“It shouldn’t feel like a chore.” Sigga Hansen, founder of Lingua Danica, on why learning Danish can help you thrive

Do you need to learn Danish to live in Denmark? 

The answer depends on who you ask. Some people believe it’s unnecessary, especially if your job doesn’t require it. Others see it as essential: a crucial part of integrating and living life here fully. 

Sigga Hansen sits firmly in the latter group. The founder of Lingua Danica, she is a popular Danish teacher based in Copenhagen. Since starting her business in 2018, she has amassed more than 1,500 students worldwide and 45,000 followers on Instagram.

Hansen’s success makes it hard to believe that she never intended to become a Danish teacher. After earning a bachelor’s degree in French and Spanish, she had one year to work before beginning her master’s. So she applied to be a French teacher at one of Copenhagen’s language schools. The school came back with an offer to teach Danish, and she took the role as a stop gap. 

Then she fell in love with helping people master the language. She completed her studies in French and Spanish, but has been teaching Danish ever since. 

Lingua Danica started as a 1:1 tutoring service. Hansen has since shifted away from personal lessons and grown the business with a deep well of self-paced online courses for complete beginners through to advanced learners. 

Hansen also provides a deep well of free content via her Instagram account @linguadanica.  She produces videos with pronunciation tips, critical vocabulary and glimpses into Danish life. That cultural context is part of her integrative approach to teaching. Seeing the Danish language in action makes it more fun and less intimidating.

We sat down at her office to discuss finding motivation to keep studying, raising multilingual children and uncovering Copenhagen’s best running spots.  

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Fine not to say this – for me it goes without saying that any interview has been edited and condensed!

I read that you started teaching Danish accidentally. Can you tell us the story of how that happened?

Actually, I studied French and Spanish at university. My interest in French started in high school so I thought, “I want to do something with French.”

After high school, I moved to France for a year, then went to university and studied the language. But between my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I needed to work, so I applied for a French teaching job at Berlitz Language School in Copenhagen.

They called me and said, “We’re actually interested in you teaching Danish.” I was really surprised! She explained, “At Berlitz, we hire native speakers to teach their mother tongue.” I thought, “Okay, why not?” She assured me they would train me and provide the tools to get started.

Since I needed a job for a year, I said yes. But then I ended up totally falling in love with teaching Danish! It was amazing to meet people from all over the world, helping them learn Danish and at the same time, learning about other cultures and languages.

I finished my Master’s in French and Spanish Studies, but I’ve been teaching Danish ever since.

Wow, incredible! What happened with French and Spanish? Do you still practice them?

Not so much. My husband is from Peru, so I hear a lot of Spanish, but I mostly speak Danish at home. We also have an eight-year-old son. It’s nice to know French and Spanish, but I don’t use them as often.

So, you started teaching Danish, finished your Master’s, and taught at language schools in Copenhagen for a while. Then, in 2018, you decided to go solo. What inspired that decision?

I wanted more independence. Freedom to teach the way I wanted, without waiting for students from my employer. I was working long days, and I knew something had to change. I’ve always had a desire to make a difference in one way or another, and going solo felt like one way of doing that.

How did it feel to take that leap?

It was scary! But I have an amazing husband who supported me 1,000%. He had my back and encouraged me, saying, “I believe in you, you can do this.” So, I took the leap!

And it’s worked out. Now I have over 1,600 students.

Can you give us a quick overview of what Lingua Danica offers?

I used to offer one-on-one teaching. But in 2022, I launched my first online, self-paced video course as a way to help more people because I could only take on so many private students.

It also made learning Danish more affordable. Hiring me as a private teacher isn’t cheap, and many people reached out but found it out of their budget. So now, I offer courses from level A1 (absolute beginner) up to level C1 (advanced learner). It’s much more affordable for so many people.

My courses are mainly Danish language courses. But I also have the cultural aspect: to introduce people to things like the monarchy, equality between men and women, hygge, holiday traditions. 

Do you find that incorporating cultural context helps with learning the language? Why is that important?

I heard many times that when people  learn a bit about Danish culture and Danish history, then some things about the language that make more sense. It makes people feel more connected with the country, with the people. It definitely helps overall. 

Who is your typical student? Are they mostly people living in Denmark, or do you have students worldwide since your courses are online?

Most of my students are people who have moved to Denmark. Often they are professionals working here. Some realize they need Danish after having children. Before that, they might have been fine in an international bubble. But when they have kids, they want to integrate more.

That’s something I hear a lot—both from Danes and internationals—that you don’t really need Danish to live here. What do you say to that?

I don’t agree!

It’s true that you can manage just with English. But to truly thrive, feel more at easeand feel a deeper connection with  Danish people and society, learning Danish is important. You don’t have to be fluent, but reaching at least an intermediate level helps you understand and engage more.

What do you think stops people from learning Danish? Is it the fact that you can get by in English? The language’s reputation for being “hard to learn”?

I can speak from my experience learning other languages. I think it’s common to reach intermediate levels. You need to spend a lot of time, energy, effort—so when you have covered the basic levels you have probably spent 6, 9, 12 months focusing on Danish. It’s natural to lose steam a bit. Maybe you start to miss other things in life. 

It’s a mix of being able to understand more, and feeling a bit tired of spending so much time and energy. People also have a lot of other things going on in life. 

I think a big hurdle is practicing Danish in the wild. It feels scary to practice outside the classroom. How do you help students build confidence?

One tip is to be upfront about being a learner and wanting to practice. Tell people, “Hey, I’m learning Danish. I would like to practice.” That way, the receiver is more patient and supportive.

Maybe find a colleague and ask, “Would you perhaps practice Danish with me?” It can just be 5 minutes to begin with.

It is uncomfortable. It can be a little painful, frustrating. But it is part of the process. The more you do it, the less painful it gets. Keep doing it, because it will get easier. 

Exactly! A friend told me she was checking out at 7-Eleven, and when cashier asked if she wanted a bag, she replied, “No, thank you.” When he said, “Have a good day” she replied, “No thank you.” It’s fine, she learned from that moment, and everyone moved forward! 

Yes, exactly.

Coming back to that intermediate plateau, how do you help students stay motivated to keep learning?

I encourage them to reconnect with their “why.” Why do they want to learn Danish? How will their life be better if they really learn Danish?

Finding that inner motivation is important. It is a lot of time, a lot of energy. It’s important to be aware of, “Why am I doing this?” It can help someone push through on a day when they don’t feel like studying.

Let’s talk about social media. I read that early on, you posted in Facebook groups to promote your lessons. Now, you have thousands of followers across your platforms. How has social media helped your business?

It has helped immensely. I’ve been able to reach so many people in Denmark and outside of it. Some just enjoy my free content, while others sign up for my paid courses.

I noticed a difference in the people that I reached, when I transitioned from private courses to online courses. Before, most of my private students were professionals in Denmark. Now that my online courses are more affordable, I’ve reached many more people. 

I’ve had grandmothers in other countries learning Danish for their grandchildren in Denmark, Americans with Danish ancestry reconnecting with their roots, and even movie fans who want to understand Danish films!

Many international families here are speaking two or three languages at home. Maybe Mom is Danish, Dad is from Peru, they are each speaking their mother tongues to their child and English to each other. Do you have any tips for families navigating speaking many languages to a small child? 

Just go for it. I’m not a linguist or an expert in that particular field. But as far as I’ve read, linguists say that children just absorb everything. I’ve also read that it’s important that you speak your mother tongue to the child because then they learn it the right way, instead of trying to speak the language of your partner that you’re not fluent in. It will be a gift for the children to learn those languages. 

I’d love to talk a little bit about pronunciation. Internationals, I think, spend a lot of time laughing at ourselves for our inability to pronounce Danish. But to start, why is the Danish “soft d” pronounced like an “l”? Do you know the history of that? 

It’s actually a myth, or a misconception. The soft D is not pronounced like an L, but when you’re unfamiliar with that sound your brain lets you hear it in a way that is similar to a sound it already knows. Many languages don’t have this sound. 

The difference is that the L is pronounced with the tip of the tongue going up, but with the soft D the tongue stays down behind the lower front teeth and you pull up your jaw. 

It’s helpful to get so detailed. Do you have other pronunciation tips? 

I teach using a vowel table because we have more vowels than some languages, plus each vowel has different variations. People struggle—especially English speakers—between E and A because they are quite close to each other. So a tip is to be aware of how open the mouth is. 

I have a final question which is not about language but about running. You’re a runner, so what is the best running route in Copenhagen? 

That’s a good question. I live in Valby so I mostly run in Vestre Kirkegård. I also run in Valbyparken. It’s bigger and more suitable for running. Vestre Kirkegård is a bit small, a bit repetitive. Fælledparken around the lakes, closer to the city center. I used to live in Nordvest where we have Utterslev Mose, a big lake area. 

Have you run any of the local races? 

I have run some 10ks but after I became a mom I had less time for those things. I once signed up for a half marathon in my really young days, but I found that it took the pleasure from running. I felt like, “Okay, I need to run because I need to get ready for this race.”

It sounds similar to what you said about finding the motivation to keep learning Danish. For you, running is not about racing, it’s about freedom. 

Exactly. It shouldn’t feel like a chore.