 10 years. My guess would be about 20 to be honest, perhaps a tiny bit less then that, 18? Certainly many, many years.

[@programclu1]

I've been living here 4 years now and unfortunately haven't integrated myself much due to freelance work and friends speaking English. So to hear you better than me at 6 months of learning is a real kick for me to finally push myself more so I can be less anxious here. I have a lot of reasons now to need to get better (I live in Bergen). Very impressive!

[@AlexBerish]

It's difficult when you can get all of your social needs for the day through English speakers. I experienced a similar problem after I recorded this video while I was living in Tbilisi, Georgia, where everyone speaks Georgian and Russian. I didn't get much farther than "hello" and "goodbye" and "thank you" - check out reddit.com/r/norsk if you aren't already subscribed there I highly recommend it as a resource and to connect with other learners!

[@programclu1]

@@AlexBerish Thanks for your reply Alex! Yeah, I like to talk about since it shows that even living in the native country you can easily end up learning slow if you don't push yourself and integrate. My situation is quite unique but still, I want to make it work here so I'm trying harder now. I do use the reddit page but probably not enough, thanks!

[@youngspiritsinging]

this is fantastic . Thank you! I need to learn Norwegian , because my granddaughter is little and learning it. She lives there now with her parents. I do not want to miss out.

[@AlexBerish]

You can do it! :)

[@sb7674]

Thank you for making this video. I have been on and off learning Norsk and its awesome that you are making videos on your progress/process. I look forward to more videos in the future! Thanks again Alex!

[@jonslandfill]

This is very inspiring, thank you for making the video and congratulations!

[@KP-ov3mg]

This is so inspiring to see what you've accomplished in just 6 months!

[@tahmidt]

Wow you spoke really well and your uttale was also quite nice! As a learner myself this was quite inspiring.

[@NorgieGeordie]

Great video, as someone who moved to Norway in March, I’m around the same level as you, and learnt almost the exact same way, Norwegian TV/Radio/News. You just have to keep going and be patient! Congrats on the test, I should probably do that soon!

[@Alex-Road2Fire]

Awesome! Great sounding accent! My partner passed the written part of Bergenstest within 3 months by taking as many "example" tests as possible. Good luck to everyone taking the Bergenstest!

[@womentreasures]

Alex, that is so impressive!!!! I feel so embarrased about my poor efforts in studying Norsk. Tuuusen takk for motivating !!!

[@TiwidTV]

I am norwegian, and to me your accent sounds almost like a swede who is almost fluent in norwegian. Keep up the good work!

[@jennafloww]

You have made amazing progress in Norwegian! Hopefully you continue to make more videos, there is not that much content out there of those who are learning Norwegian to such a high level like you. I’m studying Norwegian too and this gave me a lot of motivation!❤

[@johnathantaylor5913]

*Giving you some more motivation a month later* -- it's hard to maintain it.

[@LearnNorwegianNaturally]

Wow, veldig god uttale! 😀 Jeg er imponert - i flere av setningene høres det ut som du er fra Norge!

[@AlexBerish]

Tusen takk! Det hadde ikke vært mulig uten videoene dine! :)

[@Luredreier]

@@AlexBerish Jeg tror nok at du kunne klart å lure enkelte til å tro at du var Norsk om du begrenset deg til korte samtaler. I lengere samtaler vil du bli avslørt som en Amerikaner, men de detaljene som jeg plukker opp i det minste har litt avstand mellom dem.

[@laxmiruthpakhrin4494]

Jeg også lærer norsk noen ganger fra deg og noen ganger fro noen.

[@TrendZone567]

Ja faktisk

[@aukidsmagazine1330]

Wow! I've been learning Norwegian through a mixture of the Babbel app and a podcast for nearly 2 years since the beginning of lockdown in the UK. I absolutely love it but I'm waaaaaaaaay behind where you are and frustrated that Babbel hasn't encouraged me to have conversations but just added vocab continuously. I found this truly inspiring and hope that one day I can reach your level.

[@lizzi6000]

I was almost losing motivation to continue learning norsk cause I feel like I dont have progress. And your vid appeared on suggestions. Amazing. I'll take it as a sign to continue. Tusen takk! 😊

[@AlexBerish]

You can do it! 💪

[@khole15]

Learning this level of norwegian in 6 months is totally insane man, good job (native norwegian)

[@robsg07]

Thank you so much for suggesting Memrise! I like it a lot. I'm just starting studying Norsk.

[@norskdrypp]

Det er imponerende at du har lært så mye norsk på egen hånd👏🏼Gratulerer med bestått Bergenstest!😊

[@carolinecordelia]

Your Norwegian is almost flawless, and in 6 months and doing it on your own, that's amazing. I think I have used English for like 35 years and still can't speak fluently or write fluently, but it's understandable for most english people. After youtube came along my english writing skills improved and I no longer have problems with english software, I even tend to read the english manual if I don't understand it in Norwegian as sometimes some useful information get lost in translation. I follow some colouring classes online and the Australian english sometimes gets me allthough I spent a lot of time watching "Home and away" and "Paradise beach" and "Neighbours" back in the 80's and 90's there's words that are slightly different than American english, and we actually learned Oxford English in school. I'm really impressed with you learning the r, the æ,ø,å sounds and so on that good in such short amount of time. . In like three years no one would tell that your not a native Norwegian and I think people would be impressed by your english 😂. We have some British popstars living in Norway that can't speak Norwegian so you can understand even one word. This person is joking about it themself, but I think they would like to speak the language their friends use. (OMG that sentence was hard for me to write and I'm not sure I got the grammar correct.) 😮

[@lapis3834]

Wow! Det var imponerende! Du snakker jo bedre Norsk enn mange som har bodd her halve livet ! Veldig bra ! Skulle ønske jeg hadde hukommelse nok til å lære et nytt språk, men jeg er for glemsk . Ikke noe jeg bare sier;) Ønsker deg masse lykke til videre! You got this and can succeed with probably most of what you attempt! 💪👍 Hope you feel welcomed in Norway! 🥰😘

[@AlexBerish]

tusen takk :)

[@celerya8365]

oh my god - your section about learning spanish in school is so relatable. i’m going through that right now and it’s agonizing how little everyone in my class retains. i’m really looking forward to taking honors spanish next year, i really hope it’s better lmao. in the mean time i’ll be learning norsk on my own :) this video was really inspiring for me though - i’ve been learning norsk on and off for years, but to see an american like myself speaking fluent norsk makes me want to really get my act together with this

[@AlexBerish]

du klarer det ;)

[@vatexxx]

First of all, congratulations for your Norwegian!! I don’t speak it but I’m planning to study it at some point in my future life (life’s short!). I really enjoyed your reflection about your trip to Australia 🇦🇺. I hope more Americans travel outside US and get into new culture through the languages as you did. Again, congratulations.

[@AlexBerish]

Good luck with the Norwegian learning! It's very rewarding, and you basically get Swedish and Danish for free when you study Norwegian, so I highly recommend it! I also agree, more Americans need to travel haha, thanks again!

[@arneaune00]

Loved this video, it'd be great if you kept sharing. Like maybe vlogs or some other content.

[@innerpull]

Thanks for posting this. Definitely encouraging. I'm American, self-taught, and fluent in Norwegian (need to broaden that though), and from the very beginning I worked hard at perfecting my tonefall, so I'm mostly confident about that along with feedback friends and locals have given. Back when I began, I made like 4,000+ flashcards of my own, because there wasn't much to reach real Norwegian fluency by. It was all the beginner / first 1200 words. I've retained most of what I learned (guess it was seared into my focus at the time) and I still listen to podcasts and watch films, chat with friends, etc and visit Norway almost every year besides the pandemic mess. But I've always felt like passing the Bergenstest would be such a much longer stretch of higher learning that felt unattainable (along with the listening / spoken parts of the test for varied accents / regions, and in general the diversity and randomness of the test along with the cost). This makes me want to push and get it done. It would definitely help me gain seasonal work in Norway to have it on my credentials (and from there, possibly full-time work?), whereas previously applying for some work, employers really couldn't be sure, even though I presented myself in Norwegian and had the references and work experience. And I've already come this far... I'm signing up for the annual subscription to Memrise, and I have a really solid university-level Norwegian grammar book to polish up around the edges. I lived in Norway a year and a half previously but had to move back to the states after applying for a zillion graphic design jobs but kept getting turned down even for an interview (probably largely from not having the Bergenstest certification, not directly having a friend in the place I was applying to, and then not having a Norwegian name obviously). Again, thanks... the video makes it feel tangible. By the way, you have a very Norwegian demeanor about your expression / facial posture haha. Very convincing. I'm sure you constantly get other people like me who can relate, but it would be neat to connect!

[@AlexBerish]

Definitely sounds like you're on the right track! Do you have Norwegian parents, or how were you living in Norway? I'm jealous haha. Anyway, passing the Bergenstest would definitely help with job applications in Norway for sure. I'd also suggest checking out reddit.com/r/norsk - There are lots of good language learning resources there, and also lots of native Norwegians for you to maybe get in touch with; might help with the job search! Feel free to reach out on instagram (@alexberish) anytime, I'm usually better at replying there than on KZbin comments (Also love the bit about Norwegian demeanour - I will take that haha)

[@matildawolfram4687]

Interesting video! Many thanks to the author of the channel for the recommendations! The problem with many people is that they want to take a "magic pill" or get "secret knowledge" and immediately have skills and abilities. However, the truth of life is that knowledge, skills, and abilities do not come by themselves. You can't learn a foreign language without doing anything, without wasting your time and effort, just like you can't learn to ride a bike lying on a comfy couch, listening to lectures and watching videos about "modern methods of learning" on a bike. To really learn something, you have to really practice every day. You're going to fall down while you're learning, and you're going to get bumps - that's normal! The ups and downs of learning are an integral part of our lives. Motivation from success and depression from failure will always be your study companions. However, every student has problems in his or her studies that he or she lacks the knowledge to solve. It can be: poor memorization of words; no progress in language learning; the student can speak, but does not understand speech by ear; misunderstanding of grammar; incorrect pronunciation, etc. Agree that a problem you don't know how to solve is very demotivating. In order to find the answer to our question we have to spend a lot of time to read videos, articles and books by polyglots. In today's world, we have to solve problems as quickly as possible. I don't have time to study and analyze a huge amount of information. My goal is to master the basic knowledge of a foreign language as quickly as possible and already start earning money effectively in the international arena. I settled on the practical guide by Yuriy Ivantsiv " Polyglot's Notes: practical tips for learning foreign language". This book is always in my bag. If I have a problem while learning a language, I quickly find the answer in this book. There are many different techniques and tips for learning a foreign language in Polyglot Notes. I have made my own individual schedule and plan for language learning. Now I know what I am going to study, how I am going to study, when I am going to study and what results I am going to achieve. No problem could stop me! With an effective language learning plan my professional skills are more and more in demand internationally every day. Friends, don't stop there! Everyone has talents that millions of people around the world need! Learn the language and make your ideas and dreams come true! Thanks to the author of the channel for the informative and useful video! Your videos motivate me.

[@RequisiteSkyPeople]

I want to move to Norway and have been practicing the language a couple of weeks now on my app. Been doing flash cards as well. This video really motivates me. I really wanna just be fluent in it. The process of moving as I keep learning is so discouraging. Especially the job part as I have many skills but they just don’t seem to work up there. But I’ve wanted to move there for a couple of years now and I am not giving up. I hope to visit at the end of this year if things workout!

[@caspr_brg787]

wow, når jeg klikket på videoen, trodde jeg det var en norsk mann som snakket! Du er kjempe flink. Jeg lærer meg tysk nå, og de tipsene dine hjelper veldig!

[@iainscott5800]

Very inspiring video!

[@adevopsguy9517]

Wow dette er imponerende! Sjekker ut de andre videoene dine!

[@IceWyte]

After doing LearnNow the 'Jeg heter Alex' makes me laugh ahahahah! Great video! Thanks for all the info like the Memrise course and the book etc. really helpful!

[@PastelAcademic]

Cool! I just started learning Norwegian and this is super motivating haha. Tyssen takk!

[@gabrielaramos1335]

tussen* Tyssen means silent! :)

[@Vetle3run]

Tusen* tussen means "the gobblin" 😆

[@gabrielaramos1335]

@@Vetle3run Haha got it, learn something new everyday! Tusen takk!

[@More_Row]

Wow, du er super flink til å snakke Norsk. 6 måneder og de fleste setningene har veldig bra intonasjon og høres veldig naturlig ut. Også morsomt at du har Amerikansk bergensk tonefall . Bra jobba.

[@lucasdias3474]

It's amazing how you can speak Norwegian so smoothly like It's your native language. I related to your story about "learning" a language at school over and over and yet not making any progress (in my case it was English bc I'm Brazilian), then I took a course and actually learned it. Some time later, I also tried to learn French, which I did, but only the basics and now I'm interested and studying Norwegian :)

[@Mindofliz]

I'm learning Norwegian and it's been extremely difficult for me, but I understand the Spanish thing growing up in the United States, we took Spanish for 8+ years but learned nothing because we learned the same curriculum every year. This gives me a lot of hope for learning Norwegian and I hope to be as good as you soon! Thanks (:

[@AlexBerish]

Du klarer det ;) lykke til!

[@erinmarie1211]

I love this! I started learning Norwegian about 3 weeks ago, after deciding I also needed to get out of the US! and learning I could get my masters degree in Norway for free. I lust after those people who can filter through the languages they know when they meet someone in a different country to come to a language they both speak well. I’m traveling to Sweden and Norway in May and hope to have a better grip on the language by then. THANK YOU!

[@AlexBerish]

I always love hearing about someone else wanting to escape America haha. Good luck, and have fun! :)

[@ole7146]

As a Dane I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of my Norwegian brothers/sisters abroad and of course in Norway/Denmark, and had I meet you I wouldn’t be abel to tell that you where American, too me you sound like a native Norwegian and with all the dialects within the Norwegian country you would have fooled me, well done!

[@ge7874]

I'm learning Norwegian, such videos help me stay motivated. As well as numerous films about views, culture, construction and law that interest me. I speak Polish, Russian, intermediate English and I'm learning Norwegian. Wish me luck! haha I have one year of studies left, then postgraduate studies and I'm going to Norway, I still have time, but it's still hard to understand when they talk fast!

[@Luredreier]

3:57 Don't worry, you're doing great. :-) You have a bit of an accent, so it's clear that you're not native, at least in longer conversations, but it's also perfectly clear what you're saying. There's only a few minor errors every now and then, and nothing major. (I noticed one word order issue). I'm honestly impressed. :-) Your pronunciation is actually perfect.

[@nicamaben]

Congrats 🎉👏🎉

[@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551]

You speak my language very well! Props to you! You almost sound legit Norwegian!

[@nonefloppshorts1217]

Ååå gud, det er bra, det høres ut som om du er fra Norge!

[@whatsaygirl1507]

I've never heard an american person speaking norwegian with that little of american accent! Awesome!😊👏 This is great!!👏👏 You speak with the norwegian accent which is almost impossible for an American. Bravo!!👏👏 It's really not easy to hear you're not norwegian. Even for me as a norwegian.

[@AlexBerish]

I love hearing that :) Thank you!

[@BlackM3sh]

Sounds very impressive! I hope you managed to get into a Norwegian university in the end.

[@Smithingtonsmithe]

I’ve been learning Norwegian for a few years now. I can listen, read and write norsk really well, but my speaking is VELDIG dårlig. Your speaking on the other hand is fantastisk! I can only hope to achieve something even close to your level! Keep it up!

[@_Viking]

I'm norwegian and feel exactly the same with my english. I understand english perfect and write english quite well too. But i struggle when i try to speak. Btw, so fun that people actually want to learn norwegian. Worldwide it can't be more than 10 million people that understand our language. But in total i guess there are more people studying Chinese, French and Russian.

[@evelia1737]

@@_Viking can I ask how to learn Norwegian perhaps!!?? 😀

[@AT2606]

@@_Viking That’s probably why like me want to learn Norwegian. Its unique and not many people speak it.

[@justd268]

Jeg skriver på norsk jeg 😋 Du er veldig flink til å ta deg tid til å formulere deg riktig. Både uttale, ordforråd og grammatikken er bra!!

[@AlexBerish]

tusen takk :)

[@yeskimkim]

Wow, dette er utrolig! Superimponert

[@AlexBerish]

Tusen takk!

[@Aggressive_architect]

I came to study architecture to Czech Republic the same way and eventually will move to Norway. I passed Czech C1 in 9 months of learning it, but I was already fluent in 4 languages, I guess it helped. It’s rare for Americans to speak local European languages, because most of us speak English. I wish you good luck🤍 and hope you will like it here

[@janmorganfroynes5032]

I can hear you have an accent, but I understand everything you're saying. You're pronouncing a lot of words perfectly, it's honestly kind of amazing how well you speak after only 6 months. You now know how to speak like those in the capitol, but if you explore Norways regions, you'll see that everyone speaks really different, more than in most countries. Great video, man, keep it going. (Comment left at 3:26 into the video, don't know if he adresses what I said later in the video.)

[@janmorganfroynes5032]

Forgot to add that I work with a lot of foreigners who has lived here for years and you speak better than most of them.

[@JonnaaM]

Utrolig god uttale! Godt jobbet :)

[@giorgi7208]

Hello from Georgia ( the country where the Borjomi bottle is from :) ). I am learning Norwegian. Thanks for the video. It is very inspirational.

[@AlexBerish]

გამარჯობა! i was living in Tbilisi when I made this video haha, now I am in the UK, good luck with Norwegian!

[@Zenstation]

At times your pronunciation is pretty much flawless. For example, at 1:53, when you say "eller 'rød' på spansk," you sound perfectly Norwegian. Correct intonation and everything. Well done!

[@AlexBerish]

Thank you! Hopefully one day I'll get constant perfection hahaha

[@Zenstation]

@@AlexBerishhaha you're well on your way though. The tonality of Norwegian (the sing-song-y-ness) is probably the most difficult part to get right, so it's kind of impressive that you're already doing this well.

[@blissblissbliss]

Veldig bra! Du kommer til å bestå muntlig test lett som en plett!

[@AlexBerish]

Håper du har rett! :) Tusen takk!

[@frankthommessen1382]

Du er eksepsjonelt god i å snakke norsk! Det er nesten helt perfekt! Og interessant historie

[@kiki101900]

Recently relocated from the states to live in Norway and have begun taking classes, etc. This video is really refreshing to see because I keep true to the American stereotype and language is a hurdle for me. It's nice to see others are able to move past that disconnect American education causes and are able to learn languages! Gives me hope I'll one day be fluent!

[@AlexBerish]

du klarer det haha, most important thing / best tip i ever got imo is just to pretend you are an actor, be so over the top with the accent when you are practicing that it almost seems like you are making fun of Norwegians... then when you aren't practicing you'll naturally fall back to a less exaggerated accent that should in theory be pretty good haha. check out reddit.com/r/norsk as well, good community and also there is a good channel on youtube called "ett lite bildeglimt" that is soooooo good, she uploads very regularly

[@michacioak2443]

I hadn't liked german lessons at school so I decided to learn a different language that can be good to use in the future. So I decided to learn norwegian and I discovered how cool this language is. Now my biggest dream is to move out to this country, I haven't learnt norwegian very well and I know that there is still a long way before I learn this, but the one of the most important thing I know is to follow your dreams.

[@NodakKid83]

Your Norwegian is really good! I hope to get to that point some day in the near future. I have run into the same problem of not having anyone to speak it with, therefore I’ve taken a little break from it…probably not the best idea. Great video though!!!

[@AlexBerish]

Thanks man! Speaking with other people is nice but you can still make good progress without it! If you check out reddit.com/r/norsk there are some Discord groups that do audio conversation practice as well, and there is always iTalki!

[@NodakKid83]

@@AlexBerish Awesome, I’ll check the two out. Thank you!!! 🙏

[@pheluma2394]

I had problems hearing you foreigner accent, so great job! With 6 months you did a speedrun it seems like

[@annicaesplund6613]

Alex, you're sooo good at Norwegian!

[@AlexBerish]

Thank you! :)

[@sem8372]

Motivated me to finally start, I already know quite some words since my girlfriend is Norwegian so during vacations I pick up a lot but this definitely set me on track to follow a course

[@AlexBerish]

Nice man, you can do it!

[@Thecrookedfingaz]

You inspired me 💪🏻

[@WilfredHildonen]

It might be because I’ve lived almost half my life outside Norway, but I would have thought you were a native Norwegian. Your accent is probably better than mine :) I’m originally from the far north so it’s a different dialect, but I’ve lived in the southeast and the west as well, which naturally resulted in a good mix. Last time I lived in Norway people thought I was Swedish :) But really, your Norwegian is very convincing and give it a year or two and I bet no one can spot the difference. I’m impressed.

[@mesquitoful]

Lol. I’ve been speaking and reading Norwegian on and off most of my life. Your Norsk is fantastisk. Much easier to to decode that’s my Moms Bergensk.

[@Leeblough]

Thanks! Moving to Norway from alaska because that’s where my fiancé lives. Lot of good info! Need to start learning already😅

[@AlexBerish]

Best of luck, you can do it! :)

[@bjorntorenyland]

Svært imponerende! Bravo!

[@elbj132]

Du har en helt fantastisk uttale! Er helt sjokkert, du kommer til å få perfekt uttale innen noen få år her men den er allerede ekstremt god wow! ☺️ jeg forsto alt du sa uten noe problem!

[@benjaminaskelund5230]

Veldig imponerende Alex! Håper du får nytte av språket 😇 bor du i Norge nå?

[@DianaJakup]

Wow ! Impressive! I am just starting to learn Norwegian

[@Luredreier]

8:39 I totally get that. I'm technically a Icelandic citizen and have family there, but grew up in Norway. Listening to or trying to talk in Icelandic as a non native is *exhausting*. Same with Faeroese. I'm just not used to either language even if I can sort of understand them and say a few broken sentences in Icelandic (non in Faeroese).

[@MP-uz9xi]

your accent is amazing!

[@Storyraymond]

Bra uttale! Bra gjort:)

[@AlexBerish]

Takk! :)

[@kilipaki87oritahiti]

As a Norwegian who has Norwegian as their 1st language, and being a fluent speaker, you almost sound native. Some words/tones are off, but overall it’s really good! Impressive! You and Norwegian with ilys are the only two I’ve seen that has suck a clear speech even though a few tones are off with certain words, for not being Norwegian or a native speaker, you’re really good! Well done😄😊😉

[@AlexBerish]

hahaha thanks so much for this! have just had a look at her content and yeah she’s definitely great, def better than mine haha

[@jasestrel89]

It's crazy how similar your story is to mine in a way but mine was with German. I'm in Germany now but was in Oslo in 2019 and decided to begin learning Norwegian. I'd also like to move and work there in the near future so starting research now. Thanks for sharing. Would really love to hear more about your testing experience and experience overall. Bor du nå i Norge?

[@AlexBerish]

That's funny, I looked at possibly studying in France and Germany too, but the process for Norway seemed a bit more straightforward haha. I'm not living in Norway yet unfortunately. Could have been this year but then due to corona I've had to put it off. Hopefully next year! Feel free to get in touch if you have any specific questions!

[@0Geju0]

Hablo Español and it's a bummer all that teaching system around Spanish. At the end, it's all about what you like and if a language resonates with you. Language is a social, cultural, and social "skill". Spanish is my native language but I've felt lured to Norwegian for the last 3 years or so. Its music, visual art, series, and movies were key ingredients that led me to that. Espero retomes el español and keep getting better with your Norwegian.

[@AlexBerish]

I totally agree with this! It's a shame that school made me resent it a bit because Spanish is a beautiful language and I'd love to learn it some day (I probably will) Lykke til med norsk!

[@Arsenico971]

I'm Italian and studied norwegian for one year here, then 2 years later I moved to Norway (Oslo) for a 6 months exchange program with the local university. It was a fantastic chance to put in pratcice what I had been studying, my norwegian when I arrived there was already at a very good level, I could basically read just anything (I had to study law books in the local language) and also my speaking and writing were very good, but I still struggled to understand when people were talking. Many norwegians use dialects, or simply talk so fast and "eat" their words so much that in many occasions I had to ask to switch to english. It was so frustrating, because I couldn't understand the reason for that discrerpancy between my written and spoken norwegian and my ability to understand when others were speaking. Then, when I was finally starting to pick it up, it was time to turn back home. This was in 1999. At the moment being, I translate scandinavian languages into italian for a living, but I never had another chance to practice my spoken norwegian other than during short trips to the country or with the few norwegians I meet here and there in Italy or while travelling, and of course my ability to understand has only gotten worse. Such a shame.

[@AlexBerish]

Very interesting story! I am going through something quite similar. This video was filmed while I was in Georgia (the country) and I ended up getting sponsored to work in the UK, so naturally seized the opportunity as my number one priority is getting a second passport as soon as possible. Unfortunately this means my dream of moving to Norway is - at least temporarily - on hold. I have taken a couple trips to Norway and Sweden over the last year or so though. At least it is quite close. But I'm definitely not able to speak Norwegian as much as I used to. Ma ultimamente sto imparando l'italiano haha

[@Arsenico971]

@@AlexBerish sounds great, I'll wait for a video about my language then. :D

[@laxmiruthpakhrin4494]

Hi, jeg er fra Nepal. Jeg lærer norsk. Din video er viktig for meg å prøve.

[@hannem9799]

Uttalen din er jo fantastisk! Og grammatikken også. Er det vanskelig å lære seg substantivenes kjønn? At det heter et brød, ikke en brød?

[@baardhelmen8408]

Så imponerende. My take on it is: how deep down you immerse yourself the faster and better you learn. Read, talk, watch and play in the language you want to learn. For myself I love Japanese language but due to burnout condition my working memory is almost gone. The reason the Europeans all learn english is partly a political desire to stop the 1000 year long war cycle.

[@_Viking]

Your norwegian is close to perfect! Way better than my english.

[@malaikahansen]

Wow impressing👏🏽👏🏽 which app did you use to study Norwegian

[@dsvensen75]

Imponerende! Du snakker jo nesten bedre norsk enn meg som har norsk som morsmål! Jeg kjenner et par amerikanere som har lært seg norsk, men de har vesentlig mer engelsk uttale på norske ord hos dem i forhold til deg. Jeg hører ikke umiddelbart at du er en amerikaner når du snakker norsk, noe jeg normalt sett gjør med amerikanere. Veldig godt jobba!

[@MaferLabastida]

Awesome level! Can you share specifically what sources did you used please? It's hard to find good sources besides 2 apps that actually have norsk in them.. I can't find any books here in 🇫🇷.

[@larsnienstadt9538]

Hello Alex, I am an American who would like to live and work in Norway. I have Finance and History degrees and I'm looking forward to your insights about careers for me in that dynamic and exciting country.

[@fanBladeOne]

LEGEND

[@iamrichlol]

This is incredibly motivating to me! Can I ask, where did you find good Norwegian content to consume? Can you recommend anything?

[@AlexBerish]

Glad to hear it! VPNs used to work on tv.nrk.no, but unfortunately that is no longer the case, at least I haven't had any luck with it anyway. There are still a few shows on their site that you are allowed to access from outside of Norway though. Unfortunately it isn't possible to sort by category, but NRK keeps a complete list of shows available outside of Norway here: tv.nrk.no/programmer/utland/ Side om side is a good example. It's quite good for "everyday language". It's basically a sitcom about neighbours. Sometimes kind of funny, but most importantly: lots and lots of episodes. "Debatten" is another good option, if you think you'll enjoy Norwegian politics. The KZbin channel "Bildeglimt" is very good for more active, practice-focused comprehensible input. The above are all good options for learning, and should be available. If you can manage to get your hands on them "Exit" and "Hvite gutter" are some of my all time favourites. SKAM is good too, as it's quite simple and not too fast-paced, lots of on-screen text (text messages) etc. I used to read the news on nrk.no and tv2.no everyday too, and you should check out reddit.com/r/norsk for some more options

[@Luredreier]

9:15 There's no way in hell that you'll fail that spoken test, you're amazing, fluent and everything. Your tonality is on point, your pronunciation is perfect. There's so few details left that I'm sure that you can have conversations where people will actually think that you're a native. You're on par with someone who grew up here, perhaps to a immigrant family or something like that, like me. Just a tiny bit unsure about some details. Your vocabular will improve with time. And there was one word order error that I picked up. I don't know. I'm not good with languages, I'm just not conscious about the details. So it's hard for me to put my finger on the few things that feels just a tiny bit off (they're few and far between, you're doing extremely well)

[@TrendZone567]

Agree, dude

[@let0va]

я недавно начала учить норвежский и ваше видео очень мотивирует продолжать учебу, кстати это мой четвертый язык

[@frantzl]

Impressive. Very good pronunciation

[@AlexBerish]

Thank you! 😃

[@ximalas]

Dette var nydelig å høre på. Du har et godt språkøre. Lykke til videre. Hilsen en amerikansk nordmann.

[@felliceteii6944]

I am a bit late to this vid. I am learning Norwegian because being Mono-Lingual is lame 😐. Here in Australia, we are isolated from many countries, to put it into perspective our closest Neighbouring countries are Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. Indonesia and Papua New-Guinea are too far from our population centers and are over a large body of water, so they are too far away to make learning their languages practical. New Zealand speaks English as well. This has lead to a vast mono-lingual culture in Australia, to be honest we don't even speak English that well, I hear my Filipino Friend speak better english than people born here. Learning a new language, however far away it's native country may be, is a good thing still, that's why I started Norwegian recently. I hope one day to visit Norway, and use what I learning. For Native English speakers wanting to learn a new language, I highly suggest Norwegian as its relatively simple, and it gives you a new opportunity to break out of the mono-lingual prison.

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

I am learning Swedish and Norwegian after a long hiatus. In my 20’s I wanted to learn a language but it was hard with school. However, I got my degree and tried a bunch of different courses, I have grown tiresome of the fast pace of college and would like too be conversational in at least 2-3 languages by 35 or by the time or I hit my 40’s.

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

@Ólaf Sigurðsson I found that pretty quick. I am just sticking to Swedish for now. It was getting too confusing with both. And Russian but I have been learning Russian off and on since 18 years old and the languages are different enough.

[@owenlantu192]

I always learn Norwegian everyday with the Russian language. I love languages. I'm from Surabaya Metropolitan, Indonesia.🙏🏻👍🏻👌🏻🇮🇩🇮🇩

[@samelis6546]

I'm thinking of learning Norwegian but it's quite limited in resources. Anyway, do you have an accent? Not a native but you don't sound native, unless I'm wrong and I'm sorry if I am. You do speak clearly, enough for me to catch random words from the ones I've heard a lot.

[@olelille]

Veldig imponerende, lykke til videre.

[@AlexBerish]

tusen takk! 😄

[@danayang7712]

Wow, jeg kjenner amerikanere og andre som har bodd her i Norge i 30 år og lengre, som prater myyye dårligere enn deg!! Dette var VELDIG bra!! 👍👍👍

[@danayang7712]

Det høres til og med nesten ut som om du har en liten dialekt. En norsk en altså 🤣 Dæven du har vært flink!