Information on Norway – Nordic languages as second languages

There are no formal assessment or placement procedures specifically for children learning Norwegian as an L2 in early childhood education. However, during the enrollment process in kindergarten, information regarding a child’s mother tongue(s) and general language development is collected through parental reporting. This information helps educators understand the child’s linguistic background and prepare for a good start.

Formal assessment in early childhood education is not mandatory. Instead, ongoing informal assessments are usually conducted through observation and interaction in daily activities. Some schools and municipalities can choose more formal assessment methods. Children learning Norwegian as an L2 is often a target group for such formal assessments, although such assessment tools are not developed specifically for children with Norwegian as an L2. Such assessment tools are usually developed for evaluation of language development of preschool children in cases where there is concern about the child’s linguistic development, which is required in order to define what extra support is needed.

Before primary school, educators provide some information for the school. Here, language development is one of the core areas.

Example of formal assessment tool: TRAS Digital (infovestforlag.no)

Report with evaluation of different assessment tools used in Norwegian early childhood education:Rapport: Vurdering av verktøy som brukes til å kartlegge barns språk i norske barnehager – regjeringen.no

There is no specific provision of Norwegian as a second language in early childhood settings. Communication, language and text is one of the core learning areas of the national curriculum, and stresses  that “in kindergarten the children shall be introduced to different languages, vernaculars and dialects” and that staff should “help ensure that linguistic diversity becomes an enrichment for the entire group of children and encourage multilingual children to use their mother tongue while also actively promoting and developing the children’s Norwegian/Sami language skills”. Language learning is integrated in daily activities and play, engaging young children to learn language through participation in daily activities and interactions with adults and other children.

Multilingual children may have special rights for mother tongue support during a transition period, although such provisions are optional rather than mandatory. Local municipalities and schools have the autonomy to implement such support according to their capacities.

There is no specific curriculum for Norwegian as an L2 for early childhood education.

There are no special requirements for teaching L2 in early childhood education. There are requirements on a certain level of Norwegian (A2 for written skills and B1 for oral skills, §27 in Barnehageloven) for working in Norwegian early childhood education for those who do not have Norwegian as their mother tongue.

The national curriculum for early childhood teachers requires that teacher students have broad knowledge about children’s language development and multilingualism. These topics are covered withing different areas depending on the teacher training institution, e.g the areas Language, Text and Mathematics in early childhood teacher education or Pedagogy. In addition, teacher students can choose additional specialization courses to get more specific knowledge in this field, but this is not obligatory.

Students without sufficient proficiency in Norwegian, have the right to ‘special language tuition’ until they can follow teaching in Norwegian. This is regulated through the Education Act § 3.6 (primary and lower secondary level) and § 6.5 (upper secondary level). Furthermore, the regulation concerns both Norwegian born second language learners and newly arrived migrant students (NAMS), and state that ‘special language tuition’ serves as a cover term for  

• special tuition in Norwegian (Norwegian as a second language),
• first language instruction, and  
• bilingual subject instruction, to get access to the curriculum. 

The different sub-parts of the term ‘special language tuition’ are, however, not ascribed equal status: While all schools are obliged to offer alternative a, special tuition in Norwegian, the two other alternatives should be offered only ‘if needed (“om det trengst”)’, as estimated by the school’s assessment procedures (see below). Alternative a, special tuition in Norwegian, is by far the most practiced alternative.

An initial assessment of students´ proficiency in Norwegian must be made by the school, and formalized through a decision, in advance of offering students L2 education (Education Act §§ 3.6 and 6.5). There are no obligatory tools or approaches following this duty to evaluate, but a recommended tool, Assessment for basic Norwegian (Kartleggingsverktøy i grunnleggende norsk | udir.no) is developed by the Norwegian Directorate for Education for this specific purpose. Furthermore, the schools should continuously monitor students’ language development and assess whether they have developed sufficient skills in Norwegian to be taken off special language tuition.  

There exists a curriculum for special tuition in Norwegian, called Basic Norwegian valid for grades 1-13. This is a generic curriculum, divided into three levels of competencies. When students can carry out tasks in different areas at competence level three, they are supposed to follow the mainstream Norwegian curriculum instead. Thus, Basic Norwegian has a transitional character and is not considered a school subject that students complete through a final exam. Students in primary and lower secondary school who have received special language tuition for a certain period, are supposed to join their fellow mainstream students when doing their Norwegian exam at the end of lower secondary school.

For students at the upper secondary level, there is a separate Curriculum in Norwegian for students with short period of residence. This curriculum leads to a final exam. Short period of residence is here defined as less than four years of education in Norway counting from grade five before the onset of upper secondary school.

However, it is not mandatory for schools to use Basic Norwegian or Curriculum in Norwegian for students with short period of residence for special tuition in Norwegian; the schools can apply their own versions of adaptations to the ordinary curriculum in Norwegian instead.

The curriculum Mothertongue education for language minority students is also valid for grades 1-13. This is another language support curriculum meant for students who have been assessed as needing education in their first language, to make progress at school. It is designed without a final exam, intended to provide support in a transitional period, before students’ command Norwegian well enough to participate in mainstream education.

The provision of special language tuition could be organised in separate groups or be offered as targeted support to students in ordinary classes, or as a combination of these alternatives (Education Act §§3.6 and 6.5).

For newly arrived migrant students, the Education Act §§ 3-7 (primary and lower secondary level) and 6.6 (upper secondary level) opens for school owners to organise all education in separate classes, or with support in mainstream classes. Students could not be placed in separate classes for more than two years. Within this two years periode of education for newly arrived students, schools have local autonomy to deviate from the allocation of subjects and teaching hours (as defined in the Norwegian Education Act), and from final evaluation of the newly arrived students´ performances in school subjects. After these two years, the students have the right to regular specific language tuition.

To teach Norwegian as a second language/special language tuition in Norwegian, 30 relevant ECTS are required. School owners decide what are considered relevant ECTS, and it is not a specific demand that teachers have completed a course in Norwegian as a second language. Normally, it would be sufficient to have completed a 30 ECTS course in Norwegian, for example as part of a teacher education program. CPD courses in Norwegian as a second language are offered quite regularly to teachers through nationally financed competence initiatives often containing scholarships and/or workload reductions.  

Since Norwegian as a second language is not defined as a school subject, and as there are no specific requirements for teachers to be educated in Norwegian as a second language, teacher education institutions are not obliged to offer specific courses in Norwegian as a second language. Some institutions offer Norwegian as a second language as a school relevant subject, others do not. However, national guidelines for Norwegian as a subject in teacher education contain learning outcomes that require second language learning and multilingual perspectives to be integrated into the courses, securing a minimum of competences in second language learning for student teachers with Norwegian as part of their academic portfolio. 

In cased where students have had short time in the Norwegian lower secondary school, and have not been able to take any exams, they are still entitled to a school-leaving certificate, which grants admission to upper secondary education. To satisfy the needs of students who still require more basic education or lack the academic and linguistic skills needed to succeed in a regular upper secondary program, there are two regulating sections in the Education Act: 

§ 9-6: Educational provision in the transition from lower secondary to upper secondary education. The county authority (Fylkeskommunen) must offer educational courses supporting those who are entitled to upper secondary education, but who lack the academic or language skills to participate in or complete such education.

And/or

§ 9-7. Offer of additional lower secondary education. The municipality and the county authority may offer preparatory education to those who need more lower secondary education in order to complete upper secondary education. This education may provide an opportunity to improve the lower secondary school certificate.

Additional lower secondary education combined with language support can be organized in so called Combination classes where upper secondary education is combined with elements from basic education, enabling young students to follow the regular upper secondary path. This form of organisation allows participants to complete subjects at different levels. 

The right to adult education is established in the Education Act and the Integration Act. Many participants in adult education receive obligatory Norwegian instruction under the Integration Act. Chapter 18 of the Education Act outlines the right to learn Norwegian combined with preparatory education for adults and upper secondary education for adults. Some participants receive Norwegian instruction under both laws.

Preparatory education for adults is intended for participants who are not entitled to upper secondary education or for those who are entitled but still need training in basic skills, according to Section 18-2 of the Education Act. Adults are for instance entitled to preparatory education if they have not previously received satisfactory education, if they need training in subjects or basic skills that were not part of the curriculum when they received primary education, or if they need new training due to injury or illness.  Municipal authorities are responsible for implementing preparatory education for adults and for assessing the experience-based qualifications of adult learners. Participants in preparatory education for adults are entitled to individual facilitation (special needs education). 

Adults who have completed preparatory education for adults, primary education, or equivalent education, but do not have university admission qualifications or vocational qualifications from upper secondary education, are entitled to upper secondary education for adults (VOV) from the school year in which they turn 19. This also applies to individuals who have completed upper secondary education in another country but do not have their education recognized as university admission qualifications or vocational qualifications in Norway. 

County authorities are responsible for the implementation of adult upper secondary education, which includes recognition of prior learning (assessment of experience-based qualifications). Upper secondary education for newly arrived adults can be offered in regular upper secondary schools, in training and development centers especially designed for adult learning, or in workplaces. 

In upper secondary education, adult participants with disabilities or special needs are entitled to appropriate individual adaptation of the learning environment, instruction, learning materials, and exams.

Adult participants who have not completed primary school or preparatory education for adults could enlist a course where modules from adult upper secondary education are combined with elements from basic education. Exceptions are made to the admission requirements for adult upper secondary education. The county authority decides whether to offer combination pathways as part of adult upper secondary education. Based on the assessment of experience-based qualifications, participants receive education in the subjects they need at a level below upper secondary education, along with vocational training at a workplace. 

Immigrants may have the right and/or obligation to receive training in Norwegian and social studies.  The municipal authority are responsible for providing this instruction. In order to be granted permanent residency or citizenship, immigrants must meet specific requirements in Norwegian (oral skills at B1 level) and Social sciences. The Social studies course is 75 hours. The Integration Act stipulates that the training must be completed within one year after the education has started.

The curricula in preparatory education and vocational subjects in upper secondary education for adults in Norway are now structured as module-based curricula to better suit adult education and the diversity of language skills, experience and training among adult learners.  

There are two curricula in the Norwegian Language course, one for level A1-B2, one for level C1. 

There is one curriculum in Social studies for adult immigrants: Læreplaner i norsk og samfunnskunnskap for voksne innvandrere (hkdir.no)

For adult education run according to the Integration Act there is a specific requirement of 30 ECTS in Norwegian as a second language. The demand is legitimized with reference to securing quality in education Kompetansekrav for lærere | HK-dir   

Aarsæther, Finn (2021). Learning environment and social inclusion for newly arrived migrant children placed in separate programmes in elementary schools in Norway. 16 s. Cogent Education. Vol. 8.https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1932227

Beiler, Ingrid M. Rodrick ; Villacañas de Castro, Luis S (2025). Translanguaging and culturally sustaining pedagogies: A mutually dependent relationship?. Foreign language annals. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12791

Kucherenko, Svitlana; Rydland, Veslemøy & Grøver, Vibeke (2024). Dual-language Learners’ Questions and Teacher Responses in Shared Reading in Preschool. Early Childhood Education Journal. ISSN 1082-3301. doi: 10.1007/s10643-023-01624-2. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Moraczewska, A. & Randen, G.T. (2024): “To make the student exist” – Bilingual subject teachers’ narratives about multilingualism in language support classes in Norway, Bilingual Research Journal,https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2024.2356579

Tkachenko, Elena ; Garmann, Nina Gram ; Romøren, Anna Sara Hexeberg (2024). Preparing teachers for multilingualism in Norwegian early childhood education and care provision through student active learning methods. Mourão, Sandie; Leslie, Carolyn (Red.). Researching Educational Practices, Teacher Education and Professional Development for Early Language Learning, Examples from Europe. s. 115-126. Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003289043

National Center for multilingual and multicultural education – NAFO A national center with the objective to contribute to the protection of multilingual and multicultural aspects at all levels of education from kindergarten to college and university.

Bildetema – Flerspråklig bildeordbok Bildetema is a multilingual picture dictionary with images, text, and audio that can be used in preschool, school, and adult education.

LEXIN The LEXIN dictionaries are designed especially for minority language students in primary and secondary education. The headwords have been selected specifically for this target group. In addition to everyday words, you will also find words and expressions that are useful to know when living in Norway.

morsmål.no – Nasjonalt senter for flerkulturell opplæring Morsmål.no is a website with multilingual resources for use in preschool and school.

NAFOs fortellinger – morsmål.no Multilingual stories are tales from different parts of the world in multiple languages.

Kompetansepakke om et flerspråklig barnehagemiljø | udir.no A competence package from the national educational agency with professional input and support to develop competence in creating a multilingual kindergarten environment. The competence package is free and available to everyone working in early childhood education.

Flerspråklige barn og flyktninger i barnehagen | udir.no (Early childhood education)

Særskilt språkopplæring | udir.no (Primary, Lower secondary and Upper secondary school)

Regelverk for nyankomne elever og voksne (Newly arrived students and adults)

Opplæring for nyankomne ungdom (16–18 år) | udir.no (Newly arrived youth age 16-18)

Voksenopplæring | HK-dir (Adult education)

The Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) – regjeringen.no; Forside | IMDi (Adult education)