Prøve i Dansk 2 common mistakes
Prøve i Dansk 2 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the reading section, the candidate answers from general knowledge or from the topic of the headline instead of locating the sentence in the text that decides the answer.
Prøve i Dansk 2 texts are everyday Danish (letters, notices, short articles) and the distractors often sound plausible to a learner who reads quickly and recognises only some keywords. The candidate substitutes guessing for reading, especially under time pressure.
What to do instead
Train a locate-and-verify routine: read the question first, underline the keyword in it, scan for that keyword or a synonym in the text, then read the whole sentence plus the one before and after before choosing. Practise with texts where one option is true in general but not stated in the text, and mark why each wrong option fails.
The candidate treats a partly correct option as correct in multiple-choice reading tasks, choosing the option that is 'mostly right' rather than the one fully supported by the text.
Danish reading items frequently include an option that repeats words from the text but reverses or narrows the meaning (e.g. 'alle' vs 'nogle', 'ikke' placed differently). Learners skim for word overlap and miss the small qualifier that makes the option false.
What to do instead
Do contrast drills on quantifiers and negation: alle/mange/nogle/få, altid/ofte/af og til/aldrig, ikke/ikke kun. For each item, write the exact text phrase next to the chosen option and check that quantifiers and negation match word for word.
The candidate runs out of time in the reading section because they read every text word by word from the start and translate unknown words instead of working through the questions.
Many candidates come from courses where full translation was the norm, and PD2 reading passages are longer than the short texts they practised with. Fear of missing a word leads to rereading the same paragraph.
What to do instead
Do timed sets with a strict per-text budget (e.g. 8–10 minutes per text including questions). Read the questions first, answer the easy items, and leave unknown vocabulary until the item depends on it. Keep a personal list of recurring exam words (fx 'medmindre', 'dog', 'såfremt') and learn them as chunks.
In listening, the candidate picks the option that contains a word they heard, even when the speaker said it in a negative, hypothetical or rejected context (e.g. 'det er ikke sikkert, at...').
Word-spotting is easier than parsing full clauses, and Danish connected speech (soft d, stød, reduced endings) makes whole-sentence comprehension hard, so the candidate latches onto the one recognisable token.
What to do instead
Practise shadowing short audio clips and then writing down exactly what was said before looking at options. Drill negation and hedging phrases (ikke sikkert, måske, hvis, selvom, i stedet for) with audio only. When answering, point to the full clause in your notes that supports the option.
The candidate answers listening questions while the recording is still playing and stops listening, so they miss a correction or a change of mind later in the same turn.
Exam audio often contains self-repair ('nå, nej, det var i går') or a second speaker contradicting the first. Candidates who write as soon as they hear something plausible stop tracking the rest of the exchange.
What to do instead
Use the pause or the second listening to confirm. Train with two-speaker dialogues where the first answer given is later corrected; note both versions and decide only after the clip ends. Practise taking keyword notes rather than full answers during playback.
The candidate writes a short free-production text in the written section that answers the task only partly, leaving out one of the required points (e.g. writes about the advantages but not the disadvantages, or omits the suggested recipient).
Under time pressure candidates start writing the first idea that comes and do not budget paragraphs for each bullet in the prompt. PD2 tasks usually list several content points that are assessed.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend 2–3 minutes making a bullet outline that mirrors the prompt's points one-to-one, and tick each off after drafting. Practise with authentic task types (email to a landlord, complaint, opinion post) and check afterwards whether a reader could find every required point.
The candidate's written text is understandable but lacks the register and formulaic frames expected for the genre, mixing informal chat style into a formal letter or omitting greetings, sign-offs and connectors.
Learners often focus on grammar accuracy and vocabulary range and never study genre conventions. They translate a Danish message as they would write to a friend, even when the task is a letter to an institution.
What to do instead
Build a small bank of genre frames: 'Kære ..., Tak for dit brev, Jeg skriver for at ..., Med venlig hilsen ...' versus informal 'Hej ..., Kh. ...'. Learn 10–15 connectors (desuden, derfor, dog, alligevel, på den anden side) and use at least five in each practice text.
The candidate makes repeated basic agreement and word-order errors in writing (en/et, adjective inflection, inversion after fronted adverbials, V2 in subordinate clauses) that are easy to fix but cost accuracy points.
These are the structures that differ most from many learners' first languages, and in spontaneous writing the candidate reverts to L1 patterns. They are rarely proofread for because the candidate reads for meaning, not form.
What to do instead
Keep a personal error log from marked texts and do a targeted proofreading pass for just one error type per draft (first en/et, then word order). Drill the V2 rule with sentence-building exercises: 'I går tog jeg bussen' vs '... fordi jeg tog bussen'. Learn noun gender together with each new noun.
In the oral exam the candidate prepares memorised monologues and then freezes or gives one-word answers when the examiner asks a follow-up question.
Prepared answers feel safe, but the interaction part of PD2 tests spontaneous response, and a scripted answer leaves the candidate with nothing to say when the examiner probes or disagrees.
What to do instead
Practise being asked 'Hvorfor?', 'Kan du give et eksempel?', 'Er du enig?' after every practice monologue and answer in full sentences with a reason and an example. Record yourself and check that you can sustain a two-minute exchange without notes.
The candidate avoids interaction strategies in the oral exam: no requests for clarification, no paraphrasing when a word is missing, long silences, and no initiative to ask the examiner or partner anything.
Learners fear that 'Jeg forstår ikke, kan du gentage?' reveals weakness, so they stay silent or answer the wrong question. They also lack ready circumlocution phrases and therefore stall when a specific word is unavailable.
What to do instead
Learn and rehearse a fixed set of repair phrases: 'Kan du gentage det?', 'Mener du ...?', 'Hvad betyder ...?', 'Det ved jeg ikke helt, men ...', and paraphrase practice ('den ting man bruger til at ...'). In pair practice, require each candidate to ask at least two questions and use one repair phrase per task.