ABOUT US
Our story
Speak Norsk is an ambitious team that started with one goal in mind – to make expats fluent in Norwegian!
We are passionate about language-learning and bringing to Norway a new, innovative way of teaching Norwegian. Since the beginning, we have been known for our interactive conversation-focused classes, own-written books, and something that it´s not quite common for other schools – a personal approach and a customized offer for each one of our students. Meet our passionate and united team of Speak Norsk school!
OUR TEACHERS
Master degree in Comparative and International Education
Jon is one of our most valuable assets at Speak Norsk. Students appreciate his broad cultural knowledge and passion for teaching Norwegian as a foreign language. His master degree in Comparative and International Education represents an important asset in understanding the relationship between education and society and between teaching practices and learning outcomes. You will meet him in beginner and intermediate classes and will certainly appreciate his expertise on the subject.
Maria is one of our most committed teachers with the ability to reach out to students and create a relationship of mutual trust with them. Currently she is leading our intermediate classes for both standard group classes, online teaching and courses for IT corporations. During the lockdown, she was the main teacher for our virtual classes and is leading along with Johannes our Youtube channel and podcast. In addition, Maria is one of the writers for our exam preparation and grammar books. According to Maria, grammar can be fun and she will prove it to you!
Torje is a valuable colleague and passionate teacher, with a broad experience in teaching our beginner Vikings his mother tongue. His background education in Norwegian language from University of Oslo gave him a great sense of understanding the challenge of learning Norwegian as a second language and he is glad to contribute to our students´daily progress in becoming fluent speakers.
Torje´s advice to the students: Try to make a Norwegian friend, to watch Norwegian TV. Try to remember words and listen to how words are pronounced. Everything is possible if you have the right mindset.
Johannes is a real Viking when it comes to conversation classes. His students are always impressed how fast they start understanding the Oslo dialect after just a couple of lessons. His notable conversational skills and passion for debating will draw into the class´s topics and make you forget about the time! Johannes has been our colleague since the beginning of the school and is one of the leaders of our educational Youtube channel and podcast.
Mostly-known for her positive attitude and creative instructional methods, Joana is sure to make studying at Speak Norsk a memorable and enjoyable experience. At the moment, she is teaching both beginner and intermediate Vikings, some of our company courses for IT enterprises, laying for them a solid foundation to transit to more advanced levels. She has completed her studies in Norwegian as a second language at University of Oslo and is currently teaching beginner levels and preparation courses for Norskprøve.
Currently teaching our students at both beginner and intermediate level, Vilde describes her work at Speak Norsk as a wonderful and meaningful experience. She helps the students get a solid grammar foundation and teaches them how to express themselves in Norwegian, making sure everyone understands and feels comfortable in class. Her advice to students is to incorporate Norwegian in your daily life – watching movies, listening to podcasts; small things contribute to a bigger result!
Vilde has completed her bachelor’s degree in Norwegian literature and languages in Bergen and looks forward to welcoming more students in her classes.
Currently studying for her Master´s degree in service design, she’s very interested in how services and clients influence each other to create unique experiences. In addition to that, she’s been a student of several languages and has a passion for learning about other cultures. Synne’s philosophy when it comes to teaching is that it’s supposed to be engaging. It’s important to her that the students and the teacher together create a safe space where there is room to make mistakes, have fun, make new friends and explore the language together.
Her conversation classes are usually a mix of reading and dynamic exercises, to make sure the lessons don’t become too static. And of course, making time for great conversations is a must!
Yvonne is a graduate of University of Agder, with a Bachelor´s degree in translation and intercultural communication and a Master’s degree in linguistics.
With a great focus on languages (both Norwegian and English), communication and encounters between different cultures throughout all her six years of study, Yvonne is very glad to have joined Speak Norsk´s multicultural team of colleagues and have students from all around the world in her classes.
Yvonne says: “Norwegian and English were always my favourite subjects at school and it was therefore very easy to choose a field of study. Especially Norwegian grammar and Norwegian spelling have always been close to my heart all these years and now I am happy that I have become part of the Speak Norwegian team, so that I can share my passion and knowledge with people who want to learn. In return, I also learn a lot about their cultures too! I am a very social person, so working as a conversation and grammar teacher is something that I enjoy doing a lot!”
Elena believes that good communication in the class play a key role in creating a good and motivating learning environment where students feel safe in exploring a new language together. She has experience from working in international environments and teaching Norwegian as a second language to students from all over the world. Elena encourages students being active in her classes and believes that all students are able to accomplish their goals as long as they are willing to put in the work, and are persistent. Elena’s tip for learning Norwegian: don’t be afraid to begin! Open your first Norwegian book or watch a Norwegian tv-show. Even though it might seem challenging in the beginning, you will appreciate it a lot on your journey of learning Norwegian!
Elena has a master’s degree in biosciences accompanied by a pedagogy degree and is currently studying Norwegian as a second language at the University of Oslo.
Master in Norwegian grammar for second language learners
Currently finalizing his master in Norwegian grammar and teaching our advanced B2-C2 courses, Knut will capture your attention and commitment to learn from the first lesson. His inviting smile, broad knowledge of the subject makes him a perfect addition to our ambitious team of professionals. Also, Knut is one of the main editors of our advanced-level books.
Besides being a great tutor for our students, Thea also is a contributor and writer of our books and materials used in class. She is a graduate of Oslo University with a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and a master´s in Nordic Literary Studies. Her vast teaching experience from other private schools and many years of working independently as a translator, make Thea understand the importance of language in the modern world, especially for our students, for whom knowing Norwegian can represent a life changing experience. She is known for making students feel welcome and safe to make mistakes along the way.
David joined Speak Norsk in the autumn of 2020 while completing his second degree in European Languages at the University of Oslo, where he is now undertaking a masters in linguistics. He is passionate about languages, semantics & syntax, and extremely curious about theories of grammar. Currently, David teaches our beginner students in the evening and weekend classes and has gained the trust of the team as a responsible and motivated colleague.
Jesper is a graduate of University of South-Eastern Norway with a degree in teaching education. Currently he is completing his master at Oslo Metropolian University in the same field. Norwegian has been his main subject in education and he feels that language is a very important part of one´s integration in Norway and therefore learning it is vital for getting ahead and becoming a part of the society.
You will meet Jesper in our classrooms in Oslo teaching at beginner and intermediate levels.
Ingrid has always found great joy in teaching others, and enjoys being able to share her knowlegde in Norwegian with her students. Being very fond of languages herself, she likes getting to know people from all around the world and becoming familiar with different cultures and languages.
She understands that everyone learns at a different pace and tries to make everyone comfortable in class to be able to make mistakes and learn through them.
Meet Ingrid in our A2 and B1 level conversation classes!
Jonas is a graduate of The Arctic University of Norway, as well as of University of Oslo, where he studied languages, history and religion. His professional background includes working at different schools in Oslo teaching Norwegian, as well as other subjects.
At Speak Norsk you will meet him inside our classrooms in A1, A2 and B1 levels.
Antje has joined the Speak Norsk team with the hopes of making everyone understand Norwegian pronunciation clearly and keeping everyone on track with their progress! She has studied Norwegian as a second language for a long period of time, and has the needed background experience from working in different private schools in Oslo, to fully understand the needs and requirements one has to have to become fluent in Norwegian. Her unique pedagogical skills make her special and loved by so many of our students, both in beginner and intermediate levels.
Kristine considers herself a positive, motivated and committed person who loves to be social. These qualities go hand in hand with our working environment here at Speak Norsk, where we put a lot of emphasis on quality, commitment and social interaction. With plenty of former work experience in the customer service area and passion for teaching students her mother tongue, she takes care of our students, helping them to gain confidence in speaking Norwegian on a daily basis. You can meet Kristine at the school or in our online Norwegian courses, where she will guide you through achieving a perfect understanding and pronunciation in Norwegian!
Watch more of Kristine´s videos on Youtube
Mathias joined Speak Norsk in the spring of 2022 and from the beginning conquered his students’ admiration with his passion for languages and simple grammar explanations that he shares in our classrooms and online, through our social media accounts.
Mathias considers himself a language nerd, and thinks grammar is really interesting and fun. He has a Bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently completing his Master’s degree in linguistics at the University of Oslo. In his free time he likes to learn languages himself.
Check Mathias’s educational videos here!
Leah has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is currently studying development studies. She enjoys learning about different cultures and other languages, and to teach about the Norwegian language and culture. She is very enthusiastic and teaches by using activities to learn in addition to the books. There will always be room for questions in her classes as well as making mistakes because that the most important part is to keep trying. Practice makes perfect!
Meet Leah in our intermediate and advanced classroom-based courses at B1 and B2 level!
RECEPTION
Tatiana will welcome you at Speak Norsk reception and you will get to interact with her on a daily basis at the school. She describes herself as a person who likes working with different people, assisting them in their everyday life. Her education comprises a Bachelor’s degree in pedagogy and she is a current student at Oslo Met, where she learns how to communicate and help others through occupational therapy. Whether finding out more about our courses or booking a private class, Tatiana will make sure you get the best customer service at our school.
Currently a student at BI, Samer represents a part of our beloved reception team at Speak Norsk. He is a valuable colleague, always willing to help others and ensure good quality of service. Samer will assist you whether you are looking for your class, need a course recommendation or simply need assistance with your lessons.
ADMINISTRATION
In the earlier days of Speak Norsk, there was a gap in the market for effective and conversational Norwegian courses. Huzan saw the opportunity of helping her friends and work colleagues who were struggling in finding customised and conversation-focused courses. With her background education in IT, marketing, leadership and private tutoring, Speak Norsk soon came to life with small group gatherings at the local cafes in Oslo. It didn’t take long until Speak Norsk became one of the top and most modern schools in Norway by having its own-produced books, videos and specialised tutors. When designing the idea and concept behind the school organisation, Huzan thought about making it the most welcoming and unique place to learn effectively with one of a kind teaching methods. The unique approach led to the success and fame of the school nowadays through students’ achievements and results both from the school in-house courses and worldwide online courses.
As a translator and interpreter of 5 languages, Nicoleta knows exactly what it takes to learn a new language and how challenging it might be sometimes. When joining the team, the idea behind was to make the learning process easier and more efficient for the students coming at the school. She has completed her bachelor’s studies in Foreign Languages and Pedagogy, has graduated from multiple economical, law and leadership courses, and has worked in several international companies throughout the years, gaining the experience and knowledge needed behind running a language school.
Having in mind the overall well-being and successful integration of the students in Norwegian society, Nicoleta has been a vital part of Speak Norsk, from its earlier stage up to today, responsible for the quality assurance of all the services and products provided by Speak Norsk.
Our story
Founder Huzan in the Starbucks cafe in Oslo with students learning Norwegian together.
In the earlier stages, Huzan used in classes her own articles, which later contributed in the idea of having own-produced books. She wanted easily-explained and customised books to match the needs of students, especially in the conversational part of the Norwegian language.
Fun fact: Huzan started Speak Norsk school due to the fact that the cafe could not fit as many students (+50 students at the time) that led to the first official opening of Speak Norsk’s location. Today at Speak Norsk school there are more than 12 classes happening at the same time in our modern location on Rådhusgata 26.
After the huge success of Speak Norsk’s courses, the team kept on growing and now, there are more than 35 passionates and ambitious colleagues and members of the Speak Norsk family. We pride ourselves in always delivering the most high quality courses, professional assistance to students and guidance in their social life here in Norway.
Helpful tips from our teachers!
Our upcoming locations 2021-2022
