Friðrik Rafn Guðmundsson and Dr. Christopher Oscarson, Scandinavian Studies
When my wife and I began studying at BYU in the spring of 2002, I approached the director of the Scandinavian Studies Program, Dr. Steven Sondrup, about the possibility of teaching Icelandic at BYU. After that and subsequent meetings, I was offered the opportunity to teach Old Norse (SCAND 429) in winter of 2003. I was delighted, but also hoped to develop a course for modern Icelandic as well. As my first semester of teaching progressed, I asked if it was possible to teach an intensive course in Icelandic during the summer. The request was granted, and I taught a combined course of first year Icelandic (ICLND 101 and ICLND 102) during the summer term of 2003. After fall semester that year, my wife and I returned to Iceland for the following year, where we gathered language materials for future courses in both Icelandic and Old Norse. In winter of 2005 we returned to school, and under the supervision of the new director of Scandinavian Studies, Dr. Christopher Oscarson, I taught Old Norse for a second time. That summer I taught another intensive course in Icelandic, which was followed by the subsequent second year courses (ICLND 201 and ICLND 202) in fall and winter (2006) respectively. Last summer of 2006, I taught another beginning course in Icelandic (ICLDN 101) at BYU and for the Icelandic Association of Utah in Spanish Fork. Subsequent semesters I spent teaching conversation classes in Icelandic (ICLND 211R and ICLND 311R) in fall and winter (2007) respectively, as well as a combined course in Old Norse and Old Icelandic (ICLND 429) during the winter semester.
During the course of my teaching, I found that students who had access to listening materials in Icelandic learned the pronunciation much faster and subsequently would progress further in their speaking ability. Hence, I sought out support from ORCA to create audio tracks that would compliment one of the textbooks I was using for teaching intermediate Icelandic courses. The textbook for second year Icelandic provided ample contextual reading materials, but no material for listening comprehension. In this project I created digital recordings and supporting pedagogical materials of about 100 short texts and made them available for students on the Humanities Learning Resource Center (HLRC) website as a resource and practice tool.
Apart from making digital recordings of about 100 short texts, the project also included grouping the texts. The textbook where the texts are found is divided into several sections; for pronunciation, grammar syntax, about 30 exercises with texts and glossary, about 40 more texts, and a comprehensive glossary. The first 30 exercises consist of a written text in Icelandic with a glossary and a translated text in English. After reading the Icelandic text, consulting the glossary and associated grammar explanation, the students are supposed to be able to translate the English text into Icelandic. My part was to provide the students with digital recordings of the Icelandic texts to aid the students’ pronunciation, audio comprehension, and additional recordings of the Icelandic translations the students can use to correct their written work. The next 40 texts were also made available at the digital library of the HLRC. By using the facilities at the HLRC, students can practice reading the texts side by side with the recording, and make corrections to their work.
I had predicted to finish the project before the end of April 2006, because of the urgency of the project completion. However, the project proved much more cumbersome than I had previously anticipated. I managed to complete all of the texts required for ICLND 202 by myself and was able to add another 36 digital recordings of unscripted dialog to the materials later in that same year.
The first problem I had to overcome in order to complete the project was to get acquainted with the recording and editing equipment at the HLRC. Thanks to Harold Hendricks and his knowledgeable staff, I was able to cross that hurdle with relative ease. With their help I learned how to operate the recording equipment and manage the editing programs on the computer. Unfortunately that was not the end of my difficulties. One of the reviewers for the project suggested that I should get another reader, saying “It sounds to me like the plan is for the student to make all the recordings with his own speech. But I think it might be a good idea for the recordings to contain at least one other native speaker’s speech.” Hence, I have also been faced with the challenge of recruiting other readers with exceptional proficiency in Icelandic. That task has also proved difficult, seeing that the other two Icelandic students are very busy. Although I have written all of the translated texts, which I have intended to be read by the other Icelandic reader, I have yet to locate one. That part of the project is ongoing, but will be completed by August 2007.
This project has created a permanent language resource at BYU that will greatly enhance language skills in students of Icelandic for years to come. BYU is one of the best universities for language teaching in the nation, with a vast majority of students speaking at least one other language. Icelandic as a second language is a smart choice for anyone going into fields, such as medieval studies, literature, or historical linguistics. Not to mention for those who are of Icelandic decent and will study the language with interests in their heritage. Most of all, learning Icelandic is smart for anyone planning on staying in Iceland for extended periods of time, whether for traveling, studying, or doing research. Learning Icelandic will enrich the lives of all those who apply themselves to learning it. It is one of the harder languages to learn in the world, and is the most complex of all the Germanic languages. Icelandic requires considerable rigor on behalf of the students and is apt for contributing to the aims of BYU, by building character and promoting faith. Thus, it is important to make all of the resources possible accessible to the students. This project has been instrumental in adding to the resources available to students of Icelandic and will greatly enrich their studies and increase their proficiency and knowledge of the language.