by JuicyPuffin

Created on: May 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

There are two major categories for learning Icelandic if you don't live in Iceland itself. The first is online resources and the second is textbooks. Online resources include websites, audio files, videos, flash games, and electronic books. The following lists of resources are ordered from most useful to least useful.

Online:

The University of Iceland's "Icelandic Online" website is completely free, and is what the University uses to teach foreigners Icelandic as a self-study class. This website is also used as a prerequisite to studying abroad at the University of Iceland. Before studying abroad, potential students must reach a certain point in the website and obtain good scores on a test. The website uses flash games, audio, and possibly video in the later chapters to help teach. There is a built-in dictionary, grammar explanations, and cultural notes that come with each chapter in the website.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's online Icelandic-English Dictionary was created to go along with Icelandic Online. There are sample texts to practice reading Icelandic, grammar guides, Icelandic abbreviation guides, and guides on how to use the dictionary. This dictionary seems to be the same one that is built into the Icelandic Online course. However, it is Icelandic to English only, and there is no English to Icelandic dictionary available online.

Byki is language-learning software for both Macintosh and Windows, that simulates learning with flash cards. There is audio by a native speaker with every flash card. The paid version has a larger variety of ways to practice vocabulary, and will also match your voice to the native speaker with a chart to help pronunciation. The trial version is completely free and does not expire, and the software is extremely easy to use. However, if you compare the vocabulary or phrases to those a native speaker would use, the provided phrases might be a little off. For example, Byki uses "sandwich with ham" instead of "ham sandwich". The best thing to do when using this software would be to ask an Icelander about phrases you are unsure about, if possible, and it is also a tremendously wonderful tool to practice phrases you learn from other sources. Coupled with audio editing software to create sound files of words and phrases, this is the best study tool available.

Expert Village's basic Icelandic video channel is a collection of videos for learning basic Icelandic words and phrases. The words are said both at a normal speed and very

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