Insert cod, output Norwegian: How I went from A1 to B2 in two years

In April 2023, I relocated from Finland to Norway. While driving across the border into Norway, I decided I wouldn't just be a tourist. In practice, that meant putting effort into learning Norwegian at a solid pace. When I arrived, I already had some basic knowledge of the language, but had a mountain to climb to reach fluency. Based on my own assessment, I was somewhere between A1 (basics) and A2 (elementary) at the time of arrival.

In summer 2023, I vividly remember the humbling experience of trying to interact with a local pizza parlor employee. While I managed to order in Norwegian, I barely caught a word from the reply. Tromsø dialect's rhythm and tone threw me off.

Living in a medium-sized city like Tromsø meant my options for language courses were limited. Add a full-time job, and my options shrank even more.

I ended up throwing the kitchen sink at the challenge. The bulk of the learning happened online with structured courses (Speak Norsk), complemented with some casual conversation training (Norwegian Speaking Lessons), and private tutoring. I also did a three-week intensive training stint at Alfaskolen during my summer holiday in 2024. On top of that, I have used software where applicable.

Fast-forward two years, and I have passed Norwegian language tests at B2 level. First, I took the written test (lytte, lese, skrive) in fall 2024, followed by the oral test (muntlig) in winter 2025.

Here's the breakdown of what I spent on learning.

Software & Books

Upon arrival, I kicked things off with Pimsleur's 30-day audio course. Other paid software includes Ordnett.no (dictionary), Anki (flashcards), and Talkio (AI wrapper). The only traditional book was God i norsk 3, for the summer intensive.

Online courses

Speak Norsk's B1 and B2 online courses got me through most of the grammar and technical churn. They were great for improving my writing but didn't help me speak at all. That's where Norwegian Speaking Lessons came in. I started (bi-)weekly group sessions in March 2024, which continued for about a year.

Classroom courses

During summer 2024, I spent three weeks in Oslo at Alfaskolen's B2 intensive course. It was the single most impactful step for my learning.

Private tutoring

On top of the weekly conversation sessions, I had some one-on-one lessons with Norwegian Speaking Lessons. In fall 2024, I worked on my pronunciation with NoTe's pronunciation course.

Key takeaways

• There are no shortcuts in language learning. You must put in the hours and effort. Many evenings and weekend mornings, I would have preferred anything over wrestling with prepositions or sentence structure. Staying disciplined is essential to move forward.
• "Sacrificing" a few weeks of summer holiday for intensive learning saves months of slow progress. As mentioned, the three weeks at Alfaskolen's intensive course in Oslo were a huge leap for me.
• Grammar is best learned alone. Everyone learns differently, with their own mix of strengths and blind spots. Speak Norsk's short, to-the-point, pre-recorded grammar videos were fantastic.
• To get the most out of private tutoring, plan ahead. Without a plan, you're just splurging on water-cooler chats with your teacher. It's fun, but not the best use of money.
• Start speaking at your earliest inconvenience. I made the mistake of staying mostly silent until summer 2024.

P.S. Compulsory Swedish

As a Finn, I was required to study Swedish in school. It gave me a slight edge with things like word genders and basic grammar. However, most of that learning happened 20 years ago, so it didn't count for much.

P.P.S. The curious absence of Duolingo

I completed the entire Norwegian track on Duolingo around 2019-2020. Based on my experience, its gamification distracts you, pushing you to maintain streaks and stay in gold instead of focusing on actual learning. Over the years, Duolingo has also become easier, especially on desktop, where they removed the option to type answers.