Learning Swedish in 2026
Over the years I’ve had an almost obsessive desire to learn languages. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve genuinely thought about—and attempted—learning more than one language in a year. I’ve mellowed out a bit in my late twenties, and realized that I can’t learn everything at once—especially when it comes to learning multiple languages. I ultimately decided to focus on American Sign Language and Spanish over the last few years. While my Spanish skills are still in progress, my ASL progressed quickly, and I finished my bachelor’s program with an upper-level proficiency in ASL (plus a sweet little certificate).
Now I’ve decided to turn my attention to another language that has been on my list: Swedish. Swedish was bumped up to the top of my list because I’ll be studying abroad in Sweden this fall. Although most of the country speaks English, and fluently I might add, its a perfect opportunity to reach fluency while I’m there and really dive into the language and culture.
I have about 7 months before going, and I want to utilize my time effectively. I’ve decided to follow a slightly insane curriculum that I created for myself in order to reach a solid B1 level by the time I get there. According to my good friend google, B1 level for Swedish takes around 180-250 hours of study—though this figure varies across the internet. So, I’ve decided to shoot for a solid 300 hours over 7 months.
Study Schedule & Tools
To break this down a bit more, my goal is to study for about 2 hours every day. Over 7 months that would be around 420 hours total. Factoring in days when I may be distracted, have less time, or simply decide to take a day off, I think my total will be closer to that 300 hours of really dedicated study. My primary tool is going to be Rosetta Stone simply because I have a lifetime subscription (what self-respecting, aspiring polyglot doesn’t?) but also because my learning style is well suited for that kind of application.
I also have two other tools in my tool kit. First, of course, is Duolingo. It’s really just a mobile version of Rosetta Stone with a different set of vocabulary. Which will be nice when things start to feel repetitive. Second is Pimsleur’s Swedish, a tool to practice speaking and listening to the language through conversation. I chose Pimsleur in particular because I wanted something to listen to on my commute to work. My time is a bit tight these days, so in order to make effective use of my 1-hour commute, I decided to use that time to practice listening and speaking. In total, my goal is 1 hour of Rosetta Stone, about 30 minutes of Pimsuler, and 30 minutes of Duolingo each day.
As I progress, I’ll share updates and my thoughts on the learning process here. Until the next one, take care.
