A group of students participating in the University Centre‘s Icelandic course currently taking place at Núpur have been practicing songs in Icelandic with local music teacher Bjarney Ingibjörg Gunnlaugsdóttir. On Thursday, they showed the town and their fellow students what they had learned in the town‘s central square Silfurtorg.

The group sang traditional Icelandic songs like Vatnsdælingastemma and Sá ég spóa as well as the more internationally known Meistari Jakob (Frère Jacques). „I liked that we sang such a wide variety of songs, from folk songs to nursery rhymes and canons", Emmi Kahilainen from Finland explains. She is going to study Dance at the Icelandic Academy of Arts this winter where she‘ll surely get to know even more Icelandic music.

„Working with this group has been a great experience because we really had a connection. Singing in a choir teaches you a lot about pronunciation, the musical culture of a country and using your voice effectively at the same time, so I think it‘s a very important part of the language course" says choirmaster Bjarney Ingibjörg, who usually works at the local music school and teaches music all over the Westfjords.

With electives like the choir, dancing lessons and games, the students of the Icelandic course are encouraged to engage all their senses in the language learning experience. „You simply learn more when your having fun at the same time", Bjarney adds.