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Today my first news story on the Norwegian TV-channel TVNorge was broadcasted. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) say they receive a rising number of calls from disappointed would be-workers.

The amount of available summer jobs has diminished considerably compared to last year, and to top it off, employers cancel promised jobs.

See the story (in Norwegian) here.

How would YOU cope with such a situation?

Having recently tried out being a substitute teacher in Secondary School, I’ve discovered the importance of pronounciation. Like the Norwegian Minister of International Development and peace negotiator in Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, I admittedly speak English with hints and touches of my mother tongue.

But unlike BBC-journalist Stephen Sackur, who recently interrogated Solheim over the Sri Lanka conflict at BBC Hardtalk – pupils in Secondary School scream out loud what others keep for themselves: “Ju spik lik a norvisjen!” “Since when do you speak English?”

A couple of weeks ago, I was ordered be a substitute for an English teacher. That day I decided to improve my pronounciation!

Nevertheless, although there’s room for improvement in both my own pronunciation and that of Erik Solheim, there are plenty of examples of well heeled people with a ridiculous English. I think both Erik Solheim and I beat the rather modest English skills of the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero by far:

Right now I am at page 27 in the book “English Pronunciation in Use”. When I’m through it, I hope to speak with a BBC-like accent. If Solheim or Zapatero is reading this post, I hereby challenge you to finish the book before I do:-) There are also resources online if you want to improve your pronounciation. Check out this list of exercises.

Here on andersweb, I’ll post opinions on actual events and academic works in political science. In addition I’ll be covering  topics related to my study of Spanish, German and English as a native Norwegian speaker.