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[yuuago]

Saw some Norwegian textbook discussion/recs in this thread on the Duolingo forums; dumping here for reference.


Relevant parts of the thread copypasted here.

Commentary on Mystery of Nils 1 & 2:

Part 1 is good if you're a good student. It's a bit merciless when it comes to vocabulary; it expects you to know a word after you have been introduced to it once. If you prefer a gentler ride, there are books with a less steep learning curve, like "Norsk På 1, 2, 3". Nils Part 1 more or less will get you to A2 the same as any other course, but with a better grammatical foundation.

Part 2 is very good for grammar, but maybe not as good as Duolingo for vocab! I think it says it goes to B2. Well, it might grammar-wise, but doesn't vocab-wise. By the way, the grammar will cover things that a pure grammar book won't. For instance, Nils 2 lists different meanings of "noen" or "få" or talks about how to use the word "enig". You won't find that in a pure grammar book.

After going through Nils Parts 1 and 2, I found I could without too much trouble read "Stein På Stein" and "Her På Berget", which are two very commonly used books to prepare for Norskprøve tests. Main area I was/am held back in was vocab... and of course listening/speaking skills.

Commentary on Stein På Stein, also Naiv. Super:

"Naiv. Super." is an adult novel written in very spare language. "Stein På Stein" is a different sort of thing, focused on practical language and Norwegian culture.

In "Naiv. Super." you get a lot of expressions. There is a "lesebok" version where phrases are underlined and translated in the margins. I highly recommend it. I personally would benefit by going through it again with a highlighter and setting up some flash cards.

"Stein På Stein" is also good in its way... but.. may benefit from a tutorial or class environment IMO. Lots of paragraphs, followed by leading questions. In a 1-on-1 with a teacher, you would likely be asked to listen to, understand, and answer the questions. Much more active and painful compared to just reading but I would find it hard to do on my lonesome.

I haven't tried any of the above, though obviously I'm curious enough to save this information for later. Not currently in the market for new textbooks, but hey, it doesn't hurt to make note of some opinions....

The textbook I have is Norsk, nordmenn og norge. I haven't used it all that much, though I really should try cracking it open more often. I'm kind of hampered by the fact that I don't really have a proper table to study on. (Maybe I should take it to the library? They have nice big tables there.)

Flipping through it now, it seems like it does have some nice large chunks of text at a level that is proooobably closer to my actual comprehension than the newspapers I've been using for reading practice, so that's not a bad place to start. :') Maybe I'll look at it in more detail this weekend.