Swedish Radio, Audiobooks and more for little ears learning Swedish
When you're trying to teach your kids Swedish abroad, it can really help to expose them to the language as much as possible.
That's why audio books, radio and CD's can be a great tool to train those little ears to new vocabulary, as well as Swedish 'dialekter'. They're also great entertainment on long car journeys :-)
I grew up in the south of Sweden in a small town called Ronneby, in the province of Blekinge. My Swedish sounds quite different to someone from Stockholm, or further north so I love playing different audio shows to my little boy so he can learn to understand more than just 'mummy's Swedish'. Here are my best tips for kid friendly radio and podcasts in Swedish abroad:
How to access Swedish audio books and radio
Audiobooks and radio are great ways to build vocabulary and understanding of a language. My little boy loves playing Alfons, Pippi and Bamse CD’s on his little kiddie CD player and he gets to hear stories, and experience some Swedish culture at the same time which is great. But of course, it’s hard to get hold of the CD’s abroad.
Luckily you can get hold of Swedish stories through streaming services such as Google Music (and probably Spotify too). Search for Astrid Lindgren and you’ll find classics like Ronja, Emil and Madicken. There’s also some Alfons Åberg albums.
You can also listen to Sveriges Radio for free online - look for Radioapan. You can also download their 'barnpoddar' for 3-8 year olds and 9-13 year olds. Or, alterntively look for other recommended children's podcasts in top lists such as this one.
Some Swedish libraries let you download and listen to audiobooks for free - try Stockholm's library for example. You can also look into paid subscriptions such as Storytel where both kids and grownups can get their favourite stories.
I hope you find this useful and that it helps you on your journey, helping your kids love the Swedish language. If you’d like fun language info like this emailed straight to your inbox, then sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of this page.
Ha det gott!
Linda
