When Shirin arrived in Denmark a year and a half ago, she was already a qualified nurse in Iran. But despite her professional experience and qualifications, one major obstacle still stood between her and her dream of working as a nurse in Denmark: the Danish language.
“I really want to work as a nurse in Denmark, so it’s very important for me to become proficient in Danish,” she says. Today, Shirin attends CLAVIS Aarhus’ FVU Danish for Healthcare Professionals, where she is learning the healthcare-specific language and terminology she did not learn during her Danish language education.
Shirin says that the FVU Danish for Healthcare Professionals is about much more than grammar and vocabulary. It is about understanding the language used every day in the Danish healthcare sector.
“We read different healthcare text and books. It helps me a lot in my job.”
She believes that many internationally trained healthcare professionals face the same challenge.
“Many healthcare professionals come to Denmark from different countries. We all want to work within our profession, but we don’t learn enough healthcare-related Danish at language school.”
For Shirin, work and learning are closely connected. What she learns in the classroom at CLAVIS can be applied directly in her job, while the situations she encounters at work become valuable learning opportunities back in the classroom. That is something Jens Christensen, a teacher on the FVU Danish for Healthcare Professionals programme, recognises.
“One of the things that really accelerates our learners’ progress is when they start working. That’s when they discover just how many nuances there are in the Danish language and how differently it is used in real-life situations. When they return to class with questions about expressions or situations they’ve experienced at work, we can explore those examples together.”
Questions often arise in conversations with colleagues, residents and patients. Shirin experienced this herself while working at the care home where she is employed.
Like many Danish words, stærk (“strong”, “spicy”, “hot” or “fast”, depending on the context) can have several different meanings. Shirin had learned that it could describe something unpleasant, for example when food is too spicy (maden er for stærk). So when a resident at the care home said, “Tiden går for stærkt” (“Time flies too quickly”), she thought the woman meant that time was difficult for her and that she wasn’t feeling well. Only later did she realise that is was simply a Danish expression meaning that time flies.
Although Danish can be challenging, Shirin feels she is improving every day, not least because she uses the language in class, at work and in her everyday life.
If Shirin could give one piece of advice to other newcomers, she wouldn’t hesitate:
“Use Danish as much as possible”
She has taken every opportunity to practise the language by attending local events, using the library and visiting language cafés. Above all, she highlights meeting other people as an important part of her language-learning journey.
For Shirin, it is not about speaking perfect Danish. It is about practising, staying curious and having the confidence to use the language.
Her determination has also made an impression on her teacher, Jens.
“Shirin is a star student with very strong ambitions,” he says.
In just a year and a half, she has learned the language, found a job and moved another step closer to her dream of becoming a nurse in Denmark.
Along the way, she has also found a sense of belonging at CLAVIS Aarhus, which she describes in just three words:
“Friendly, supportive and a great community.”
