Hei!

The Norwegian software company and language course provider Singularity Linguistics, based in Oslo, specializes in the innovative way of learning the Norwegian language from one`s own personal machine teacher (Max). The purpose of the project (in development) is to provide a Norwegian language teacher for every Norwegian language learner.

In addition, Singularity Linguistics has since January 2022 been a provider of Norwegian language classes for the levels A1, A2 and B1 (by a human teacher), in which Max has been a sporadic part of the courses.

What makes our products and services different?

- Teaching and learning: When taking a language course, the instructor doesn`t only need to understand how to teach a language, but also how to learn a language. In addition to being an instructor of the Norwegian language, I (David Petter Haavik) also hold language degrees in both the Russian and Chinese languages (from the University of Bergen), and have studied the languages in both Russia (Saint Petersburg) and China (Beijing).

- A different perspective: Having two native languages (Norwegian and English), I like putting myself in the shoes of the English speaker, making me able to explain concepts, words and grammar from the learners` point of view. During my time teaching at at Folkeuniversitetet in Bergen, I also held courses (levels A1-A2) for Russian speakers in their own native language (Russian).

- Building our language: The core principle behind our software (Max) and language classes, is to teach the language from the bottom and up, making sure holes in one`s understanding are filled before moving on. Since there is emphasis on building the language up step by step like legos, grammar and language structure is given more attention than in other Norwegian language courses. This enables the students to make their own sentences instead of memorizing phrases.

- Accessibility: Singularity Linguistics doesn`t only want to provide Norwegian language learning services of the highest quality on the market. The goal is in addition to provide the language courses in small groups for around 50% of the ordinary cost.

Fun facts!

- You know the expression "trust goes both ways", right? Well, in Norwegian it`s true! The word for trust, "tillit", is a palindrome! (A word that can be read both forwards and backwards.)

- Ever heard that a healthy relationship should include honesty? Well, in Norwegian the word for love, "kjærlighet", contains the word honesty, "ærlighet"!

The spring of 2022 Singularity Linguistics started launching its own Norwegian language courses!

Norwegian level A1 (12.01.22-30.03.22)

- Average student evaluation score: 8.6/10

- Student satisfaction rating: 100%

(Based on 6 evaluations)

Norwegian level A2 (06.04.22-22.06.22)

- Average student evaluation score: 8.5/10

- Student satisfaction rating: 100%

(Based on 4 evaluations)

Norwegian level B1 part 1 (22.08.22-19.10.22)

- Average student evaluation score: 8.3/10

- Student satisfaction rating: 100%

(Based on 2 evaluations)

Feedback from students

- "Very professional. Relaxed. Fun. Patient." (Student, A1)

- "It was fantastic!" (Student, A1)

- "Thank you for listening to our needs and desires and adapting the course to suit us. It was good to be pushed by you to make sure we covered all necessary grammar and vocabulary." (Student, A2)

- "Great course. Thank you for the care and attention to our learning needs. I could happily take A2 all over again." (Student, A2)

- "If the goal of completing A2 is to be able to have have basic conversations with Norwegian speakers (as long as they are willing to help), then I think we have successfully achieved this. There is a good pace, slowing down enough to make sure we grasp new rules, and fast enough to keep momentum. A2 has been a fun yet professionally delivered class. Thank you for your patience, being organised and kind to us!" (Student, A2)

- "Your way of explaining grammar and making it accessible was super helpful. I felt like it was easy and accessible and the repeating of it also really helped." (Student, A2)

Max (in development)

The computer program Max allows you to learn the Norwegian language from your very own machine language teacher.

"Clear, logical and concise. First of all, this program is user-friendly, especially for the beginner level. It is very encouraging for the beginner to learn step by step, and is effective and inspiring. Learning Norwegian language from a machine (Max) in the program was beyond my expectations and a super positive experience. I feel my Norwegian has improved greatly after using it."

- Yang Yin, former associate professor of Chinese. Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen (2021).

"As I started attending a Norwegian course parallel to this program, I could see the differences clearly. Honestly, I learnt more and better with your program. I also liked how the robot was communicating with me. The words from the robot were chosen smartly and didn`t feel like a "robot".
Your program is structured and you can't finish it without learning. I love how packed and useful your course is. So far, I have searched for many different ways for self-study learning Norwegian. I would say yours is the best I found."
- Test user (2021)

"The program has a clear lay-out throughout the modules, and the step-by-step process was very instructive as to what was being taught/learnt. Grammar explanations and exercises were very clear and practical."

- Test user (2020)

Why do we do what we do?

Learning is a process, and we don`t see why it shouldn`t be a fun process. After all, research tells us that "fun learning" is "better learning". In the development of this language learning software, individual differences have been taken into account: Not everyone learns the same way. Some learn better early in the morning, while others perform better during the evening.

Other individual differences include how fast one learns, how many example sentences are necessary to learn grammar, and last but not least in which environment one is most comfortable.

Since Max is a machine, the user is given the freedom to make these choices.