English
Rønningen Folk High School
Students interview
Stefan is 26 years from Slovakia and Malwinder is 22 years from India. They both are bachelor of art and enjoy staying at Rønningen. Read I have learnt enough to function in an Norwegian environment!
Rønningen is a boarding school in the Nordic Folk High School tradition. The school can accommodate up to 150 students in single or double rooms. Students come from all over Norway and many other parts of the world, creating a unique multi-cultural environment. The school year is 33 weeks and runs from Mid-August to Mid-May.
Rønningen Folk High School was founded in 1969, and is owned and run by the Norwegian YMCA. Located on a hillside, the school has a fine view of Oslo and the Oslofjord. Although Rønningen is only a 25 minute journey from the city centre, it is surrounded by beautiful nature.
For students who do not speak Norwegian when they come to Rønningen, the school offers a Norwegian language training-course. This course will start in August and continue through the whole school year.
Folk high schools are probably the single best way of gaining first-hand and practical knowledge of Norwegian. You can expect that throughout the year you will be able to use the language on an everyday level to communicate with native speakers.
Folk High School – A way of life
A folk high school is different from other kinds of schools. It is a meeting place for young people, where personal growth and responsibility is an important part of the curriculum. Rønningen is a Christian school where Christianity plays an important role in everyday life.
At a folk high school, both theoretical and practical knowledge is gained through a variety of teaching methods. Living and working close together creates a strong social environment amongst the students, but can also lead to conflicts. However, learning to overcome such difficulties is seen as an important part of the folk high school education. Students learn about concepts such as ‘love’, ‘justice’ and personal responsibility, all of, which are vital for future life. Therefore, a folk high school provides not only academic training, but also develops social skills preparing students for the challenges that lie ahead.
Who can apply?
We do not make any specific requirements regarding previous schooling except fluently communicative English skills. We want attached documentation of previous schooling and English skills. You should be at least 18 years old, upper age limit is 27 years old. You need to have a contact person living in Norway. The folk high schools do not grant degrees or conduct exams. Today’s folk high schools offer a variety of non-traditional and non-academic subjects, as well as some academic subjects.
By law, folk high schools will not conduct any formal examinations and do not issue degrees. After finishing your school year, you will receive a diploma detailing what you have participated in. Although receiving financial support from the state, the folk high schools are independent from the regular educational system in Norway.
International students who wish to continue to study in Norway will not qualify for enrolment as students in a Norwegian college or university. You must meet the same entry requirements as other international students, but you will get merit if you decide to continue to study in Norway.
Norwegian course
The course is for beginners in Norwegian and requires excellent communicative English skills. Rønningen Folkehøgskole follows, in the field of language study, the official state plan in Norwegian as a second language. This plan is compulsory for institutions (colleges, universities and so on) that teach Norwegian for foreigners, and makes it possible to study language further at other institutions.
In order to maintain a reasonable progression the school tries to create a group of international students who are eager to study Norwegian in order to know more about Norway and who would like to be fully integrated in school life.
During the year the whole group of international students will receive approximately 400 hours of Norwegian language. Our language program contains:
- development of communication skills in oral and written Norwegian
- training of pronunciation
- work with practical grammar
- student counselling
- project work and different trips (museums, institutions and other cities)
- cooperation with Norwegian students and integration
The students will develop their language skills from a beginner’s level to a conversational level. How the group will be organized and how the total amount of hours of language training will be spent will be fixed when the group of international students is set at school start.
Depending on the pupil’s background, the school uses the textbook På vei (Ellingsen & Mac Donald, 2004). Throughout the course we will use a variety of teaching methods: from traditional grammatical exercises to role plays and some computer training. The school will organize a study trip which will go to another part of Norway. Your teacher in charge speaks Norwegian, English and Russian. There will be some homework in connection with the course, and the tests will be run, but there will be no final exam.
The Norwegian course is closely tied with other subjects that international students will study at our school, first of all Norwegian culture and way of life, and Intercultural communication and understanding in a global world. As an example, we learn Norwegian glossary in connection with “family” and “childhood”, and subsequently we visit a Norwegian kinder garden and school. After this the international students will discuss and compare how the aforementioned institutions function in their own countries.
The school puts a lot of effort in establishing an including environment, which makes it easy to get to know Norwegian fellow students and thus practise your Norwegian.
The Important information for foreign applicants
EU citizens
Norway is not an EU-member, but takes part in all EU cooperative initiatives in education. Therefore, citizens from EU countries do not need a residence permit in Norway. As a folk high school student, you only need to carry medical insurance in your home country and insurance for your personal belongings.
Other Foreign Applicants
You need official permission to stay (residence permit) in Norway, in order to attend a folk high school. Admission to a folk high school must be secured before you apply for a residence permit.
Your application for a residence permit must be sent to the Norwegian authorities in your home country while you are still there, or in the country where you have stayed during the last six months. The following three documents have to be included.
1. An application form for a residence permit
2. An admission letter from the folk high school
3. Verification of financial status
Education must be the main purpose of your stay and you must be a full-time student. You must be able to return to your home country after having completed your school year. A residence permit from the Norwegian authorities is normally issued for one year at a time. All successful applicants must carry medical insurance for their period of stay in Norway.
We welcome you, irrespective of ideology or faith, but you must be willing to participate in the social life of the school.
Please contact us for further information at post@ronningen.fhs.no
Read more Norwegian Language and Culture – International Class
The school fee is NOK 85.500 for 2010/11. This amount guarantees for: board and lodgings in double room, excursions/school tours, season tickets at the Oslo bus/tram/metro system, administration expenses, text books, other costs regarding the international class and the application fee NOK 1.500.
