Who drives the Online Språkcafé project?
My name is Ivana. I come from Croatia and live in Sweden. I am a doctor by education, but my real profession was teaching in high school and adult medical education. I am currently on my way to start working as a doctor again.
Why did I start it?
Because I love språkcafés. I like interacting with people from different backgrounds while discussing various topics. Språkcafés helped me develop my communication skills, learn new things and generally changed me into a better person.
Also, while I was learning Swedish and visiting various språkcafés, the teacher in me dreamed of a perfectly organized språkcafé.
So, have I succeeded - is our språkcafé perfect?
No, I've tried various things and over time I've come to realize that there is no such thing as a perfect språkcafé, just a good enough one, because what works for one person may not work for another.
However, the Online Språkcafé is a motivating and enjoyable environment for many who practice Swedish with us, and that makes my efforts worthwhile.
12/2023 - THE FIRST SPRÅKCAFÉ
No official email address, no website, no logo. Just Zoom. I wrote some discussion questions and sent them to some friends. I think there were three of us in the first session. But it kept going. Every Wednesday at 19:00. I invited people I met at other språkcafés and they invited others. But there was rarely more than 7-8 of us. I knew I needed a website. It took me a year to work up the courage to start making one. It's not easy to get started.
From the beginning...
01/2025 - WEBSITE
I finally made a website. It had just one page and only text on it. Soon I was able to make four pages and I started posting discussion questions every week, at first only about 10 per topic. Now our discussion topics contain over 40 questions. I write them every week.
04/2025 - LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS
I attended a språkcafé where the moderator read us some quiz questions from a book. Some of those were grammar questions. I liked the idea of offering the participants at my språkcafé a chance to learn something new. So I started creating and posting language workshops on the website every week.
06/2025 - KAHOOT!
But how do I motivate participants to actually use my language workshops...? Kahoot! was the answer, the Norwegian platform designed to make educational games. I first saw it at Online Swedish's språkcafé, and I liked playing it. It was fun and one could always learn something. Why not make my own? So I started creating my Kahoot!s by rewriting the exercises from my weekly language workshops. Since then, every Wednesday at the beginning of our Swedish språkcafé we play grammar quiz.
07/2025 - SPRÅKCAFÉ FOR ADVANCED SPEAKERS
One day in June, I was talking to a friend who needed a place to practice high-level conversations. That motivated me to start a group for advanced speakers. It took place on Sundays at 6:00 PM and was called the B2+ group (participants were at B2 level or higher).
12/2025 - SUNDAY SPRÅKCAFÉ & VOCABULARY KAHOOT!
I always wanted to have two språkcafés open for all levels per week so that those who need språkcafés the most – those at lower levels – would have the opportunity to speak more. So I decided to open the Sunday group to everyone. I already adjust groups by level, so I think the advanced speakers didn’t lose much. At the beginning of ever Sunday språkcafé we play a new type of Kahoot!, a vocabulary quiz based on the colored words from that week's discussion questions.
03/2026 - ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLUB
After learning Swedish to a level where I can use it in everyday life, I’ve noticed that I no longer get the chance to practice my English. I am not alone in this; many of us who have moved to Sweden find ourselves in the same situation. While speaking good Swedish is crucial when living, it is also important not to lose one’s proficiency in English—one of the world’s most important tools for communication. Watching YouTube videos and reading in English isn't enough to maintain the ability to speak the language. That’s why I decided to start an English conversation club, since we already had all the necessary infrastructure in place. You are more than welcome to join! :)