Active
Icelandic
A speaking course unlike any other. Build your confidence, improve your pronunciation, and break out of your shell - and have fun while you’re at it.
Register now
What makes us different?
Active Icelandic is a speaking course that uses physicality and creativity to break down anxiety barriers and build confidence. Instead of bogging you down in textbooks and grammar, we’ll help you to actually feel the language.
Active Icelandic takes inspiration from performance arts, because nobody is as confident as an actor on stage or a singer in an opera house. With exercises from acting, singing, music, and even dance, it’s impossible not to have fun in class.
You have to have fun to keep learning. That’s why we make sure that you’ll make great memories that last a lifetime.
We train confidence and pronunciation so our students feel comfortable under the spotlight in any conversation.
The hardest part about speaking is overcoming anxiety. We help you discover the joys of using Icelandic, even when it’s not perfect.
“I love the emphasis on pronunciation and helping to understand the way Icelandic is actually spoken — the sounds that are dropped, etc. in everyday speech. It is a great course for learning to speak more "normally" and less like a textbook.”
“It's not sitting with books and learning grammar. There is a lot of practice, singing and reading, games and fun with the spoken language. In my opinion, this method stimulates most of our brain to learn, just as children learn through play.”
Have fun; it helps
Confidence begets fluency, so we turned to the most confident people on earth: performers. That’s why Active Icelandic integrates many exercises from acting, singing, music and even dance.
It’s effective, engaging, and as a neat side effect, it’s fun as hell!
Learn to talk like a native
Natives don’t speak clearly or enunciate every letter, like you'd learn in a textbook. They speak in a flow that's more natural.
Nobody wants to sound like a robot, so we help you learn to sound human.
Something like this
Don’t get lost in the crowd
Active Icelandic has a maximum group size of 6. That means:
A day in the life
Meet Lemme Linda, your teacher
Lemme is the only person in the world who could have conceived of a course like Active Icelandic. By bringing together elements from her eclectic background, including language, teaching, music, singing, and dance, she has formed a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Plus, she’s just a damn fun person!
Lemme's students describe her the best
“Lemme is a volcano of energy; she loves what she does!”
“Lemme is a wonderful teacher.”
Our courses
Start Speaking
The Start Speaking course is our beginner course, good for those taking their first steps into Icelandic. However, it’s equally suitable for those who have been bravely studying the subject for several summers, but have a hard time to start actually speaking.
Advanced Activity
Maybe you’ve taken a few courses and you’re already speaking, but you’re driven to do better, to sound better. Take an active role in improving your fluency and accent to sound more like a native, less like a robot, and have better conversations.
Upcoming courses
101 Reykjavík
Active Icelandic not your style?
Private classes
Private classes are for the student who wants step-by-step guidance every step of the way.
- Get help that’s personalised to you
- Schedule class when it best suits your schedule
- Try before you buy with a free trial class
Self-study course
The self-study course is for the independent student who prefers self-directed learning.
- Learn to learn efficiently and effectively
- Get all your questions answered by an expert
- Includes a free level assessment and goal setting class
Frequently asked questions
No, unfortunately not.
Due to the active and physical nature of the course it's unfortunately impossible to offer an online version.
However, we're looking into offering a short intensive course. This would be more convenient for people who, for example, don't live in Reykjavík and can't commit to staying for a month, but could commit to a week. If you'd be interested in this sort of course, please let us know!
Any level, really.
Start Speaking, our beginner course, is intended for people who'd like to break out of their shell and start speaking. That is equally true for those taking their first steps with Icelandic, and for those who already have a few courses under their belt, but still struggle to speak.
Advanced Activity was created by popular demand, as students who complete Start Speaking are often very enthusiastic about continuing to learn with us. It works equally well as a continuation for those who finish Start Speaking, and for those who are already speaking a bit, but want to fine-tune their abilities.
It takes about 1-2 years to reach equal footing with natives for day-to-day communication, ASSUMING you're immersed in the language on a daily basis.
