Swedish in Year 8: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 8 of Swedish school (around age 14), Lärkompis practises 9 skills in Swedish, linked to 11 of 25 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 7–9. The areas are information searches and critical evaluation of sources; language use; reading and writing; speaking, listening and conversation; and texts. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 4 mini-games, including Glosjakt (Vocab Hunt), Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot) and Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 7–9), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 8, this means that 8 skills start this year and 1 skill started earlier and is still being practised. The figure 11 of 25 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 8
The 9 skills in Swedish in Year 8 are grouped into 5 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Information searches and critical evaluation of sources
- Search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Choose from five options or match four pairs.
- Critical evaluation of sources: who is behind it, purpose and checking Level 1: Three options. Level 5: Four options.
Language use
- Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families Level 1: Match three pairs of synonyms or opposites. Level 5: Match proverbs with their meanings.
- Formal and informal language in different situations Level 1: Three options, choose the wording that suits the reader. Level 5: Reverse question: which wording does not suit the reader.
Reading and writing
- Colons, semicolons, dashes and hyphens Level 1: Colon or hyphen, three options. Level 5: Only sentences with a semicolon or a dash.
- Commas around inserted phrases and appositives Level 1: Subordinate clause with “som” (who) about a person, commas before and after. Level 5: Same as level 4.
Speaking, listening and conversation
- Leading discussions, active listening and the three rhetorical appeals Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Choose from five options or match four pairs.
Texts
- Narrative perspective, imagery, showing not telling and other literary terms Level 1: Recognise simile, metaphor, personification, first-person narrator and dialogue from a description, or write the term with the first letter as a hint. Level 5: Five options from closely related terms; write the term without a hint.
- Important Swedish authors and their works Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Choose from five options or match four pairs.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 7–9 in Swedish, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 8. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- Understanding, interpreting and analysing texts from different media, and summarising.
- Spelling, sentence structure, paragraphs and making a text hang together, plus language guides and digital tools.
- Taking an active part in conversations and discussions, leading a conversation and giving spoken presentations.
- Fiction from different periods and genres, narrative perspectives and imagery, plus non-fiction that argues and investigates.
- References and citing sources, and sifting through a large amount of information with a critical eye on sources.
How to help at home with Swedish in Year 8
Year 8 is the middle of the last stage, with end-of-term grades every term. Agree together on a fixed time and place for homework, and let your child tell you what needs practising before the next test. Read aloud together and talk about the text, even when your child reads on their own. Talking about what happened and why is part of the practice.
- Language online. Talk about the difference between how you write in a chat and how you write to a government agency or a teacher. Ask them to write the same message both ways. Bring up freedom of expression, privacy and what is inappropriate. As a conversation: about 10 minutes.
- Discuss a news story. Find a news story your teenager cares about. Ask them to take a position with two reasons, then switch sides and argue for the opposite. This practises the kind of argumentative discussion the syllabus requires. As a conversation: about 10 minutes.
- Reading they choose. Many teenagers read less. Offer comics, fantasy, non-fiction, audiobooks or podcasts. Ask what they are reading and ask a curious question. Don’t criticise their choice. When reading: about 10 minutes.
- Read the text aloud. Ask your teenager to read their own text aloud. The ears hear repetition, broken sentences and unclear parts that the eyes miss. Let them mark what they want to change, without you taking the pen. When it is hard going: about 10 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 8
- Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families: Your child varies their choice of words and picks the right shade of meaning.
- Search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists: Your child can choose good search terms and use quotation marks.
- Critical evaluation of sources: who is behind it, purpose and checking: Your child gives their sources and quotes correctly.
- Colons, semicolons, dashes and hyphens: Your child uses a semicolon between two closely linked main clauses.
Common pitfalls in Year 8
- Important Swedish authors and their works: Mixes up Strindberg and Söderberg.
- Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families: Uses the same word over and over again.
- Search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists: Types the whole question into the search box instead of keywords.
- Critical evaluation of sources: who is behind it, purpose and checking: Only scrutinises what they dislike.
If Swedish practice in Year 8 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 8 Swedish, Lärkompis uses 4 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Glosjakt (Vocab Hunt)
Creatures carry words, and your child catches the right creature or matches words with their translations. In Year 8, the game practises 4 skills: search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists; advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families; leading discussions, active listening and the three rhetorical appeals; and important Swedish authors and their works.
Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot)
Knut has made a mistake and your child teaches him the right way. Explaining the mistake is the skill. In Year 8, the game practises 3 skills: critical evaluation of sources: who is behind it, purpose and checking; commas around inserted phrases and appositives; and formal and informal language in different situations.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 8, the game practises 2 skills: colons, semicolons, dashes and hyphens; and narrative perspective, imagery, showing not telling and other literary terms.
Minikorsordet (Mini Crossword)
A small crossword made from the skill’s own words, with pictures or meanings as clues. The crossing letters show whether the spelling is right. In Year 8, the game practises 1 skill: advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families.
Questions about Swedish in Year 8
What does Lärkompis practise in Swedish in Year 8?
Lärkompis has 9 skills in Swedish in Year 8, for example “Search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists”; “Critical evaluation of sources: who is behind it, purpose and checking”; “Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families”; “Colons, semicolons, dashes and hyphens”; and “Commas around inserted phrases and appositives”. Each skill has five levels. In “Search terms, phrase searches, library catalogues, databases and reference lists”, for example, level 1 is “Choose from three options” and level 5 is “Choose from five options or match four pairs”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What comes after Year 8 in Swedish?
In Year 9, Lärkompis practises 4 skills in Swedish, and new that year are “Parts of a text, paragraphs and editing”; “Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families”; and “Language change, loanwords, neighbouring languages, dialects and minority languages”. Most of it builds on what your child practised in Year 8.
Which mistakes are common in Swedish in Year 8?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Mixes up Strindberg and Söderberg” in “Important Swedish authors and their works” and “Uses the same word over and over again” in “Advanced vocabulary: synonyms, opposites, proverbs and word families”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in Swedish in Year 8?
Yes. Every exercise in Swedish in Year 8 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 7–9; 11 of 25 items in Swedish have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise Swedish in Year 8 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try Swedish in Year 8 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
