På gang is a collaborative project which expands the intermediate and advanced level curricular options for English speakers interested in learning Norwegian. The need for a curriculum for Norwegian language learning that extends beyond the beginning level has been a challenge and a frequent topic of discussion since the 1980s among Norwegian instructors in North America. In 2010, we participated in a workshop and also presented our ideas to our colleagues on the development of intermediate materials.
Some of the materials you see here on paagang.com been used in print or other digital form for over 20 years, others are newly created. Our hope is that by developing a platform that can house different modules, it will allow instructors the flexibility to tailor it to the needs of their students while greatly reducing the cost of their materials.
We have been fortunate to receive some funding for the development of this site, most notably from five Digital Humanities on the Hill (DHH) grants. We are also interested in hearing from anyone who might be interested in collaborating, possibly by adding additional reading guides for learners at the intermediate and advanced level. This project is still in development, check back for updates!
KARI LIE DORER is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Norwegian Dept. and Director of Nordic Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She specializes in the scholarship of teaching, foreign language instruction, curriculum development, the use of technology with language learning, Sámi studies and Nordic film. Kari completed her Ph.D. studies at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Germanic Studies with an emphasis in Applied Linguistics and a minor emphasis in Scandinavian Languages. Kari received her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction of Second Languages and Cultures from the University of Minnesota and her B.A. in Scandinavian Studies, History, and Political Science from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. After spending 10 years as a villager at Skogfjorden, the Norwegian language village located in Bemidji, MN, she attended eight study abroad programs, seven of which were in Norway. Previously, she has taught Norwegian at the University of Minnesota and the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Kari also taught courses in Scandinavian cooking in the Twin Cities area for 10 years.
MARGARET HAYFORD O’LEARY is Professor of Norwegian and former chair of the Norwegian Department and Director of Nordic Studies at St. Olaf College, where she has taught since 1977. She currently serves as Associate Dean for the Humanities, in addition to teaching Norwegian language and culture classes both at St. Olaf and at the University of Oslo International Summer School. She has her PhD and MA in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin, with coursework in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, and Norwegian language at the University of Oslo, where she took Diplomprøve i norsk språk og litteratur. Her BA in German/Chemistry and Secondary Teaching Certification is from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Margaret also spent fifteen years both as villager and teacher at Skogfjorden. She has co-authored two textbooks, Norsk i sammenheng, Intermediate Norwegian (out of print), and Colloquial Norwegian (Routledge, 2016), and KlikkNorsk, a CD-ROM Norwegian grammar program, in additional to Culture and Customs of Norway (Greenwood, 2010). She has led many tours of Norway both for Smithsonian and St. Olaf College. She has recently received the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, Knight First Class for her work in promoting Norwegian language and culture in the U.S.
NANCY AARSVOLD retired from St. Olaf College in 2015 after teaching Norwegian for over 25 years at St. Olaf College, Augsburg College, and the University of Minnesota. She specializes in curriculum development, second language acquisition, and integrating technology into language learning. During her last several years at St. Olaf, Nancy served as the Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, providing campus-wide leadership in integrating innovative technologies with effective pedagogical and research practices. Nancy has a B.A. in English/Norwegian and Secondary Teaching Certification from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and an M.A. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Minnesota. In addition, she attended the Oslo International Summer School and the University of Oslo for a year and took Diplomprøve i norsk språk og litteratur. She is also co-author of KlikkNorsk, a CD-ROM Norwegian grammar program as well as Sett i gang (with Kari Lie Dorer), a beginning Norwegian curriculum.
CHRISTINE HAERTER PINERO has taught both Spanish and Norwegian at colleges in Minnesota for the past 10 years, including Augsburg College and St. Olaf College. She is currently an Instructor of Norwegian at St. Olaf College, assisting with curriculum development with a focus on culture and second language acquisition. Christine lived in Norway and Spain for several years, completing her M.A. in Hispanic Languages and Cultures from New York University in Madrid, and subsequently working in Oslo, Norway. In Norway Christine worked in audio textbook recording, translation, and study abroad. She was also a student participant and an employee at the University of Oslo International Summer School. She has a B.A. in Spanish with an emphasis in American Racial and Multicultural Studies from St. Olaf College, and she completed her K-12 Language Teaching Certification in Chicago, Illinois through the Urban Education Program.