🇳🇴 The best podcasts for learning Norwegian

Marius Stangeland has built the deepest Norwegian listening archive available, covering Norse mythology, history, politics and everyday culture in Norwegian slowed just enough to follow. He deliberately features different dialects, which matters more in Norwegian than in most languages since there is no standard spoken form. Free to listen, with many episodes transcribed on the site; a Patreon and a Norse-mythology book are the paid extras. Firmly B1 and up — there is no beginner on-ramp here.

NLS, a language school in Oslo, has released well over six hundred short podcast episodes covering grammar points, vocabulary themes and everyday situations, all free and requiring no account. The episode count makes it one of the largest structured Norwegian audio archives anywhere, and the short format suits commutes. Free as a shop window for their paid courses, which start around NOK 2799 a month. Audio quality and depth vary between episodes given the volume.

Innovative Language's Norwegian course: hundreds of short audio and video lessons built on native dialogues that get broken down phrase by phrase, plus transcripts, flashcards and word banks. For a smaller language like Norwegian, the sheer quantity of structured listening is hard to match. Subscription-based with frequent discounting. The same complaints apply as to its sister sites — a disorganised catalogue and a progression that runs out somewhere around B1.

Mihalis Eleftheriou records real lessons with a real student and walks you through constructing the language yourself using cognates and logic — Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Swahili are covered. Completely free, no ads, no sign-up, funded by donations. The Spanish course in particular is one of the most recommended free resources anywhere; the trade-off is small vocabulary and no reading or writing practice.

Mark Pentleton teaches a genuine student while you listen in, across French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese and Gaelic. The podcast seasons are free on any podcast app and are structured as a real curriculum rather than scattered episodes; the Academy sells premium lesson notes, video and bonus audio. Ideal commuting material for beginners through B1, and the Spanish and French series are the strongest.