My SVA Journey Has Begun!
Updated on 10 March 2023: This is it! After 4 assignments—3 written text of various forms (argumenterande text, referat, romananalys) and 1 class presentation—all within roughly 3.5 months, I passed! I have completed the fourth and final part of the grundläggande svenska som andraspråk. If I take into consideration the 3-week Lunar New Year holiday I took in January, the total study duration is then reduced to roughly 2.5 months. For a 50% studietakt, the duration is usually around 4.5 months… In short, I finished 1 month ahead of time!
Updated on 18 November 2022: Another awesome news—I have been ‘parachuted’ to delkurs 4 based on my current performance! I start the fourth and final part of the grundläggande svenska som andraspråk next Monday, 21 November (and still on 50% studietakt). It feels surreal to only spend about one month in delkurs 3 and I’m thankful to my teacher for believing in me. It truly means a lot to me!
Updated on 3 October 2022: After settling into my new job which I started working in June, I’m happy to announce I am now resuming my Swedish language study in the komvux by starting delkurs 3! This time on 50% studietakt, which means I go to school twice a week, four hours each time. I’m thankful to my wonderful employer, Husqvarna, and manager, Magnus, for giving me the opportunity to do this!
Updated on 3 June 2022: I have completed delkurs 2! I feel very blessed and fortunate to have a good school and a wonderful teacher who believes in me. When I notified him about my success in landing a job (yes! That’s why I had to speed up my study…), he was open to the possibility of me completing my study (based on my track record) ahead of time (3.5 weeks instead of 10 weeks), subject to my passing all the required tests or assignments. It was a stretch goal on my end but I made it. I passed all the tests!
With that, my full-time Swedish language study has come to an end, and a new chapter of full-time working life begins. I’m (really) still in retirement mode but in a rather creative manner. This full-time job (in a company with 300+ years of history and innovation) will allow me to stay sharp while still enjoy a fantastic, balanced lifestyle in Sweden.
It’s time to switch mode (again) and enjoy learning Swedish as a special interest.
Updated on 27 April: The placement test result is out! I have been placed in delkurs 2 (skipping 1—YAY!). For the test, we were to write between 200 and 300 words on a given topic; proctored and administered in the computer room at school. With this, I’ve elected to study SVA 100% (full-time) to enable my school to register me with the Jonköpings kommun to formally initiate my study, but I may change it to 25% (part-time) later if my circumstances change…
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
My SFI journey has ended and so begins the next phase: Svenska som andraspråk (SVA) på grundläggande nivå. This program is equivalent to the Swedish education system of årskurs 7 - 9 (for students ages 12 to 14).
I’ve begun my 2-week orientation at the new school yesterday (25 April) and today I sat for the validerande test (English: placement test). This test will determine the level in which I will be placed in the program.
SVA på grundläggande nivå comprises of four parts and a full-time study will take approximately 8 months to complete (4 days per week x 4 hours per day). This is where the placement test will determine which part one can begin studying and that will significantly reduce the time to completion. There are, of course, options to study part-time: 75%, 50% or 25% and the duration will be prolonged accordingly.
I will be pondering over the next few days on whether to study full- or part-time, and that will be dependent on one thing. More about that soon!
LOOKING BACK: Svenska för invandrare (SFI)
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