Hungarian Nora is fluent in Danish

– We can do it in either English or Danish. You decide!

This is said energetically by Hungarian Nora when we pay her a visit while she´s attending her online graduation on Wednesday, January 27th. She just came home from her job at Business Kolding, and now she´s opening her laptop in her well-ordered studio apartment on Langelinie in Kolding. And to master both English and Danish besides her native language Hungarian is a given to her. For if one is to see a good example of a well-integrated student, one must look at Nora Garisa.

Besides studying, she has focused on developing a vast network and lean to speak Danish.

Got a student job right away

She came to Denmark 3.5 years ago to study a Bachelor´s degree in International Sales and Marketing at IBA International Business Academy Kolding and started attending language school simultaneously. Furthermore, she got a cleaning job at a hotel. But as she gradually learned how to speak Danish, she also took shifts in the reception. Later down the road, she got to do a few minor marketing tasks.

The same happened when she was working another job in a cocktail bar. First, she would lead the events targeted at international people, but as people started to notice she spoke Danish, she would also get shifts when the customers were primarily Danish.

She kept attending language school

– You need to be dedicated to learning a new language. And you cannot give up even when the language classes often take place in the evening where you would normally work. Because when you stay the course, it pays off in the end. I have SO many examples of that, says Nora.

She has passed all levels at language school. And one of the things that helped the most was when her employer, Business Kolding, stopped speaking English to her. At that point, Nora knew the Danish theory and the written language – but as most of her friends are international students, the pronunciation was difficult.

– Sometimes, us international students would speak Danish with each other, but we ended up pronouncing the words as we heard each other utter them – and that way we easily copied each other´s wrong pronunciation. So, it was really good for me when my workplace shifted into addressing me Danish. That´s how I learned it.

With a Bachelor´s degree in International Sales and Marketing, the 21-year-old Hungarian girl has plans of step up her various part-time jobs in the spring – and she would like to take a Master´s at the University of Southern Denmark.

And then she will definitely go for a job in her new home country: Denmark.

– I have no plans of staying any other place than here. With a good job in Denmark, I can make enough money to go on vacation and travel the world. So, it fits me quite well, says Nora.

Nora´s advice for other students at IBA is to use the opportunities presented to them. For by participating in everything from buddy-arrangements to international weeks, you develop a massive network of people. Which is all it´s about.