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 nowA collage of images showing smiling students in class.

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.

Memories over memorisation

You have to have fun to keep learning. That’s why we make sure that you’ll make great memories that last a lifetime.

Confidence over convention

We train confidence and pronunciation so our students feel comfortable under the spotlight in any conversation.

Delight over dread

The hardest part about speaking is overcoming anxiety. We help you discover the joys of using Icelandic, even when it’s not perfect.

Three girls laughing in front of a poster of Icelandic vocabulary.

“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.”

Kate
Graduate student at HÍ

“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.”

Kasia
Business owner

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!

Join Active Icelandic if you're ready to:

The words "shout", "dance", "play", "imagine", "sing", "whisper", "make mistakes", and "feel", each with decorations evoking feeling of the word.The words "shout", "dance", "play", "imagine", "sing", "whisper", "make mistakes", and "feel", each with decorations evoking feeling of the word.
Does that sound like your jam?
Register now

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

Nefnilega
Exactly, yup
[nebblea]
Lemme er ógeðslega skemmtileg!
Lemme is super fun!
[Lemmer ógsla skemmtile]
Ég ætla að læra íslensku
I'm going to learn Icelandic
[jætla lær'íslensku]
Nákvæmlega
Exactly, precisely
[nákla]

Don’t get lost in the crowd

Active Icelandic has a maximum group size of 6. That means:

More teacher attention per student
It’s less intimidating to start speaking
Tight-knit groups where friends are easily made

A day in the life

Making music
Watching music videos
Vocabulary practice - speed round
Learning how to make an entrance
Vocal warm ups
Sentence practice
Singing along - with feeling!

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!

20+ years teaching
The University of Iceland
The University of Tartu
Companies
Private students
Education
BA in Icelandic as a second language
BA in Icelandic
BA in German and pedagogy
Diploma in music pedagogy

Lemme's students describe her the best

“Lemme is a volcano of energy; she loves what she does!”

Kate
Graduate student at HÍ

“Lemme is a wonderful teacher.”

Kasia
Business owner
Check with your union: they generally refund 75-100% of the cost!
I wish I got that kind of discount at H&M...

Our courses

Start Speaking

Looking to break out of your shell and finally 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

Already speaking, but want to fine-tune your accent and fluency?

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

Start Speaking
Starts: 19 June
Ends: 13 July
Mondays: 18:00-19:30
Thursdays: 18:00-19:30
Advanced Activity
Starts: 19 June
Ends: 13 July
Mondays: 19:45-21:15
Thursdays: 19:45-21:15
Start Speaking
Starts: 24 July
Ends: 21 August
Mondays: 18:00-19:30
Thursdays: 18:00-19:30
All courses
Njálsgata 78,
101 Reykjavík
48,000 krónur*
*Most unions reimburse between 75-100% of the cost.

Active Icelandic not your style?

Check out our other offerings

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

Where are the classes?
Do you offer online classes?

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!

What level are the classes for?

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.

How long does it take to learn Icelandic?

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.

Still have questions?

Don't hesitate to send us a message and ask directly!