The courses are an employee benefit for SLU staff who need to learn Swedish. 

To be admitted to a course, you need to fulfil the following requirements:

• be employed at SLU for the duration of the course (check the course dates before you apply);
• have an active AD account for employees;
• need to learn Swedish at one of the levels offered
• need to have an approval from your manager

The following can not be admitted:

• SLU students
• SLU scholarship holders
• external consultants working at SLU but employed by e.g. Poolia
• employees whose employment contract will end during the course. 

Courses are a benefit

The language courses are a benefit, meaning you are not entitled to take a course, and a head of department or another manager cannot require you to do so. Taking part in a course is an opportunity that you should make the most of. We want staff who take these courses to benefit from them. In the case of repeated absences, this offer may be discontinued.

Number of classes:

The courses are arranged by SLU in cooperation with Upgrades Education and comprise 15 classes of 1.5 hours each. Dates and times will be published when application opens. Make sure the dates fit in with your other commitments and block the time in your calendar.

In the last class, there will be a test.

To take the test, you need to fulfil the following requirement:

• at least 75 per cent attendance (11 classes).

Participants with an attendance rate below 75 per cent will not be allowed to take the test and will not be awarded a course certificate. Course participants who do not take the test or who do not receive a pass grade will be failed, and this may affect their chances of being admitted to future courses.

Participants who pass the test will receive a course certificate.

Take-home assignments and self-study:

Expect to spend at least 45 minutes on self-study and assignments between classes. 

Online classes:

As the courses are offered online, anyone can take part regardless of campus and whether they work from home or the office.

Number of places:

The number of places on each course is limited to 13. This makes it possible for all participants to benefit properly from the course and establish a good rapport with the teacher.

We need to have at least 8 participants registered and approved to be able to start a course level.

Costs:

The course, including the final test, is free of charge for employees who fulfil the requirements. SLU pays for the courses using transition funds.

Course literature:

This is paid by the department/division and can be ordered from Bokus in Proceedo. If you have questions or need help ordering, contact the human resources administrator at your department/division.

Please choose the editions below. There are newer editions available but our course provider has chosen to continue with the older edition.

Textbook:

• A0 and A courses: Rivstart A1 + A2: ISBN 9789127434202, approximate price 330 kr excl. VAT
• B courses: Rivstart B1 + B2: ISBN 9789127434233, approximate price 461 kr excl. VAT
• B2/C1 courses: Rivstart B2 + C1: ISBN 9789127434264, approximate price 375 kr excl. VAT

Exercise book:

• A0/A1/A2 exercise book: Rivstart A1+A2 Övningsbok: ISBN 9789127434219, approximate price 252 kr excl. VAT
• B1/B2 exercise book: Rivstart B1+B2 Övningsbok: ISBN 9789127434240, approximate price 252 kr excl. VAT
• B2/C1 exercise book: Rivstart B2+C1 Övningsbok: ISBN 9789127448568, approximate price 252 kr excl. VAT

The CEFR test will help determine your current level

All courses offered in cooperation with Upgrades Education are designed to correspond to one or more of the six levels of the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework Reference for Languages (opens in a new window). 

Before you apply, you need to do the CEFR test as you must state your current level on the application form. That way, you can be sure to apply for the right level and be placed in a group where the participants have a similar level of prior knowledge.

Take the test here.

Please note that the test starts at level A1. If you have no prior knowledge of Swedish you do not need to take the test – just put A0 as your level when you apply. 

Make sure to read the instructions before you start the test.

Before applying:

As stated under Who are the courses for, the courses are only open to SLU employees with AD accounts. You will need to apply yourself, you cannot ask someone else to do it for you. Make sure to give your SLU email and the department address.

Approval from head of department:

Before you apply, you need to make sure that you will be able to attend all classes. Also, make sure you have the approval of your head of department and that they know when you will be absent. An approval is made by your head of department emailing to swedishlessons@slu.se and writing that "First name Surname has my approval to take this course". The approval needs to be renewed before each semester.

Together, you and your head of department need to make sure that you have the chance to succeed and pass the course. In case of repeated absences, this will be discussed with your line manager. 

Use the link below to apply. You cannot apply via email. Before applying, you need to take a diagnostic placement test (see above).

 Register here

After applying:

You will receive an automatically generated confirmation email. If you have not received this within an hour, check your spam folder.

Registrations will be processed once registration closes. See the application page for dates. 

Closer to the date, you will receive a status update for your application:

- Preliminary admission
- On the waiting list
- Not admitted

Preliminary admission:
Preliminary admission to a course means you fulfil the requirements but need to accept the conditions for participation AND confirm that you will attend by replying to the email. The conditions are sent out at the same time as the decision on preliminary admission. Make sure you read them carefully before confirming your participation.

On the waiting list
Being put on the waiting list means you fulfil the criteria but for some reason cannot be admitted. One reason can be that you have taken a course previously and that those who have not have been prioritised. The waiting list is numbered, meaning your place on it is fixed. If you are offered a place on the course you applied for, you will be contacted and offered preliminary admission.  

Not admitted
There are several reasons why an applicant may not be admitted. The most common one is that you are not employed by SLU but by an external company providing staff. It could also be that you have fixed-term employment which will end before or during the course. Or, if you have been offered a post but have not yet started at SLU, you may not be registered in the staff database. If that is the case, you need to take up your post before the course starts, and you must register before the deadline using the application link.  

Applications submitted via email after the deadline will be denied and applicants asked to register again for the next semester.

The spring 2024 courses are listed under Current courses:

Distribution of course starts with levels across the semesters:

• Spring: A0, A1, A2, B1
• Autumn: A0, A1, A2 

If you are interested in taking a course at a level NOT offered, email swedishlessons@slu.se and let us know what level you are interested in.

Course dates for autumn 2024:

A0- Monday 8:30–10:00

August: 26
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
October: 7, 14, 21
November: 4, 11, 18, 25
December: 2, 9

A1- Tuesday 8:30–10:00

August: 27
September: 3, 10, 17, 24
October: 1, 8, 15, 22
November: 5, 12, 19, 26
December: 3, 10

A2- Wednesday 8:30–10:00

August: 28
September: 4, 11, 18, 25
October: 2, 9, 16, 23
November: 6, 13, 20, 27
December: 4, 11

Private tuition is offered online or at SLU’s Campus Uppsala. This is booked through Proceedo and paid for by the employee’s department subject to prior approval by the head of department or equivalent. 

Please see more information on the Swedish web on where to find the information in Proceedo.

For questions, email the course administrator at swedishlessons@slu.se.

Would you like to meet new people, chat, listen to Swedish, or just hang out? You are very welcome to the language café!

SLU University Library have a language café and you can read more about the language café here.